Today we have Straight Talk with Indulgence author Rachel Lyndhurst, author of Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire. Welcome, Rachel!
When you are getting ready to start a new book, what’s the first thing you do?
I generally need to have a tidy up after the previous book! Then I treat myself to a brand new notebook dedicated to the next project for when I’m not at the computer. I’ll also need to make myself a cup of tea. That’s three things, but I can do them at the same time.
How do you celebrate when you finish writing a book?
I start another one. And drink wine of course.
Have you had any fun fan moments since you became a writer?
A Turkish man I didn’t know from Adam contacted me on Facebook to say I was ‘very beautiful’. That’s never happened before!
If you could have dinner, coffee, or drinks with a fictional character, who would you choose and where would you go?
Right now it would have to be Sherlock Holmes (played by Robert Downey Jr.) somewhere ridiculously expensive like Lake Como. At Christmas. With champagne, NOT formaldehyde.
Do you usually begin a book with a character or a plot?
It varies, but it would usually go character, plot, location and then back to tweak the first two!. The main location for a book is important to me as this has a bearing on the feasibility of the plot and the characters’ journey. Where they are and how they behave will inevitably be influenced by their environment. Kidnapped by the Greek Millionaire began with the location: Lindos, Greece.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests you’d care to share?
Spare time is very limited these days juggling my writing career, running a home and caring for my children, but I can’t resist an antique shop – the bigger the better! I love exploring National Trust properties, overseas travel, sniffing roses in June and trying out new cuisine. I have been known to enjoy the odd evening in the pub given half a chance too. I have now weaned myself off eBay …
What was the inspiration for your book?
Getting lost in the alleyways of Lindos village, Rhodes, Greece. Hot, bothered and cross, I just had to create a heroine to suffer in the same way. Some weeks later I was invited to a champagne reception on the London Eye as well, so that’s how Kizzy and Andreas’ story began.
How difficult is if for you to come up with a title for your books?
It’s a struggle to be honest, but I do now have a secret method if an ‘evocative’ title is required (and, no, I’m not telling!). It’s actually very nice to have a publisher give it a title to be honest, they know what sort of branding they’re looking for, and if that helps the book sell then so be it!
Who would play your hero/heroine in the tv or film version of your book?
Andres Velencoso Segura and Kate Beckinsale.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Never give up, take constructive criticism on board and network – there’s a world of support and information out there. Don’t neglect your loved ones or your health. Enjoy your writing. Don’t expect to get rich quick!
What jobs have you had on your way to becoming a writer?
Loads! Working backwards: weekend supermarket assistant, full time mum, accountant in the space industry, accountant in the pharmaceutical industry. Student temping jobs in insurance, veterinary and drug supplies, bus station, railway depot, lingerie department and old folks home and a photocopier shop. I’ve also dabbled in antique trading – another ‘don’t expect to get rich quick’ job!
Did you have any interesting experiences when you were researching your book, or getting it published?
This book has taught me a LOT. It began life as a Harlequin Mills & Boon competition entry, didn’t win but got a request for more and was ultimately rejected. This process took almost a whole year. A new UK publisher launched and contracted it as a launch title within a couple of weeks – The Call at last! I went through the revision process for the first time, then edits (more times than I can remember), two computers died on me and we were snowed in with deadlines to meet. I learned the hard way about marketing my book and getting reviews – that was (astonished look) my job. The publisher didn’t last long and closed so my rights reverted. No fortune made. :0)
You could say getting this book to publication has taught me everything I know about the industry so far.
Sipping champagne on the London Eye and soaking up the atmosphere in Greece was also hard work, obviously. I refused to get on a donkey though!
Who are your favorite authors? What authors have influenced your book?
There are so many authors I adore, too many to mention as I read across so many genres. George Orwell would have to be up there – reading 1984 when I was a teenager changed the way I looked at the world for good. No particular author influenced Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire itself, but let’s just say I was reading India Grey’s latest on the beach in Lindos. I’ve read every single on of her books.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Definitely a plotter these days. I’m a reformed pantser, all that pantsing about never got me anywhere but rejected.
Where does the magic happen? Where do you write?
At home. My laptop spends most of its time in our dining room, which I have been stealthily adapting to my writerly needs (ignoring the laundry that shares my sacred space). In the summer I might decamp to the garden, but never a coffee shop or public place, it’s not for me. There’s always an old-fashioned notebook nearby as well, it’s surpising how much you can get done while ironing and cooking.
Aside from writing, what do you do in your free time?
I’d like to say scuba diving or blowing glass, but it’s a mixture of some fresh air and culture outside the house any how I can. Wine also features.
Do you prefer print books or eBooks?
They both have a place in my heart. I still like to be able to stuff a paperback into my handbag for when I’m out and about, especially if I’m on a beach holiday. I’d worry about wrecking a ‘device’. Having said that, I do have a Sony ereader and a kindle which I LOVE – instant gratification (no postman) and loads of free books, they’re fantastic. I still can’t get used to not having page numbers on the kindle, though.
What’s in the works for you?
More books hopefully. I’ve a novel contracted with The Wild Rose Press which should be published some time in 2012. I’m working on another category length romance now (rich Spaniard anyone?) and there are two single title books that I want to get finished this year. There’s also a very big pile of ironing …
About Rachel Lyndhurst
Rachel lives on the south coast of England with her partner and two children.
Visit her at her blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
About Author
LOL Love your inspirational people *sigh*
man, I bet Greece was awesome. I know that the moment I stepped on Irish soil I knew I’d end up doing a book based there.
Good luck with the next book, darlin’. This one’s on my (now toppling) TBR pile.
What a fabulous interview! I love finding out all the other jobs writers do where we cater to our muse, and the image of you lost in Greece and creating your heroine was priceless. Big congrats for a wonderful book so well deserved!
Loved this interview! And really loved your description of how you got lost in Rhodes and decided to put that in a novel! That sort of experience would keep me in WIPs for decades! Getting lost in Tipperary County, asking drunk Irishmen for directions…yeah, gotta put that in a book one day!
Congratulations on a brilliant book!
Taryn, Jennifer and Kathryn, I’m so sorry to be late replying! Not quite sure what happened, but thanks so much for commenting. It’s been an amazing week, ladies, I think my brain kind of turned to mush!!!
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