Best friends Evie, Krista and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New
York. They're regular girls with typical quarter life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making
sense of online dating, and making rent.
Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well ...gorgeous. Like,
supermodelgorgeous. With a single drop, each young woman gets the gift of jaw-dropping beauty
for one week, presenting them with unimaginable opportunities to make their biggest fantasies
come true.
But there's a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-
day Cinderellas, there's just one question left: What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?
York. They're regular girls with typical quarter life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making
sense of online dating, and making rent.
Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well ...gorgeous. Like,
supermodelgorgeous. With a single drop, each young woman gets the gift of jaw-dropping beauty
for one week, presenting them with unimaginable opportunities to make their biggest fantasies
come true.
But there's a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-
day Cinderellas, there's just one question left: What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?
Author Q & A
Hi Georgia, welcome to Sincerely Book Angels blog and thanks for agreeing to answer our questions.
What was the inspiration behind this
novel?
I wanted to
write something that was entertaining, sexy and progressive. I love feminist
pop culture, and feeling like I’m in on the joke. I also wanted to get down and
dirty with the topic of beauty, and think more about what it meant to me, and
my community. And let’s be real, who doesn’t want a job they can show up to in
their PJs?
Did you always want to be a writer?
I guess I
always just was a writer, before it was even a conscious goal, so yes. I was
the one writing 6-page stories when the teacher asked for a few paragraphs, I
made zines at university, and have dabbled in many different forms:
screenplays, plays, fan fiction, short fiction—you name it!
What other jobs have you had?
I was the
editor of a music magazine for two very cool years in my 20s, back in Sydney.
Short ill-fated stints as a lazy telemarketer and a bad waitress. I was a paid
student organizer on campus at uni, for women’s issues and queer issues. One
summer I was paid cash to test sunscreen. It was a weird summer.
How did it feel when your first novel
was published?
Really
surreal. It was a short YA novel called She’s
With The Band that came out in Australia in 2008. It was a bizarrely easy
writing and publishing process and made me think that this whole writing-a-book
thing was super easy. I was wrong—so wrong (my next book didn’t sell. Talk
about a wake-up call!)
Have you ever had writer's block? If
so how did you overcome it?
Just by
starting. I’ll write anything, I’ll write the worst scene in history. I know
that I’ll be able to come back and cut or clarify later. But I have to beat
that blank page.
What motivates you to keep writing?
Deadlines
and ambition.
Do your characters moods ever affect
your mood and vice versa?
They affect
my moods, generally not the other way around. I’ll feel light and giggly after
a funny scene or dark and drawn-out after a sad scene. The character I’m
working with now is very wordy and better educated than I am: I find her using
words I didn’t even know I knew. It’s pretty cool.
What three pieces of advice would you
give to an aspiring writer?
1. Write an outline. I work from a
detailed outline that my agent and editor have provided notes on before I
even think about starting Chapter 1. It saves time and lets me solve any
structural problems before I write them into existence. It might not end up
being for you, but try it and see if it streamlines your process a little.
2. Read your genre. It's non-negotiable:
you can’t publish in a genre you’re not well-versed in. I listen to audiobooks
on my commute to keep up with new releases.
3. Learn how to be a good manager.
As an author (or as any creative), you’re both the manager and the talent. As
well as devoting time to your craft, make sure you’re also being a great
manager of you. A great manager doesn’t scream at you for a dud day’s
work, likewise, they don’t let you watch TV all weekend when you’ve committed
to writing. Maybe it’s setting guidelines for hours in the chair, or word
limits, or deadlines: whatever you know you will respond to. Personally, I set
slightly ambitious deadlines because the stickler workhorse in me will always
meet them.
Which authors inspire you?
I love David
Mitchell, Truman Capote, Margaret Atwood, Susan Cooper, Gillian Flynn, David
Sedaris, Maggie Stiefvater, F Scott Fitzgerald, Karen Russell, Hunter S
Thompson and memoirs by funny ladies like Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Lena Dunham,
Carrie Brownstein, Judith Lucy and Mindy Kaling. My book of the summer was The Girls by Emma Cline, which is so
beautiful and spooky.
What are you reading at the moment?
I just
finished Room, by Emma Donoghue. I
know, I was so late to the party! I was sort of nervous about it, because the
premise is so terrifying, but those of you who’ve also read it know she handled
in beautifully. What a powerful writer: Jack was one of the most distinct and
compelling narrators I’ve read in years. I could not out it down.
If your book was made into a film
what song would you choose for the opening credits?
Great
question. Maybe Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” or “Run the World”, or Meghan Trainer’s “All
About That Bass”.
Who would you choose to play your
favourite character in the film of your book?
I think
Jessica Biel would make a great Velma Woolf. She’s got that seductive energy
that’s subtle and mysterious. And Ellen Page should play Quinn, natch.
What is your next book about?
Sex, fame
and friendship in 1920s Hollywood.
And now think about the books you've
read and just give the first one that comes into your head for our quickfire
'Which book round.'
Which
book has made you:
Laugh out loud? Bossypants, by Tina Fey and
everything by David Sedaris.
Cry your heart out? The Scorpio Races, by Maggie
Stiefvater
Want to read it again? The Girls, by Emma Cline
Think more: Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women's
Lives by Autumn Whitefield-Madrano
Wish it would be made into a
film: The Lucy Family
Alphabet, by Judith Lucy
Shocked: Luckiest Girl Alive, by Jessica
Knoll or anything written by Gillian Flynn
Scared:
Luna Park and American Psycho, both by Bret Easton Ellis
Thank
you so much for joining us on our blog today and good luck with the book.
THANK
YOU!
Sincerely
Book Angel x
About the Author
lifestyle magazines, and writes for TV. She is enthusiastically vegetarian, proudly queer, definitely a
city-dweller, a long-time lover and supporter of the arts and an advocate for the empowerment of
young women.
- Follow me on Twitter/Instagram @georgialouclark
- Sign up to my mailing list from my website georgiaclark.com
- Like my author page on Facebook
as well as buying the book natch.
- Sign up to my mailing list from my website georgiaclark.com
- Like my author page on Facebook
as well as buying the book natch.
