Author interview and giveaway: Nicola May
18 Jul
Nicola May lives in Ascot in Berkshire. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon, eating flapjacks and enjoying a flutter on the horses. Her favourite authors are Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews and she is currently working hard to promote her latest book release, Working it Out.
I reviewed Working it Out earlier this month and Nicola kindly agreed to be interviewed for One More Page and is also providing a copy of the novel for me to give away to one lucky winner (details on how to enter at the end of the interview).
Working it Out is a fun and original addition to the Chick Lit genre; have you always wanted to write chick lit and do you think you’ll dabble with other genres in future?
Writing chick lit just happened really and I am going to run with it for now as readers are certainly enjoying Working it Out. However, I do have some other ideas up my sleeve for the future, including a dark comedy.
In Working it Out, Ruby makes a New Year’s resolution to try out twelve jobs in twelve months to see if she can stumble upon her ideal career; where did the inspiration for the plot come from?
I have actually never enjoyed being tied to the 9-5, even though I did it for years. So many times I sat in jobs that I didn’t enjoy as was too frightened to take the plunge and try something new. When I was made redundant it gave me the ideal opportunity to try different things with some very amusing consequences, and so the plot developed.
Ruby’s twelve jobs are very varied covering waitressing to fortune telling; if you had to pick one job from Ruby’s
twelve to do long term which would it be and why?
I’d love to be an actress. I won’t spoil the plot and say what it is, but definitely not the role Ruby gets landed with! When Working it Out becomes the Working Title film I want it to be then I certainly want a cameo role.
I could see Working it Out on the big screen; who would you cast for the roles of Ruby, Gorgeous George and Ruby’s fab neighbour Margaret?
Kim Tiddy, ex Bill now Hollyoaks would make a fab Ruby, I think she would add the beauty, quirk and slight laddetteness required to bring out her character. Scott Neal would have to be George, he would pull out the east end lad really well and is definitely handsome enough for Ruby to fall for. Margaret would have to be Brenda Blethyn.
Ruby meets a great set of characters as she works her way through the year; who was your favourite character to write and why?
I love Daphne du Mont who runs Piaf’s cafe. Her whole appearance and demeanour and the fact she sings Edith Piaf songs all the time made me laugh a lot whilst writing her. I can see her black dress and bright red lipstick as I type this. She is so carefree, that she just had to be given a handsome toy boy to play with.
Who are your favourite authors and how have they influenced your writing?
Marian Keyes, Carole Matthews and Milly Johnson are all favourites of mine and I like to think my writing is a mix of all three.
Working it Out is the most professional self published book I’ve seen this year and is making a big impression; what are your top tips for other aspiring authors on getting your book noticed?
Thank you for saying that. The feedback I am receiving is certainly astounding. Getting your book noticed takes hard work, but getting the cover right is key. Also nowadays use social media as much as you can. Twitter has really got me where I am today for various reasons. You can find me @nicolamay1
And finally, what can we expect next from Nicola May?
My ambition is to get on the Times bestseller list, and yes of course seeing it out there as a film. I am already writing my fourth novel, so watch this space for book number two coming out before Christmas.
Many thanks Nicola and good luck with the next book! You can find out more about Nicola and her novels on her website at: http://www.nicolamay.com/
Giveaway!
Nicola will send a copy of Working it Out to one lucky reader. To enter this giveaway just leave a comment below telling me about the best, worst, funniest or most unusual job you’ve done and I’ll pick a winner using random.org following the closing date. This giveaway is open worldwide! The closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday 24th July – good luck!
Thanks so much for this fab giveaway! Working it Out sounds brilliant! I’ve actually worked the same job since I was 16 in hairdressing so unlike Ruby I don’t have a whole lot to go on! My worst experience though has to be during winter when we had a power cut and was unable to dry peoples hair so they had to walk home very unhappy customers in the middle of winter with their freshly groomed hair turning into damp wet icicles down their backs! Now that was a day from hell and I have to say I did feel very sorry for the poor customers!
Hi Jess – consider yourself entered in the draw and thank you for sharing your day from hell – that sounds like a nightmare!
A fabby interview, good luck Nicola with your book it sounds a great read. Thanks Amanda and take care x
Thanks Pauline!
Hmmm I can’t say I’ve really have an interesting story or an interesting job
but i would love to win a copy of the book!
Laura Kay
http://www.anovelreview.blogspot.com
Thanks Laura – consider yourself entered in the draw!
Great to hear that an old class mate is realising their dreams, I heard that you were writing a book, well Done.
I haven’t had many jobs but they have had their wierd moments.
In my younger days I worked in the Ascot area. I had booked a week off, but it hadn’t been confirmed, so that week I went into work as normal. To my horror I was only paid a bonus pay which was a couple of pound and no regular pay. I was a little wet behind the ears then and let them get away with only paying me my bonus pay. My mum still expected her rent for the week.
not sure it taught me a leason though.
Good luck with the writing
Hi Al – thanks for entering the draw.
The best job I had was as a “Hello” girl, in the late 1960s (GPO telephone operator). It was before the country was on fully automatic dialling, and we had to connect many calls via the exchange. One day, I got a very muffled caller, who I couldn’t understand – so I kept saying (as we were taught to) “I’m sorry caller, could you repeat that please?”. After three attempts, the guy suddenly swore and hung up. It was only then that his words came clear, and I realised he’d been trying to make a dirty call… I think I rather ruined the impact! Other than that call, I really loved my job!
Brita – that job sounds like so much fun (dodgy callers aside!) Thanks for entering the giveaway.