International Chick Lit Month: Interview with Lisa Jewell

I have always been a fan of Lisa Jewell's books and along with Sophie Kinsella, Robyn Sisman, Matt Dunn and Jane Fallon, Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite Chick Lit authors. She has been writing books since 1999 when her first novel, Ralph"s Party became the bestselling debut of the year. Since then her other novels, Thirtysomething, One-Hit Wonder, Vince & Joy,  Friend of the Family, 31 Dream Street, The Truth About Melody Browne and After the Party (the sequel to Ralph's Party) have hit the Sunday Times bestsellers list.  Her new book, The Making of Us is about Daniel who is dying at a hospice and is thinking about his legacy which consists of four kids that he fathered from four different women. They are strangers to him and each other but all share a common bond which is difficult challenges in their lives. However slowly they begin to find their way into each other's lives. I caught up with Lisa to find out about her new book and what she really thinks about Chick Lit.

Describe the concept of your new book, The Making of Us.
The book is about three strangers, all in their twenties, all living completely disparate lives, unexpectedly find each other when it transpires they share an anonymous donor father. I wanted the book to have the feel of one those gripping ITV three night drama mini-series (possibly starring Suranne Jones ;)) where all the loose threads slowly come together.

What do you think of the term Chick Lit? Is it something you find offensive of quite cute?
I find the term neither offensive, nor cute. I mostly find it annoying. I have been answering this question for twelve years now but the issue never seems to die. There are probably people out there who would enjoy my books but don't buy them because they are put off by the chicklit tag. Equally, there are probably people out there who buy my books precisely BECAUSE they are classed as Chick Lit, so maybe the numbers balance themselves out.

Tell us what your favourite Chick Lit books are.
I loved Jemima J by Jane Green and Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes, but probably the best Chick Lit book I ever read was One Day by David Nicholls.

What sort of projects are you working on currently?
I am writing my 10th book. Wow. Hard to believe. After books about neglected children, dead babies, failing marriages and sperm donors, I wanted to see what it would be like to go back to basics and write a good, old-fashioned love story, so that is what I am doing. I think I may be a bit rusty though – I am 175 pages in and my couple have only just said hello to each other.

Quite a few Chick Lit books have been made into films, if you could have a Lisa Jewel book turned into a movie which one would it be?
Well, as I type there are people trying to get 31 Dream Street made into a movie. They have the finances in place, which is half the battle, so hopefully it might come to something. But if I was to choose one, I think maybe Vince & Joy, which is my favourite of all my books.

The Making of Us is available to buy now.

Check out Lisa Jewell's website and you can join her Facebook Fan Page.

Come and Meet Lisa Jewell

Despite being attracted to the vibrant and vigorous marketing campaign for Lisa Jewell's debut novel, Ralph's Party back in 1999, I did not get round to reading her books till a good few years later. Thirtysomething was my first taste of Lisa Jewell(ism) and it certainly left a fantastic taste in my mouth. The story was about Dig and Nadine, two best mates who were doomed for each other except things kept getting in the way. Like Dig's first love, Nadine's career etc. I read the book in a flash and really fell in love with the characters as well as Lisa Jewell's style of writing. I tucked into One-Hit Wonder and A Friend of the Family and enjoyed every bit of them - you see there is something very endearing about the way Lisa writes and you really do fall in love with her characters. So when I received an invite from Random House inviting me to a Blogger event to meet Lisa Jewell herself and other like minded bloggers, I was pretty estatic.

The event took place at Random House headquarters last Wednesday and bloggers such as Efe from Efe Fabulous, Emma from The Adventures of an English Mum, Tamsin from Tamsin's Blog, Hannah from Why Miss Jones, Lisa from The Wright Stuff, Cate from Bitchbuzz and Yasmin Selena. The idea was to celebrate the sequel to Ralph's Party, After the Party which takes place 12 years after the first book. After some nibbles, a glass of wine and some chit chat we all settled down and Lisa Jewell took part in a Q&A where she talked about her life as an author and how her books always have to have a happy ending. How she got started, what her inspirations were, the idea behind the sequel of Ralph's Party. Lisa was a real gem, so down to earth and very inspiring. The staff at Random House were very welcoming and it is so great to see a huge brand like Random really taking the social media thing to another level. It was also really empowering to be in the company of very creative and independent thinking women. The evening ended with pleasantries and we were each given a huge goodie bag with lots of chick lits in. Now I read a lot of blogs especially fashion and beauty ones and I am always jealous of the goodies they receive so this experience was a real coup for me. As well as a copy of After the Party inside the goodie bag were books like Confetti Confidential by Holly McQueen, Lost Innocence by Susan Lewis, Midnight Girls by Lulu Taylor, Truth to Tell by Mavis Cheek, Every Last One by Anna Quindlen, a fancy notebook and of course a large bar of Galaxy chocolate. Needless to say I was very chuffed and it looks like I have a few more titles to add to my 'to be read' pile.

After the Party is available to buy from amazon.

Check out the website for After the Party and you can join the Lisa Jewell Facebook fan page.

You can follow Lisa Jewell on Twitter here.