Author Spotlight - Jane O'Reilly

Today the Minxes welcome debut author Jane O'Reilly to chat with us and introduce her new book!

1.  Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

Ugh! This is the hardest question in the universe. Ever. Does that tell you enough? I like to knit jumpers, I hate parsnips, and Han Solo is my favourite hero in a film. I tweet as @janeoreilly if you want to share in the parsnip hate/Han Solo love.

2.  What number book is this? First? 100th? 200th?(Nora only!)

It is my first published book, but it is the fifth book I’ve written. The rubbish drafts drawer is a bit on the full side.

3.  Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?

I am the world’s worst shopper, so that helps! I suffer from terrible guilt if I don’t work as much as I feel I should (which is basically all the time) which keeps me working when I don’t want to. Other things that help include setting a daily word count target.

4.  What is your top promo tip for other authors?

Don’t use social media to promote, use it to make contact with other people and let them find their own way to your book.

5.  How does writing fit into your day? Or does your day fit in around your writing?

My children are both at school now (phew) so I do the school run, come home, look at dresses I can’t afford on the internet until guilt gets the better of me and then I get to work. I aim for 3K a day when I’m drafting.

6.  Do you write every day?

When my children were small and writing had to be crammed in to small pockets of time, I did write every day. Now I write Mon-Fri and occasionally at the weekend.

7.  Any craft books you recommend?

Lots! I’m a big fan of craft books. Favourites include Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain and Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham.

8.  In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?

Before I was published, I always assumed that signing on the dotted line would kill the doubt crows. It doesn’t. It makes them grow.

9.  Have you ever written a hero you'd be happy to run off with?

Several. I’d have to run off with all of them. At the same time. It could get messy. Not to mention exhausting. But that’s why Mother Nature invented coffee, right?

10.  Do you write to music, or with the tv on in the background, or do you need complete silence?

This really seems to depend on the book. Some I’ve written to a play list. Others, like my next book She Who Dares (which will be out in September) were written to one particular song on repeat – for that book, it was Taylor Swift’s Never Ever, which I never ever want to hear ever again. My current book only flows with an episode of Castle on in the background.

Blurb

It seems like a dream come true when whispers of a reclusive film star fallen on hard times meets Lottie Spencer’s ears. Desperate to save her family’s auction house, she knows that Hollywood memorabilia could be the answer to her prayers. Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that this client comes with strings attached – an overprotective son who will do anything to shield his mother from the prying eyes of the press. But Lottie is sure she can handle it. If only being around a bad boy didn’t make it so hard to be good...

Once a Bad Girl is available at the following outlets:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

iTunes

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo