What genre would you
say your novels fall into, or do they defy classification?
They’re romantic fiction. Most readers on Amazon or
Goodreads call them chick lit, although a bookseller would say that chick lit
books are urban whereas most of mine are not. They contain witticisms but I
doubt they’re funny enough to be called rom coms. They’re definitely romantic
but I don’t shy away from difficult subjects.
What made you choose
that genre?
I love it. It’s what I like to read. I used to write more in
the family drama genre as my agent of the time saw that as the area with most
potential. However, when I discovered my present publisher, Choc Lit, I found
that they published exactly what I like to write most: romantic fiction with a
hot hero and part of the book told from the hero’s point of view.
How long does it take
you to write a book?
Around a year but I do a lot of other stuff. I teach, appraise
manuscripts, run workshops, write columns, short stories and serials. If I
didn’t do any of that I’d probably write two books a year.
What is your work
schedule like when you're writing?
If I’m working at home, I tend to work with students in the
mornings and write in the afternoons. I have a long day, from about 7.30am to
6.00pm, but I often take a long lunch to do a yoga class or a piano class. When
I’m running workshops they can come at any time of the week, including weekends
or evenings, or even run into an entire week for a residential course. When
this happens, I write when I can.
Where do you get your
ideas for your books?
Sometimes when I’m thinking about someone I knew in the
past, sometimes because I hear of something interesting or funny I want to use,
sometimes I just seem to daydream things. Maybe these are all dragged out of
the cobwebby recesses of my brain in some way.
When did you write
your first book and how old were you?
Not counting the Enid Blyton rip-offs of about five pages
that I wrote and illustrated when I was 8, I think my first book was completed
in about 1992, when I would have just turned 30. I don’t usually talk about my
age. You’re not going to ask about my weight next, are you?
What do you like to
do when you're not writing?
Read. It’s my big pleasure. I read when other people are
watching TV. My next love (and favourite use for a TV) is watching Formula 1
and I’m officially an F1 bore. I also love to dance (zumba and Fitsteps),
practice yoga, hang out with friends and family (preferably with a glass of
cold white wine in my hand), and I’m learning the piano.
What was one of the
most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
How hard it can be to create a cogent, tightly written plot.
I feel like one of those guys who have plates spinning on sticks. It’s a big
effort to keep them all spinning yet not have any stray plates intrude.
How many books have
you written?
I’m going to say thirteen – but not all of those have been
published. Two were found a suitable home in the bin, one was rewritten as a
serial, one has been shelved forever, one was rewritten as a novella. However,
I write serials, too, and they became large print books and then ebooks. It’s
hard to know how to categorise them.
Which is your
favourite and why?
I can’t have a favourite. It would be like a mother having a
favourite child. But the book that gave me most satisfaction was
Dream a Little Dream, because the hero
has a rare neurological condition, narcolepsy, which causes uncontrolled sleep.
Narcolepsy was really hard to research and to understand, then attribute to a
character in an authoritative but deft way. But people with narcolepsy have
read the book and given good feedback and I was asked to speak at the
Narcolepsy UK conference last year.
As a child, what did
you want to do when you grew up?
Once I was taught how to read and write I just wanted to do
one or the other. Before that, I think I just wanted to own dogs and eat Easter
eggs. I believe I flirted with the idea of being a vet but I couldn’t have
known how bad I was going to turn out to be at science.
What are you working
on now?
Having just finished the proofs for my September 2014 book, The Wedding Proposal, I’m working on The Twelve Dates of Christmas. It’s set
in London and the heroine, Ava, doesn’t like Christmas. She’s got money worries
and her ex is trying to blackmail her with revenge porn. Sam Jermyn is trying
to give his mum, Wendy, and his aunt, Vanessa, a Christmas to remember as Wendy
is ill and is waiting for the diagnosis that will tell her whether she’s likely
to be around for any more Christmases. Wendy and Vanessa brought Sam up and
he’s taken for granted that they have provided him with a great Christmas year
after year. Now it’s his turn to do the same for them.
Twitter: @suemoorcroft
Facebook: sue.moorcroft.3
Published novels:
The Wedding Proposal
Is this Love?
Dream a Little Dream
Love & Freedom
Want to Know a Secret
(published in hardback as Family Matters)
All That Mullarkey
Starting Over
Uphill all the Way
Novellas/serials
A Place to Call Home
Between Two Worlds
Darcie’s Dilemma
Where the Heart is
One Summer in Malta
Collection of short
stories:
All About Love
Non-fiction:
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Humour Verse
and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
