White Christmas
White Christmas is a very light-hearted novella and I hope it will get readers in the festive mood in the run-up to Christmas.
It’s the story of two rival weather forecasters who meet just a few weeks before Christmas. Hal Benson is an out of work actor who has been hired as a stand-in weather presenter by a ratings-chasing TV news channel. Meanwhile Lizzie Foster is a scientist who works for a more serious rival station. She is bright, determined and fascinated by meteorology – and she can’t believe that Hal is completely clueless about the weather and just goes on his gut instinct.
The pair become friends and as Christmas Day approaches Hal persuades Lizzie to have a bet on whether it’s going to be a White Christmas or not. Which of them will turn out to be right?
Tell us about your inspiration for the story.
I love Christmas and was very keen to write about Christmas trees, carols, holly and mistletoe – everything festive. Then I suddenly spotted a newspaper cutting about bookies offering odds on the chances of snow at Christmas – and I realised it was a great starting point for a novel.
Why is Christmas the best time for romance?
It’s such a special time of year. Everywhere looks magical, there are loads of parties to go to and somehow everyone seems to be in a good mood.
The two central characters are weather forecasters, so why did you choose this profession for them?
Lots of books (including mine) seem to feature journalists, PRs or party planners as their lead characters so I thought it would be fun to choose something completely different. I discovered that while some weather forecasters come through the showbiz route, many are serious scientists – so I hit on the idea of making my hero an actor and my heroine a slightly geeky meteorologist.
The book is said to be perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green and Jilly Cooper, so why do you think this is and how does it feel to have this comparison?
My publisher, Endeavour Press, made that comparison. Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green and Jilly Cooper are all brilliant novelists and I’m not in their league. But if there is any way I could write half as well as them I’d be thrilled. Jilly Cooper is one of my all-time favourites and I’m a huge fan of Marian Keyes, especially her latest, The Mystery of Mercy Close.
You are a journalist, so how does this compare to novel writing for you?
I love both jobs but they are very different. I started my career as a newspaper journalist so I’m very used to working to tight deadlines. I was a reporter on the Evening Standard for several years, which meant being sent out on a story at 7am and filing it by lunch time. Most days my piece would be in the paper by the time I was on the train home, which was really exciting. The main difference when it comes to writing novels is that a full-length book takes me eight or nine months, rather than a couple of hours. Writing novels takes real staying power and I have huge admiration for everyone who does it.
You have written three novels previously, so tell us about these.
My first three novels are Hard Copy, Moving On and Taking Sides. They were published several years ago and Little, Brown is bringing them out as eBooks for the first time in the New Year. The first, Hard Copy, is out on January 3 and it’s a pacy read about an inexperienced young photographer called Anna Armitage who teams up with a much older reporter. But they miss a major story about a supermodel and then have to battle against megalomaniac proprietors, ruthless news editors and a peer set on introducing a privacy law.
Who are your favourite reads and why?
I’m an avid reader and for the last few years I’ve worked as a freelance book reviewer for the Daily Express. My tastes are very eclectic but my favourite writers include Colm Toibin, Ian McEwan, Kate Atkinson, Ian Rankin, Roma Tearne and of course Jilly Cooper. My favourite book of 2012 was The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Newspaper-wise I love Caitlin Moran in The Times and India Knight in the Sunday Times.
Which authors can you see reflected in your own work?
That is such a tough question! When I’m writing I try to tell a rattling good story and write it well. If I can be funny along the way, then that’s a bonus. I don’t know which authors I can see reflected in my own work but I’d love to emulate a writer like the late Mary Wesley. The Camomile Lawn is another of my favourite books.
How are you spending your Christmas?
My daughter’s studying in Paris this year and hasn’t been home since September. She is desperate to be at home in Oxford for Christmas so that’s where we are going to be. I can’t wait – it’s going to be so special to have her back home again. We’ll have a traditional family Christmas and a walk across Port Meadow in the afternoon.
What is next for you?
As well as my journalism and my blog I’m busy writing a full-length novel. It’s provisionally titled Three in the Morning and it’s about three very different sisters. They never spend any time in the same country, let alone in the same house – so how do they cope when a family crisis flings them together for the first time in years?