Jump to content

Featured Author - Carole Matthews


Recommended Posts

 

What better genre to choose for Feburary than romantic comedy, and what better author to have join us than Carole Matthews? :friends0:

 

Carole is an international bestselling author, with a warm sense of humour that shines out of her books. Her most recent publication is Welcome to the Real World, and The Chocolate Lovers Club goes on sale in the UK in just a few days.

 

My interview with Carol will follow very shortly, and Carole will also monitor this thread, and answer any questions you may have.

 

Interview

Reviews:

The Chocolate Lovers' Club

A Whiff of Scandal

 

Thank you Carole...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 91
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Hi Guys

 

I thought I'd try to introduce myself early and check out whether my technology skills were up to scratch! Looking forward to questions about my books or writing in general. I also know more about chocolate than is healthy after doing the research for The Chocolate Lovers' Club, if that's something that you want to ask about. Best Carole xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read nearly all of Phillipa Gregory's books - only one or two missing. And I also followed her career when she was writing chicklitty books and the odd psychological thriller. But it's her historicals I love best. The Virgin's Lover and The Queens Fool plus The Other Boleyn Girl are top of my list. I think her new one is just about out - so I must get that! Carole xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Purple Poppy. My organisation for my research is fairly basic. I keep one massive brown folder on my desk with all my clips, info and scribblings in it. How hi-tech is that?? When I visit somewhere for research I'll also take hundreds (and I mean hundreds!) of digital photos and usually some video too. I keep all that in a filing cabinet ad infinitum - you never know when it might come in handy! Carole

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Kell - I think that coming from near Liverpool, I'm genetically programmed to have a skewed sense of humour. I don't think I could write without humour if I tried - I always seem to find the funny side in things. I'll be the one at the back of a funeral in fits of giggles - most inappropriate! But I hope that I bring that sense of fun and the ridiculous to my books!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi BuzzyBee! Glad to hear you like my books. Favourite authors include Harlan Coben, Phillipa Gregory (as I've mentioned). Also like - in my own genre - Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella. In the USA I like Sarah Mlynowski and Robyn Harding (although I think she's actually Canadian. I recently read a book by Kelly Braffet called Fabulous Things which was wonderful - will be looking out for her next one. I was inspired to write by a lovely lady called Norma Curtis. Years ago she wrote a book called Living It Up, Living It Down. It was the first book I'd read about normal things and normal people and it was set partly in Hemel Hempstead - where Iwas living at the time. That inspired me because I thought - I could do that too! Carole

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Carole, Welcome to the site, thanks for joining us!

 

..I was just wondering if you had a system for your writing, do you plough through in one stream of consciousness and edit/re-write afterwards or do you plan and write to a predefined structure? Do you know the endings before the beginnings?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Princessponti. I do quite a lot of planning. I spend about two weeks setting up my characters - I write complete histories for them (that I never use) and I even cut pictures out of magazines so that I can imagine what they look like. When I start to write it means that I know my characters inside and out. I also do a basic outline of where I think I need to go with the story. My books are, generally, around 100,000 words and I like to have some idea of the twists and turns required to get to the end. However, once I start writing, it very rarely ends up like that! With The Sweetest Taboo - I didn't know the ending right up to the last paragraph. I think when you set out your characters so well, then they sometimes dictate the story, rather than you having to 'shoehorn' them into situations. I start each day's writing by editing what I've done the day before to get me back into the flow and then I edit once again when I get to the end. That's it. I think if you over-edit, then you can take the life out of the books. I'd rather have it a big scraggier, but faster paced! Best Carole xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Carole. Thanks for answering my previous question. I had not thought about pictures, but now I think about it, its a very sensible idea.

I have just finished reading 'Lets Meet On Platform 8' which I thoroughly enjoyed, not least because right until the end I wasn't entirely sure which way Jamie would go. Was this story from personal experience...and I don't mean you, (I wouldn't be that rude)I mean people or friends' experience...watching the pain and the doubt? It seemed to explore the moral issues very clearly, and the awful dilemma that results in an unexpected and unplanned relationship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Carole

 

Nice to 'meet' you.

 

I have two questions for you, one from as a reader, and one as a writer:

 

Firstly, when you write your books, do you ever find your storylines going off on a tangent that you had never considered when you started the book?

 

Secondly, have you ever had to be your own publicist? My first book is due out soon - I'm very shy and finding it hard to promote myself. I'm interested in a successful author's experience of book promotion.

 

Thanks in advance, and please keep writing!

 

Take care,

Kerri (writing as Holly A Harvey)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Michelle - yes all the recipes on The Chocolate Lovers' Club website are my tried and tested favourites! I'm known among my friends for my choccy desserts... : ) How could I not enjoy researching chocolate??? I got to visit some lovely chocolate shops, eat loads of chocolate and call it work. Life doesn't get much better than that! Carole xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Michelle - Yes, this is the first time I've used four characters in a book. I love Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives and wanted to see if I could create the same sort of thing with my book. I love group dynamics. But now I've got so much material that I'm having to do a sequel to tie up all of the loose ends in their lives! That will be out in August - called The Chocolate Lovers' Diet. Carole xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...