Author Q&A: Sheila Curran

l

1) Can you give us a blurb about your current release?

"DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN is a terrific pick-me-up. You couldn't find two more disparate landscapes than Oxford, England and Arizona, and that's exactly what one British woman discovers when she crosses the Pond to find herself a fish-out-of-water -- only to realize that for the first time in her life, this means she can stand on her own two feet. Filled with characters who make you laugh out loud even as they break your heart, this is a funny, warm, inventive, original book."
Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of VANISHING ACTS, and MY SISTER’S KEEPER

Click here to read an excerpt of DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN

2) The heroine in DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN is a misplaced Brit departed to Arizona. What kind of research did you do to be able to write about a Brit?

I lived in Oxford for ten months, and then in London for three years as a child. Lots of British friends. I started writing the book when I was around the accent and diction, so it was easier than I thought it would be when I started out.

3) The cover of DIANA LIVELY is hilarious--fun, unpredictable and edgy. What kind of input did you have on the cover?

My editor was very sweet about hoping I liked it, but basically, the publisher did the whoe thing.

4) DIANA LIVELY is your debut book. Congratulations! Was it a tough road to get published?

I can’t tell you how tough. I’ve been writing for twenty plus years now, and trying to get something published since 1983!

5) Can you tell us about your path to getting published?

Serendipty was finally kind to me. I found my agent through my husband. She is British and loved the book. Then she submitted to so many editors and all rejected it until we found Susan Allison at Berkley Penguin, who loved it and pushed for it to be published....what luck!

6) One of your themes in DIANA LIVELY is that everyone gets what's coming to them? Was it fun to let loose on the bad guys and give them what they deserved?

Oh, so much fun but strangely enough, my biggest complaint from readers is how they are so sorry I didn’t persecute the vile husband more. They would have enjoyed torture, poisonous snake bites or something very very painful.

7) Like your heroine in DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN, you spent much of your life being dropped into new and unfamiliar places to live. How did you draw on your personal experiences to give your heroine a realistic touch?

I knew how much anxiety figured into the picture, and also how you are given perspective when taken out of the familiar environment.

www.sheilacurran.com

posted by Stephanie Rowe @ 3:05 PM