Author Interview: Katie Ginger.

I am so excited to bring you this interview today with the amazing Katie Ginger. I met Katie last year at the Harpercollins Summer Party and immediately adored her. She is incredibly cool to talk to and just one of those people that oozes awesomeness. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I do and please visit Katie on Twitter @KatieGAuthor and check out her beautiful and inspiring blog: http://www.keginger.com/blog/ 

KATIE GINGER lives in the South East of England, by the sea, and apart from holidays to very hot places where you can sit by a pool and drink cocktails as big your head, she wouldn't really want to be anywhere else. This is Katie's debut novel but she is also the author of some cosy mystery short stories. She loves making her characters either fall in love, or killing them off - it depends on her mood!

When she's not writing, Katie spends her time drinking gin, or with her husband, trying to keep alive her two children: Ellie, who believes everything in life should be done as a musical number from a West End show; and Sam, who is basically a monkey with a boy's face. And there's also their adorable King Charles Spaniel, Wotsit (yes, he is named after the crisps!).

For more about Katie you can visit her website: www.keginger.com, find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KatieGAuthor, or follow her on Twitter: @KatieGAuthor

How did it all start for you, Katie? Was there a book or a moment that made you want to become a writer?

Firstly, hi Lucy and Kelly and you lovely readers! I'm so excited to be here, thank you for having me on your amazing blog. To answer your question, I always secretly wanted to be a writer but after I went to uni and got a job I convinced myself it was just a dream and never going to happen! I'd have moments where I'd write but then think it was awful and hide it away. Then I got made redundant from my job in the heritage industry working at a local museum and decided that I'd spent such a long time solving day-to-day problems and being horrendously practical, I wanted to reconnect with the creative part of my brain and think differently. I started a creative writing course and fell in love with writing again, and it turned out, I wasn't quite as bad I thought I was!

But what really kicked it off for me was when I lost my sweet cousin, Dan, to cancer in 2016. He was only twenty-five when he died and it really made me realise you cannot waste a single second of your time on this planet because you don't know how long you've got. Sometimes you have to stop thinking of reasons why you shouldn't, risk the rejections and embarrassment of not achieving and try everything to make your dream happen. When I did that, I managed to get some short stories published and then had the idea for The Little Theatre on the Seafront so started writing that and sending it out. I had no idea I'd get there but even if I hadn't, even if I was still trying to make it as a published author, I'd be proud of myself for giving it a go!

What is your favourite part of the writing process? First ideas? Plotting, writing and editing? Receiving the finished product?

Is it cheesy to say I love it all? It is, isn't it? But it's still true!

I love plotting and start a new notebook for each project. I love thinking about the plot and creating characters, it's like living another life! I get to try out different careers and live in different places all in my head! And I adore writing the first draft when you're just desperately trying to get the ideas out and onto paper, and sometimes you have to struggle to keep up with the movie that's playing in your head! Editing is a bit more of a chore because you have to read your work so many times you end up hating the characters and thinking it's all rubbish and THE most boring book in the world! But then you get to a stage where you've fixed all the plot holes and continuity errors and can start to look at each line and word, and re-write these clunky sentences into beautiful prose (or at least try to!).

Can you tell I love it all?! I really think I'm the luckiest person in the world!

What do you love most about being a writer?

I love living all these different lives of my characters. When you hold a book in your hand knowing it's a world you created and every idea and word in it is your own, it's really quite amazing! I never imagined I'd be able to live my dream.

Last year your debut novel ‘The Little Theatre on the Seafront’ came out and you have recently been shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award. (Yay and huge congratulations.) What has this whole experience been like for you?

It's been absolutely amazing and beyond anything I ever thought possible! When I got the email to say I'd been shortlisted I was literally sat on the sofa with my husband, staring at my phone and hyperventilating! Then I started crying and he thought something absolutely terrible had happened! I think he was just about to call an ambulance when I showed him my phone so he could read the email. Not being able to tell anyone was hard but so worth it. The awards do is on the 4th March and regardless of if I win or not, even being considered for it has been a highlight of my career I never saw coming!

I got to meet you first at the Harpercollins Summer party and then again at the HQ Digital Christmas party, you are incredibly awesome, do you have a favourite moment from last year, from having your first book published and becoming a part of the HQ team?

Aww, Lucy, thank you! I was so happy to meet you too! You're so generous and your personality shines through in whatever you do. I'd love to meet Kelly too (cocktails sometime?) There are so many to choose from! The moment I got the call and was offered a two-book deal was amazing! Then actually holding the paperback in my hands was pretty overwhelming! But I think one of the best moments was being stood in the Victoria and Albert Museum with a whole load of awesome writers, on a hot summers night, drinking prosecco! I particularly enjoyed chatting with you and Mike Hollows as we all had our debuts coming out and it felt so weird to us all to be there! It was really magical and one of those moments that will stay with me forever.

You created such a fun and beautiful pairing with your leading lady, Lottie and her best friend Sid. I’m only a few pages in to ‘The Little Theatre on the Seafront’ and I already love them. If you could choose a fictional character to be your best friend, who would it be and why?

I love Lottie too! She represents that bit of us that is a bit insecure but has to try and be a grown up! I'm really excited about Esme in my Christmas book that comes out this year, Cooking Up Christmas. She gets herself into trouble after a few too many gin cocktails (which I often do too!) and I hope that readers will connect with her the same way I did when I was writing. She's smart, confident, funny and forges her own path. She's definitely someone you'd like in your corner!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors and is there anything you have learnt since writing your first book and working on your second?

I would definitely say to any aspiring writer find your own opportunities and go for them! I got my deal through a Twitter Pitch event HQ Digital UK did. Be brave and determined and never give up and you will get there!

While editing the first book, I learned a lot about pacing and structure. When I wrote The Little Theatre on the Seafront I had a lot more committee meetings because I was so busy trying to be realistic, but it made for a lot of repetition and some boring bits! I hope with the second I've learned to find more of a balance so the pace is nice and quick and the reader won't lose interest!

When writing, do you have a preferred spot, or can you write anywhere?

I have a little desk behind the dining room door! It's not very posh but I love my little section and in the summer I have the back door open so Wotsit, my King Charles Spaniel can come and go as he pleases! Sometimes when I'm editing I'll move to my comfy armchair if I'm working from paper. It's very comfy and I can snuggle right in when settling down for a long day's work!

Do you require provisions when writing? A favourite drink maybe or a snack?

I'm not a huge snacker but I do need coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon! And I try and drink lots and lots of water too!

When you aren't busy writing, what do you enjoy doing?

I love working out! I'm not naturally slim so I have to work hard if I want to drink wine and eat my body weight in cheese (my two weaknesses!). I'm a sucker for BodyCombat and BodyBalance which is a yoga workout. I also have two kids; Samuel is 7 and Ellie is 9 and they keep me pretty busy!

Thank you so much Katie for answering our questions. It's been lovely having you on our blog! 

Get your copy of 'The Little Theatre on the Seafront' now!! 

Happy Reading! 

Love