Allison Winn Scotch is one of my favorte modern writers and she has a new book, The One That I Want, coming out this week. Allison is a New York Times Best Selling Fiction novelist, advice blogger and celebrity interviewer. Needless to say, I was thrilled to do a Q&A with her, where I ask about writing, Motherhood, and her twitter crush on Hugh Grant:
Q: You give great advice for both newbies and established writers on your blog . Have you ever thought of writing a Non-Fiction book based on the advice you give there?
Wow, that's a good idea and one that, honestly, I haven't considered. But, that said, I probably wouldn't pursue it. I like the intimacy of the blog - being able to chat with readers - and I also think there are others out there who would be better at publishing a full book about it. Besides, then I'd have to take time away from my fiction, and I enjoy it too much to do that!
Q: I love that you actively use Social Media (FB, twitter, blogging) in your real life! Can we expect your next heroine to be as internet savvy as you?
Ha! No. In fact, she's the opposite. The heroine of my next book, The Memory of Us, which is out in 2011, loses her memory in a plane crash, and she's thus rendered pretty technologically illiterate. One of the themes, in fact, is her catching up on the things, like Friends, that she loved in the '90s. So she's not such a 2010-type of gal. :)
Q: Your last novel Time of My Life, and I gather the new one The One That I Want, require a bit of suspension of disbelief. Is it difficult to decide how far to push those subjects?
It is, and it's something that we've been discussing a lot with The Memory of Us: how far can we push the sci-fi stuff before it becomes more of a distraction and less of an enhancement to the book. That said, with both TOML and TWTIW, these tools (time-travel, flash-forwards) are mostly used to create bigger stakes and to force the heroine to ask those big, life altering questions. What if you're not living the life you want? What if you see your life falling apart? THEN WHAT? So that's why I employed those tools. From there, I try to write as honestly and as intimately as possible. I think you can use those unrealistic plot devices AS LONG as your writing, and the journey of your heroine, is realistic from there on out. So I'm pretty conscious of that.
Q: The title of your new book, The One That I Want, reminds me of a favorite childhood movie with lots of singing, dancing and teenage angst. A coincidence?
Nope. :) Not a coincidence at all. The book is set in a high school, and yes, the senior musical that year is Grease.
Q: Along with your novels, you also do celebrity interviews for a national magazine. Is that job as fun as it seems to be?
Usually. Not always. The fun part is chatting with an actor whom you admire (or perhaps have a mad crush on!). The logistics of setting up those interviews is a lot less fun and can be headache-inducing, to be honest. I've become friendly with some publicists, but not all of them are easy to deal with, and you run into snags and cancellations all the time. And, of course, if one of the celebs fails to live up to your expectations...well...bubble punctured. (Fortunately, this doesn't happen often. I generally only interview folks I suspect I'll already like.)
Q: Logically I'm sure that people in your life understand your characters are fictional. But has a friend or family member ever been convinced a character is based on them? And was it?
Yes and no. It's a tricky situation because people believe what they want to believe, and sometimes, rationality isn't involved. That said, I genuinely DO NOT write with friends and family in mind. In fact, I find that almost limiting because you back yourself into a caricature. So...people will assume what they want to assume (including that these books are about my own life), and you just have to move on from it.
Q: How do you juggle Motherhood with writing, which you primarily do from your home? Do you have set hours? What if inspiration hits right at dinner time or the kid's bed time?
I'm lucky that I have a great babysitter who comes each day to give me some time to get my work done. I truly couldn't be as productive without her. To that end, I treat this job pretty much like any working mom treats her job: when I'm in my office, I'm working (or at least pretending to work!). Of course, I have more flexibility than moms who work outside of the home, and I can do things like hang out with my daughter for lunch or attend my kids' swim classes, but for the most part, when it's work time...I work. I have deadlines, and to be honest, I love being productive, so that part of it isn't too hard for me. As far as inspiration striking, I sincerely try NOT to do any work during dinner or bedtime or what not. The phone gets set aside, the laptop goes into sleep mode. So inspiration doesn't strike too often then...I'm usually to busy cleaning up or hearing about school or settling an argument over who gets to choose what show they get to watch after dinner. But, if it did strike, I'd probably just jot something down and return to it after the house was quiet.
Q: What is on your summer reading list?
I'm really looking forward to Janelle Brown's This Is Where We Live, as well as Kristin van Ogtrop's Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom. I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy of Elin Hilderbrand's The Island and highly recommend it too.
Q: Allison is an avid tweeter (@aswinn) and could possibly have a tiny Twitter crush on fellow tweeter, Hugh Grant. Can I be a bridesmaid at your and Hugh Grant's wedding? Just kidding! ;-)
Only if you can get my husband to come as your date! And then...YES. It's on!
When not writing for Yo! Ladies Amber can be found at Me & Jorge where she blogs about her recent weight loss and at Android Mom writing about Smartphones for women and the family.
Great article! I just bought her book and can't wait to read it!