It Started With a Kiss (34 page)

Hello sweethearts, how are you doing today? I’m sure I have a little something sweet to help … Look down the list to find the perfect remedy for how you’re feeling. Enjoy! Lots of love, Auntie Mags xx

Anticipation – Raspberry Meringue cake

Calming anxiety – Bakewell tart

Celebrations – Maple and Walnut pancake stacks

Clear focus – Blackberry and Apple cake

Courage – Ginger cake

Determination – Millionaire’s Shortbread

Dreams – Fruit bread with real butter

Energy – Triple-layer Chocolate cake

Feeling under the weather – Victoria sponge with real strawberries

First love – White Chocolate and Rose torte

Following your heart – Triple Chocolate Marble cake

Hangover cure – Honey and Almond chewy flapjacks

Happiness – Lemon and Lime Meringue pie

Honesty – White chocolate and Elderflower cake

Hope – Carrot cake

Making decisions – Coffee and Walnut cake

Mending a broken heart – Lemon Drizzle cake

New beginnings – Strawberry and white chocolate cake

Spontaneity – Fruit cake

Tiredness – Apple and cinnamon pie

Uncertainty – St. Clements cake

Here’s a sneak peak of the author questionnaire
that will be appearing on Miranda’s website:
www.miranda-dickinson.com

Do you spend a lot of time researching your novels?

Yes, I do. It’s something I’ve always done with my writing, long before I was published. I love stories where I can learn something, whether it’s about the location, the type of job that a character does, or a central theme of the book – so I try to bring that into the stories I write.

For this novel, a lot of the band and gig references came from my own experience, but I wanted to research the bits of weddings that the band don’t generally get to see. So I looked at a lot of wedding venues, met people who work in the wedding industry and spent many happy hours wandering through magazines and excellent wedding blogs like www.rocknrollbride.com and www.theweddingofmydreams.com.

I also received amazing research help from my fabulous Twitter followers, who have saved my sanity on many occasions through the writing and editing process of my books. This time they’ve shared their best and worst wedding stories, told me about amazing wedding venues and even inspired details about the characters. I love this side of research – not least because it makes a nice change from the solitary pursuit of writing!

What is a typical working day like for you?

I don’t have one! I work part-time, so writing has to take place around my day job. I have two days a week to write, together with evenings and weekends. I don’t have a set working pattern, but actually this works well for me – with everything else so varied, it helps to be flexible about when, where and how I write. When I have a deadline to meet, I will write at every opportunity and at all hours to get it done!

I generally try to write something every day (although I never beat myself up if I don’t) and I always carry notebooks with me for jotting down ideas, snippets of dialogue and character sketches. One of the things that makes writing so exciting is the fact that inspiration is everywhere. For example, Harri, the main character in
Welcome to My World,
was inspired by a really cool-looking young woman I saw in my local coffee shop in Stourbridge. She just looked like the kind of person who could have a fascinating life – and that was my starting point for the character. Love it when that happens!

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you cope with it?

I’ve definitely had times when I can’t resolve a problem in my plot, or not been sure where to take a character next. I think every writer experiences that. But since I became a published writer with a schedule to meet and scary deadlines, I’ve had to find ways of getting round the problems!

The best remedy I’ve found is to write ahead of the obstacle. I’ll write a scene that comes later in the plot and focus on that rather than feeling helpless about the problem. I believe that writer’s block is ninety-nine percent psychological and one percent problem. So if you can trick your mind into thinking you’ve already resolved the problem, it will often resolve itself.

Do your characters ever surprise you?

All the time! In fact, I would be rather disappointed if they didn’t …

I know that some writers like to have everything neatly planned before they begin, but I can’t work like that. While I believe wholeheartedly in having a good structure for my novels, I always leave room for serendipitous things to appear. More often than not, the little scenes, bits of conversation or cameo characters that appear when I’m not expecting them to are the ones that people who have read my books seem to love the most.

Major characters surprise me, too (which is one of the things I love best about writing). For example, in my first novel,
Fairytale of New York
, Ed Steinmann was initially just meant to be a supporting cast member and a bit of a sidekick for Rosie in her florists’ store, Kowalski’s. But as soon as I started to write him, he assumed centre-stage and ended up becoming one of the book’s major characters. Although I know I’ll look like a loon for saying this, I am almost convinced that
he
decided to build up his role …

Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?

Awesome question! OK, here goes …

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

It’s a joke among my friends that I end up with the most random jobs and, believe me, I’ve worked in some odd places. I once had to sing backing vocals for a Nigerian reggae gospel singer in a Nigerian accent so it fitted in with his voice. I also worked in a small industrial bag factory in a converted stable that was allegedly haunted by a ghost horse (I’m not kidding, they brought a medium in and everything). But probably the oddest job I’ve had (and, strangely, one of the jobs I’ve enjoyed the most) was a tour guide at a nuclear power station when I lived in Essex. Imagine an air stewardess’ uniform with matching hard hat, ear defenders and steel toe-capped shoes – that was my uniform! It was a great job and I met so many interesting people as I took them around the site, including a team of nuclear physicists and a Dambusters pilot!

And what can you tell us about your next novel?

It’s going to be fabulous! There will be rivalry, awesome tunes and maybe the odd jazz hand, all set in a gorgeous seaside location. I know you’re going to love it!

Loved the book? Want to know more about the characters, read extra scenes and access bonus content to extend your
It Started With a Kiss
experience? Visit Miranda’s website!

Miranda explains: ‘I love it when you get a bonus features section on a DVD of a film or TV series and I thought, why not do that with a book? I’ve created my ‘Book Extras’ – soundtracks, deleted scenes, character notes, random facts about the making of the book, interviews with the lead cast members and more. You can even hear
Last First Kiss
– the song that Romily writes with Jack in Chapter 8! I hope you’ll find something on my website that you’ll love!’

www.miranda-dickinson.com