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jessica
adams
>my
latest fave read>top
ten all-time reads>top
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interviews>
Damn funny author and supporter of the War Child charity, Jessica Adams talks about chocolate chip biscuits, astrology books and pink dressing gowns.
What
inspires you to write?
I get excited about a period in history (like 1979, the subject of my
new novel) or a curly situation (like being in love with your best man,
in Tom Dick and Debbie Harry) or something amazing that's actually happened
to me
(communicating with the spirit world, which features in I'm A Believer.)
How
long does it take you to write a novel?
With corrections and editorial changes, it takes about nine months - like
the average pregnancy.
Do
you have a writing routine? If so, what is it?
I have no routine. I eat a lot of wheat-free chocolate chip biscuits,
type in my pink dressing-gown and then collapse around midnight. I wish
I could have a routine like Agatha Christie and P.G.Wodehouse did, but
it's never happened.
Has
your life changed since you became a novelist?
I don't iron my clothes any more.
How
do you cure writer's block?
I never get writers' block, touch wood.
What
is your all-time desert island book?
That's easy. An astrological ephemeris (record of the planets and their
positions.) If you're going to be stranded, you need to know what's going
on in the cosmos.
What
are you reading at the moment?
The new Nick Hornby book, 31 Songs.
What's
the biggest myth about being a writer?
That it makes you a nice person. I've met some writers who are so ghastly
they should be kept in an attic.
What
advice would you give budding authors?
Just do it. Most people talk about writing a book and never get beyond
Chapter Three. Finish it - it's really not that hard. Show friends you
trust, then rewrite it if three friends all tell you the same thing. Then
choose an agent (loads of websites online will show you who to choose
from) and send a letter, a three page synopsis, and...if they give you
a thumbs-up after that...the entire manuscript. Don't scatter-gun agents.
Do expect to wait a few weeks to hear the yes or no. Don't be put off
by rejections - remember J.K.Rowling!
What
can readers expect from you in the future?
Cool For Cats is out in Summer in the UK and Australia this year. It's
set on a music magazine in 1979 and has cameos from Reg Mombassa
and Clare Grogan. My next astrology book is Astrobloke, out in late 2003.
In the USA, a hardback edition of I'm A Believer is set for release this
Spring.
