Author Interview - Carrie Adams

[Michelle]

Having loved The Stepmother, it was a pleasure to ask Carrie Adams the following questions..

 

Q. If we start at the beginning, have you always enjoyed writing, or is it something that you’ve started recently?

 

A. I wrote four crime novels under another name but it wasn’t until I wrote THE GODMOTHER that I feel I found my voice.

 

Q. Your first book, THE GODMOTHER, has been labelled ‘Chick Noir’. Can you tell us a little about what that means, and what makes this book different to ‘chick lit’?

 

A. A chick is a baby bird, I write for women, perhaps the publisher should have labelled it Hen Pen… Then again maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t work in marketing.

 

Q.Where did the character of Tessa come from.., is she based on you, or someone that you know?

 

A. She is a little part of almost every woman I know, we all have strengths and weaknesses, areas we excel and others where we fail. She is me and she is the complete opposite of me… jeez women are complex!

 

Q. How about the other characters… do you tend to draw on people you know, or do they come from your imagination?

 

A. One character is taken completely from real life, the rest are made up, but I’m not telling you which one.

 

Q. Tessa’s story continues in THE STEPMOTHER… did you plan this from the beginning, or did it become obvious at the end of THE GODMOTHER that she had more to tell?

 

A. Actually, Tessa only made it into THE STEPMOTHER by the skin of her teeth. Maybe she shouldn’t have. What was really important to me was that the reader sympathises with both women, the ex-wife (Bea) and the ‘new’ woman (Tessa), this is a story about what happens when your enemy could make the best alibi if only you’d let them.

 

Q. You tackle a lot of varying issues in your books, how do you ‘research’ these…do you draw on the experiences of friends, or find other people to talk to you.

 

A. For this book I needed the wisdom of hindsight, but hindsight can only be earned, so I talked to a lot of women who’d earned it. The idea came a long time ago from a vicar I know who told me women burying elderly parents often ‘confessed’ that their inconsolable grief was really reserved for a secret loss many years previously – that may sound weird but I don’t want to give too much away.

 

Q. I could imagine your books as films… who would you like to see playing Tessa and Bea?

 

A. Helen McCory would be a good Bea, but she’d have to eat some buns. I’d like an unknown for Tessa, I went to some lengths to keep her physical details to a minimum so that the reader could transpose themselves on to her if they like.

 

Q. How long, on average, does each book take to write, starting from the initial idea?

 

A. Interesting question. The publisher is always clambering for a book a year, but I think characters take more than that to solidify. I throw out many ideas before the one that comes along so that I can see from end to end in an instant.

 

Q. Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next? Are you carrying on the stories of any of these characters, or moving on to something different?

 

A. I’ll let you know when I know.

 

Q. Do you enjoy reading for relaxation? If so, which books and authors do you enjoy?

 

A. Reading combines my two other favourite things – bath oil and good wine, I get irritable if I don’t have a book on the go. As for favourites, that is always such a hard question. If I had to take a collection to a desert island Pat Conroy springs to mind, or John Irving, then again can’t go wrong with Jilly Cooper, then again I love THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBORD is a must… oh I don’t know, ask me one on sport.

Having loved The Stepmother, it was a pleasure to ask Carrie Adams the following questions..

 

Q. If we start at the beginning, have you always enjoyed writing, or is it something that you’ve started recently?

 

A. I wrote four crime novels under another name but it wasn’t until I wrote THE GODMOTHER that I feel I found my voice.

 

Q. Your first book, THE GODMOTHER, has been labelled ‘Chick Noir’. Can you tell us a little about what that means, and what makes this book different to ‘chick lit’?

 

A. A chick is a baby bird, I write for women, perhaps the publisher should have labelled it Hen Pen… Then again maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t work in marketing.

 

Q.Where did the character of Tessa come from.., is she based on you, or someone that you know?

 

A. She is a little part of almost every woman I know, we all have strengths and weaknesses, areas we excel and others where we fail. She is me and she is the complete opposite of me… jeez women are complex!

 

Q. How about the other characters… do you tend to draw on people you know, or do they come from your imagination?

 

A. One character is taken completely from real life, the rest are made up, but I’m not telling you which one.

 

Q. Tessa’s story continues in THE STEPMOTHER… did you plan this from the beginning, or did it become obvious at the end of THE GODMOTHER that she had more to tell?

 

A. Actually, Tessa only made it into THE STEPMOTHER by the skin of her teeth. Maybe she shouldn’t have. What was really important to me was that the reader sympathises with both women, the ex-wife (Bea) and the ‘new’ woman (Tessa), this is a story about what happens when your enemy could make the best alibi if only you’d let them.

 

Q. You tackle a lot of varying issues in your books, how do you ‘research’ these…do you draw on the experiences of friends, or find other people to talk to you.

 

A. For this book I needed the wisdom of hindsight, but hindsight can only be earned, so I talked to a lot of women who’d earned it. The idea came a long time ago from a vicar I know who told me women burying elderly parents often ‘confessed’ that their inconsolable grief was really reserved for a secret loss many years previously – that may sound weird but I don’t want to give too much away.

 

Q. I could imagine your books as films… who would you like to see playing Tessa and Bea?

 

A. Helen McCory would be a good Bea, but she’d have to eat some buns. I’d like an unknown for Tessa, I went to some lengths to keep her physical details to a minimum so that the reader could transpose themselves on to her if they like.

 

Q. How long, on average, does each book take to write, starting from the initial idea?

 

A. Interesting question. The publisher is always clambering for a book a year, but I think characters take more than that to solidify. I throw out many ideas before the one that comes along so that I can see from end to end in an instant.

 

Q. Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next? Are you carrying on the stories of any of these characters, or moving on to something different?

 

A. I’ll let you know when I know.

 

Q. Do you enjoy reading for relaxation? If so, which books and authors do you enjoy?

 

A. Reading combines my two other favourite things – bath oil and good wine, I get irritable if I don’t have a book on the go. As for favourites, that is always such a hard question. If I had to take a collection to a desert island Pat Conroy springs to mind, or John Irving, then again can’t go wrong with Jilly Cooper, then again I love THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBORD is a must… oh I don’t know, ask me one on sport.

 

July 2008