Q&A: THE FIVE W’S Of Michele Gorman + Giveaway

I am very excited to introduce Michele Gorman to A Novel Review. Michele has written a new book Single in the City, a UK bestseller. The exciting news is Michele has brought this fantastic new chick lit novel here to the US! So please join me in getting to know:

THE FIVE W’S  Of Michele Gorman 

WHO?

I guess one of my most defining features is my optimism, because it translates into my writing as much as it does in other parts of my life. My stories have happy endings. This optimism is also what allowed me to write my second book after the first one didn’t find an agent, and the third book after the second one didn’t find a publisher, and the fourth book (Single in the City) which found a home with Penguin (UK) and was a best-seller in the UK.

It’s also what’s driving me to self-publish Single in the City in the US, because I believe the US publishers we approached are wrong. They were very nice about it but they said that chick lit fans can’t identify with a book set outside US borders. I have more faith in the book, and I have more belief in chick lit fans.

Humor also plays a big part in my life. I laugh a lot. Often I’m not even laughing at what’s actually happening. I’m laughing at what I imagine is happening. I realize this makes me sound insane, but it’s an excellent skill to have as a writer. I’ve never seen a situation that I haven’t been tempted to embellish upon retelling. So what my parents called lying I now get to call fiction writing!

WHAT? What do you enjoy doing other than writing in your spare time?

Relationships are most important to me, so much of my time is spent with my friends and boyfriend. I’m an avid reader, naturally, and while not overly sporty I do like to go for walks and cycle rides, and jogs around the park, and skiing in the winter. Because we have a big circle of friends, a fair amount of time is spent out enjoying London but I’m a homebody at heart. I love my food, so a night in cooking something delicious with friends is my idea of heaven.

I’m also a champion nap-taker and unashamedly have a kip every day that I’m not working in an office (I work part time to fund my writing habit). 

WHEN? When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer. I decided one day that I wanted to get paid for what’s inside my head without having to go into an office. I figured (wrongly) that it would be easy, since I love to read. It took several years though for my ability to catch up with my ambition. So it was a process punctuated by ‘aha’ moments. I remember when I wrote The End on the last page of my first book. That’s when I knew I could do it, so that’s when I knew I could be a writer. It wasn’t till I finished my second book that I knew I would be a writer. That’s when I knew that I’d chosen writing as a career.

WHERE? Where do you write?

I have two favorite writing spots, both in my flat. One is on my squishy sofa, propped up with pillows, cup of coffee within easy reach. But when I want a really serious writing session, I take to my bed. I love my bedroom - it’s covered in swathes of rich fabrics and has huge windows that stream light. Again, I prop myself up on mountains of pillows and bang away on the keyboard.

WHY? Why do you write?

Because I have stories to tell, and hopefully they’re stories that people want to read. I’m not interested in winning the Booker Prize. I write to entertain. I’m lucky enough to have this perspective on the world, and it’s fun to put it into words. I guess that’s what it comes down to. I write because it’s fun. 

Thank-you so much for joining on us here on A Novel Review, Michele! It was great getting to know you! 


About the book:


What happens when you take one twenty six year old American, add to one two thousand year old city, add a big dose of culture clash and stir? Hannah Cumming and the population of London are about to find out.

To think Hannah ever believed that Americans differed from Brits mainly in pronunciation, sophistication and dentistry. That’s been the understatement of a lifetime. She lands upon England’s gentle shores with no job, no friends and no idea how she’s supposed to build the new life she’s dreaming of.

Armed with little more than her enthusiasm, Hannah charges headlong into London, baffling the locals in her pursuit of a new life, new love and sense of herself.

Single in the City was successfully published by Penguin in the UK and its commonwealth territories, debuting at number 8 in The Bookseller’s Fiction Heatseekers bestseller chart.

 Sounds great, doesn't it! Well how about a chance to win an ebook copy! Just leave a comment below with your email address! If you want an extra chance to win sign-up for A Novel Review email subscription! Please let me know in a separate comment if you are following by email. I will pick a winner using random.org. Giveaway ends November 7, midnight EST. Good luck!

Can't wait to read it?? Single in the City is available now in the US!

You can follow Michele on Facebook and Twitter

 http://www.michelegorman.co.uk/Welcome.html