When aspiring actress Julie Farrell meets actor Zac Diaz, she is instantly attracted to him, but he shows no interest in her. Julie, who has yet to land her first professional acting role, can’t help wishing that her life was more like a musical, and that she could meet a handsome man who’d sweep her into his arms and tap-dance her along the street…
After early success on the stage, Zac has spent the last three years in Hollywood, but has failed to forge a film career. Now back in London, he is determined to re-establish himself as a theatre actor. Focused solely on his work, he has no time for distractions, and certainly no intention of getting entangled in a committed relationship…
Auditioning for a new West End show, Julie and Zac act out a love scene, but will they ever share more than a stage kiss?
Title: There She Goes
Author: Lynne Shelby
Published By: Accent Press
Publication Date: 6th June 2019
Author Q and A with Lynne Shelby
Welcome to Sincerely Book Angels.
What was the inspiration behind There She Goes?
Although I’ve never wanted to act professionally, I love visiting London’s West End to see a play or a musical, and most of my relatives and many of my friends work in theatre or film. I find their world fascinating, and this gave me the idea for a novel about an aspiring musical theatre actress. Acting can be a very glamorous career, but I know from the experiences of my friends and relatives that it can also be a precarious and demanding way to earn a living, with years of gruelling training and countless rejections at auditions before you land the role of your dreams. I hope that ‘There She Goes’ will give readers a glimpse of the hard work it takes to be successful in Theatreland.
Did you always want to be a writer?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I first submitted a manuscript – an adventure story about a group of teenagers discovering a mysterious, unknown island – to a publisher when I was fourteen. They didn’t publish it, but a kind editor sent me a letter encouraging me to keep writing. I’m very glad I took her advice!
What other jobs have you had?
I’ve done all sorts of jobs, from stable girl to child actors’ chaperone to legal assistant, but now I’m lucky enough to write full time – which I think is the best job in the world!
How did it feel when your first novel was published?
Receiving the phone call that told me my first novel was to be published was a moment of total delight and amazement that I’ll never forget – I was ecstatic. I honestly felt as though I was floating above the ground!
Can you please tell us a little about your publishing story.
Back in November 2014, I spotted the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing competition for new, unpublished, contemporary women’s fiction writers, with a prize of a publishing contract and a writing holiday at Chez Castillon, a writer’s retreat in south-west France. As an aspiring author, I’d found entering writing competitions, with the need to meet a deadline and keep to a word count a good way to hone my writing, and I’d won a couple of small flash fictions competitions, but I’d never before entered a competition of that size – or one with such an incredible prize. I sent off my entry – the first three chapters and a synopsis of my novel – and told myself not to think about it. In January 2015, I got the phone call that told me I’d won. After my debut novel was accepted for publication, I got a further three-book contract.
What other books have you written?
My debut novel is ‘French Kissing,’ in which two childhood penfriends, one English and one French, meet as adults, when friendship could become something more. My next novel, ‘The One That I Want,’ is the first in the ‘Theatreland’ series of stand-alone novels set in the world of film and theatre. It’s the story of a girl working as a theatrical agent, who literally falls into the arms of a bad-boy A-List movie star and, against her better judgement, finds herself swept up into his celebrity lifestyle. ‘There She Goes’ is the second book in the ‘Theatreland’ series, and the third, ‘Take a Chance on Me,’ is to be published in June 2020. The books can be read in any order, but are linked by the setting and some of the characters who appear in all of them.
What motivates you to keep writing?
It’s all down to the characters who arrive in my head demanding that their story be told. When I start writing a new novel, I usually know the beginning and the end, but have very little idea what is going to happen in the middle – but I do know my characters very well. There always comes a point when they seem to take over the plot!
Where is your favourite place to write? ( can we please have a picture.)
Receiving the phone call that told me my first novel was to be published was a moment of total delight and amazement that I’ll never forget – I was ecstatic. I honestly felt as though I was floating above the ground!
Can you please tell us a little about your publishing story.
Back in November 2014, I spotted the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing competition for new, unpublished, contemporary women’s fiction writers, with a prize of a publishing contract and a writing holiday at Chez Castillon, a writer’s retreat in south-west France. As an aspiring author, I’d found entering writing competitions, with the need to meet a deadline and keep to a word count a good way to hone my writing, and I’d won a couple of small flash fictions competitions, but I’d never before entered a competition of that size – or one with such an incredible prize. I sent off my entry – the first three chapters and a synopsis of my novel – and told myself not to think about it. In January 2015, I got the phone call that told me I’d won. After my debut novel was accepted for publication, I got a further three-book contract.
What other books have you written?
My debut novel is ‘French Kissing,’ in which two childhood penfriends, one English and one French, meet as adults, when friendship could become something more. My next novel, ‘The One That I Want,’ is the first in the ‘Theatreland’ series of stand-alone novels set in the world of film and theatre. It’s the story of a girl working as a theatrical agent, who literally falls into the arms of a bad-boy A-List movie star and, against her better judgement, finds herself swept up into his celebrity lifestyle. ‘There She Goes’ is the second book in the ‘Theatreland’ series, and the third, ‘Take a Chance on Me,’ is to be published in June 2020. The books can be read in any order, but are linked by the setting and some of the characters who appear in all of them.
What motivates you to keep writing?
It’s all down to the characters who arrive in my head demanding that their story be told. When I start writing a new novel, I usually know the beginning and the end, but have very little idea what is going to happen in the middle – but I do know my characters very well. There always comes a point when they seem to take over the plot!
Where is your favourite place to write? ( can we please have a picture.)
When my children were young I wrote anywhere and everywhere – sitting in a car waiting for them to come out of ballet lessons or on the kitchen worktop while I was cooking – but when my eldest moved into her own flat, her bedroom became my writing room. My desk, which I made myself from a kit, is by a window overlooking my garden, so even although I live in a town, I have a view of trees and flowers. There are still times when I write in other places – I’ve no objection to writing beside a swimming pool when on holiday! – but my writing room is my favourite place to write.
What three pieces of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
1. Write as often as you can, as this will keep your story flowing and fresh in your mind, but don’t beat yourself up if other commitments mean you can’t write every day – writers need to get out in the world to have something to write about.
2. Read as much as possible, not just in your chosen genre if you have one, but in other genres and mainstream books as well, and think about what it is that makes a book ‘work’ for you as a reader.
3. If your dream is to be a published writer, never give up, because dreams can come true.
Which authors inspire you?
Jane Austen, Ursula Le Guin and Sergeanne Golon are all writers who inspired me to become an author.
What is your next book about?
My next book, ‘Take a Chance on Me’, is about a girl who, years ago, abandoned her plans to become an actress, and what happens when a man from her past returns to the quiet seaside town where she still lives, and reminds her of the dreams she once had.
Thank you so much for joining us Lynne and good luck with the book.
Sincerely
Book Angel x
About the Author
Lynne Shelby writes contemporary women’s fiction/romance. Her debut novel, ‘French Kissing’ won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition, and her latest novel, ‘There She Goes’, is one of a series of stand-alone books set in and around London’s Theatreland. When not writing or reading, Lynne can usually be found at the theatre or exploring a foreign city, writer's notebook, camera and sketchbook in hand. She lives in London with her husband, and has three adult children who live nearby.
No comments:
Post a Comment