Me & You Blog Tour: Author Interview: Meet.. Claudia Carroll!

Hello, everyone! I had the loveliest honour to interview my darling mammy, Claudia Carroll, who is also one of my favourite authors! We chatted about her latest book, ME & YOU and her experience as an actress turned writer!

1. Could you give us a brief synopsis/blurb about Me & You?

Of course! ME AND YOU centres around a heroine called Angie, who’s arranged to meet up with her best friend Kitty at a swanky health spa…only Kitty stands her up. No answer to her mobile or house phone, absolutely nothing. Which is so not like her. So Angie of course, does what any concerned pal would do, spirals off into a complete tailspin of panic.  Calls just about every mutual friend they have, who all say, ‘but we thought Kitty was with you!’ Turns out though that no one has seen her in days, so Angie calls Kitty’s boyfriend Simon and between them they start searching, but yet again nothing. Just dead ends everywhere they turn. Course, pretty soon their initial concern morphs into full-blown panic. So in desperation, Angie and Simon go to the police and pretty soon, a nationwide search follows. But bubbling under it all is a whole other development; Simon and Angie’s ever-growing closeness. They say two people who suffer a mutual bereavement will bond so strongly you can’t imagine, and coping with the trauma of a much-loved missing person is every bit as painful. Yet the closer they grow, the more Kitty is like a constant shadow lying between them. Almost like a latter-day Rebecca. Next part of the story is the same day retold all over again, except this time entirely from Kitty’s point of view. And we learn the whole reason why she disappeared when she had to and most importantly of all, the real reason why she can never divulge the truth to her former boyfriend and best friend. Two people she still misses so much it hurts.  By now, Kitty is living and working in Capetown, with a whole new name, identity, life. But the pull of home, even after all these years is still overwhelming. So when dramatic events suddenly propel Kitty back to her old life and when she finally has to face up to her past and loved ones she’d no choice but to walk away from…then what next?  And no, I’m not telling you any more!

2. Child surrogacy was the inspiration for your previous novel, A Very Accidental Love Story. What inspired you to write about missing persons in Me & You?

I think every book is a challenge and ME AND YOU was no different. I got the idea from reading an article with the Chief of the Missing Person’s Division here in Ireland. He said that in over ninety percent of cases people who go missing do so voluntarily…which got me thinking. What is it that would make a person just walk away from their home, family, friends, career? And the rest of the story of just came from there really.            

3. Angie and Kitty seem to have a really strong friendship. Do you channel your experiences with your friends to creating such a bond?

No, because my friends would murder me if I did! Just to tell you a bit about my two heroines in ME AND YOU though…Angie is a sort of everywoman character really and in many ways I probably found her the easiest to write. She’s down-to-earth, funny, a little insecure about herself and has absolutely no confidence when it comes to guys, on account of her past experiences. (A lot of me in there, I have to confess!) Whereas Kitty is the exact opposite. She’s everything Angie isn’t; she’s wild, abandoned, and spontaneous, one of those characters who just live for the present and don’t care about what tomorrow will bring. She has the irresistibly bright aura about her though and it one of those naturally charismatic people that everyone adores. The sort of woman that you look at and say, ‘wish I could be a bit more like her.’ Probably a lot of Angie in there, I think. I’m insecure like Angie and wish there was a bit more of Kitty’s sense of abandonment in me. Life would certainly never be dull if we were all like Kitty!

4. How long did you take to plan and write Me & You? Could you please tell us about the process? (I know it's a bit tedious, but we'd like to know!)

For starters, I do a skeleton outline of any new story before I’d even sit down to write a line. It makes life so much easier later on, on the days when I find I’m a bit stuck. It takes me quite a long time to get to really know my characters, so I’d begin by writing out a rough biography for everyone of them, to try to make them as three dimensional as possible, it helps me hugely.  A reader will quickly lose interest if they just don’t like the hero or heroine. You really have to try to layer them carefully so that they really jump off the page. Remember at the start of a new book, you’re asking a reader to go on a 400 page journey with your characters, and particularly your leading lady, so it’s vital to get character right early on.  Woody Allen once said, ‘there’s nothing to writing, all you have to do is sit down at a computer and open a vein.’ And believe me we all have plenty of days where I know just what he meant!  But equally you get great days, where the words are just flying and where without even noticing it, it’s five hours after you first sat down and you completely forgot to even eat. Writing is without doubt, the single best job in the whole entire world and I’m so lucky and privileged to be doing it.  Even on the days when nothing’s coming and I’m half ready to fling my computer up against a wall, I wouldn’t change it for anything.  In a nutshell though, I try to try to keep the writing day as close to a nine to five job as possible. Easier said than done though…trouble is, when I’m writing from home, there can just be so many other distractions. Even as I’m typing this, I’m looking at a big mound of ironing, just winking at me to be done. I constantly have to remind myself that when I’m writing I’m working, just as if I was based in an office or business setting, so I try my best not to take calls, answer emails from pals or surf the net. Believe me though, this took a long, long time to get used to! Soon enough though, my family and friends slowly copped on not to call during the day.  So I suppose here’s a little tip to would be authors who may be reading this; just ignore the door, put the phone on silent, don’t go online and you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get done. Really.  My mother is by a mile the worst ‘time bandit’ offender, but then she thinks I spend all day every day daydreaming out the window and that books appear on shelves by magic!  Having said all that though, being a full-time author really is the single best job in the world. I’m incredibly lucky and still pinching myself that I can do it full-time now. Imagine a job where you can haul yourself out of bed and bed ‘in work’ five minutes later? What’s not to love?

5. As a writer, what are the challenges you face all the time? (Mammy, excluding replying my texts, of course!) 

Social media is such a distraction….wish I could discipline myself to only go on it at nighttime or when I’m finished writing, but I’m still not quite there yet…

6. If I'm not mistaken, you began your writing career when you were still an actress, writing away in dressing room? How was your road to publication?

Sure! You see, for about as long as I can remember, I’d been scribbling down stories and embarrassingly rough drafts for novels. But then like a lot of people, I just assumed that book deals were something that happened to other people so I’d just shove what I’d written into the back of a drawer and vow not to mortify myself by even talking about it. Took me a very long time and a LOT of courage to get brave and actually put a book out there.  In the meantime though, as you say, I was working as an actress on a long running soap opera in Ireland and, like so many others, had always dreamt of writing a book, but never really had the guts. Then one of our directors on the show, a good pal of mine, published her first book and advised me to get three chapters of mine to her agent who she very kindly asked to look them over. So I took a very deep breath and went for it, sent off my chapters, then spent the next few weeks down on my hands and knees praying till I heard news back. But thankfully the agent, the fabulous Marianne Gunn O’Connor very kindly agreed to take me on and had a book deal for me a few weeks later. Nearly ten years on and I’m still pinching myself….

7. Your next book is called "The Hello/Goodbye Hotel". Could you tell us more about it?

Yes I do, and I can and here’s the title; THE HELLO GOODBYE HOTEL.  It’s set for publication next year and I really hope you’ll have me back here to tell you all about it!

8. Imagine yourself as a character on Sex and the City, who would you be and who do you think would be your other three best friends? Why?

I always related to Charlotte the most on SATC. All she wanted was just to meet a lovely man who’d be her best friend and husband and in a roundabout way, her dreams came true. And I love her clothes too….very New York Upper East Side...

9. I've seen photos of you on Facebook, you seem to have really fabulous sense of style! What is your most prized item of clothing and why?

An ancient, battered Chanel bag that belonged to my Granny and which is by a mile, my most cherished possession. It’s one of those accessories that just jazzes up anything, no matter how scruffily dressed I am. I love it so much and it would be the first thing I’d grab if my house ever went on fire.

10. What's your favourite scent (could be perfume or anything which gives off odour/smell!) and why? I LOVE the smell of vanilla. It's sweet and delicious!

Lavender…I’m addicted! I even grow it out my back garden...

Thanks for stopping by, lovelies! Next up, head over to Novelicious for more of Claudia Carroll!

Or say Hi to her on Facebook and Twitter!