What inspired you to write your first novel? 

A creative writing course assignment. I’d invented a scenario involving a jealous husband and his wife’s best friend. He was questioning her about what the two women had got up to during a recent weekend trip away together they’d taken. I received top marks from my mentor for it and it left me thinking of my characters, “Hmmm … What exactly did happen to the girls  that weekend?”

 What time of day do you like to write? 

I prefer mornings – more alert – my post-lunch brain fog kicks in during the afternoons.

 What is your favourite book and why? 

I don’t have a single favourite. I have a few in different genres, including Tara Road by Maeve Binchy and Bill Bryson’s hilarious travelogues.

 How did you pick the title of your book?

It came to me straight away as it perfectly summed up what the book is about – an eventful life-changing weekend for all parties.

 

Are the characters in your book based on real people?

 In part. Alex Heath my fictional footballer is  loosely based on a player I once met who was nothing like the stereotype we so often read about. One or two other characters have a blend of personality traits of people I’ve known over the years, mixed up with pure fiction.

 

What’s your favourite word?

 Love (followed closely by chocolate!)

 

If you were a colour what would it be?

 Orange. I have no idea why I just love the colour – it always makes me smile.

 Do you plan your story beforehand or go with the flow? 

As Weekends Go is my debut and was plotted to within an inch of its life but I did try to keep an open mind as I wrote it as sometimes the characters wanted to veer off in another direction, or as they revealed more of themselves to me, I’d sometimes think, “Actually, Alex, or Rebecca, or whoever it was, wouldn’t say/do that …” I also spent far too much time editing as I went along and learned a valuable lesson from this to take with me into writing book 2.

 Who is your favourite Author?

It’d be a close call between Lisa Jewell and Maggie O’Farrell.

 Are you working on a new project?

 I’m writing the sequel to As Weekends Go. Although it follows the story of my main character (Rebecca) going forward and all her fresh dramas and dilemmas, it is also a standalone novel.

Do you have any upcoming events our members can attend?

On 20th May 2017, I will be at Southampton Library with some of my fellow Choc Lit authors as part of our Choc Lit on Tour events. There will be author talks/Q&As/a fun quiz and for any budding authors out there, a chance to pitch your manuscript to our editors in attendance. If you’d like more details of the events, please take a look here ~  choc lit on tour  I’m really looking forward to the day and hope to see some of you there.

Buy your copy of the book today:

Amazon UK

Giveaway ~ As Weekends Go By Jan Brigden

CLICK TO ENTER ~ GOOD LUCK

 

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