Saturday 15 November 2014

Interview with Jennifer Gilby Roberts


Hi Jennifer

Thank you for coming on Comet Babes Books today!  Can you tell us something about the books you write?
I write women's fiction, from pure chick lit to more serious stuff.  Like Sophie Kinsella (whose Can You Keep a Secret? inspired The Dr Pepper Prophecies), I write as my main character and in the moment and I always promise a happy ending.

What inspired you to take up writing?  
I started too young to remember, but really got into it after joining a message board group who wrote fanfiction for the TV show Farscape.  I'm not the only published writer to come out of it, either.  If there's a particular show or book that you're into, fanfiction is a brilliant way to develop your skills.

Are any of your characters based on people you know?
I plead the fifth amendment.  Even though I'm not American.

Do you have a support network for your writing?
I have my husband, and my mum has helped out with proofreading some of my books.  I also belong to theChick Lit Chat author group on Facebook, which is great for advice and support.

Can you share a sneak peak at what you're working on at the moment?
In editing is a spin-off from The Dr Pepper Prophecies, starring Mel's sister Brittany.  I'd love to share an extract, but it's not quite ready for that.  Expect it later this year.

What's the worst advice you have ever received?
No, those are very unlikely to be labour pains.  (She was very nearly born in a toilet.)

What's the best thing about social media?
It keeps me off eBay.

Have you ever heard a strange/different story that you thought would be great in a book?
Apparently, James Blunt found his sister a husband on eBay.  She needed a flight to a funeral and couldn't get one, so he listed her as a damsel in distress and had people bid for the chance to help her.  She and the winning bidder got on so well, they married three years later.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Sleep, read (I seem to favour memoirs and regency romance at the moment), get red-face and sweaty atzumba, play Dungeons and Dragons with friends, watch athletics, tennis, crime drama or 19 Kids and Counting on the TV and mess about on Pinterest.  It's a deeply glamourous life.

If one of your books was made into a film/TV series, who would you like as the leading lady/man? 
For The Dr Pepper Prophecies, I would like Mel to be played by Zoey Deschanel and Will by Paul Rudd.  I've got all the main cast on my Pinterest board.  Not that I've thought about it or anything.  Ahem.  I've got the odd idea for my other books, but not a full cast.  

Someone actually approached me about optioning one of my books a while back, so they might yet make it onto the big screen.

Non book questions

Favourite holiday place?
I went to Mallorca for the second time this year, and I hope to go back many more times.  New Zealand is my favourite place, but I'm not sure I could take that flight again!  Especially not with Toddler in tow.

Favourite food?
Chocolate.  Does anyone ever answer anything else?

What kind of music do you listen to?
I like a whole range of things, but songs from musicals and commercial pop music especially.

Favourite film?
Maybe Mamma Mia.  It always puts me in a good mood.

Favourite Chocolate?
Pure Cadbury's.

Favourite drink?
I like fresh-made juices and smoothies.  I got addicted to them while I was in Australia, and I'm gutted our nearest juice bar has now shut down.

Thank you for answering my questions!


About The Author


Jennifer Gilby Roberts has a degree in physics and a postgraduate certificate in computing, so a career writing fiction was inevitable really. She was born and grew up in Surrey/Greater London, but now lives in North Yorkshire with her husband, small daughter, two middle-aged cats and a lot of dust bunnies.

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