This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Shari Low wrote that first 10,000 words of her debut novel in two weeks of 10pm-3am shifts. She crossed her fingers and sent those words to five publishers and two agents and, in 2000, achieved her first publishing deal. Today, many hilarious rom-coms later, Shari also writes twisted bonkbusters under the pseudonym Ronni Cooper and co-writes thrillers with Good Morning Britain's entertainment correspondent Ross King as one half of Shari King. If you think you don’t have enough time to write yourself, this is the interview for you. Shari’s latest novel, The Moment of Truth, is out now.
Tell us about The Moment of Truth.
The Moment of Truth is a romantic comedy about three lifelong friends, Laney, Tash and Millie, who run a proposal agency, helping clients to plan their perfect moment to pop the question.
Laney is the sensible, organised one of the trio. Happily married to Cameron, she is the founder of the company and runs the business side of the operation. She’s delighted when a new client, Cara Deacon, walks into the office and even happier when they agree to arrange an elaborate proposal under the Manhattan stars.
Then she discovers that the man Cara intends to marry has the same name as her own husband.
Cameron Cochrane.
A bizarre coincidence? Identity theft? A cruel joke?
Or is Cara’s dream about to become Laney’s worst nightmare?
The only way to know for sure is to plan the proposal, see it through to the end and hope that her heart will still be intact after The Moment of Truth.
Where do you find inspiration for your books?
I always like to have a really unusual premise and try to come up with intriguing concepts. Although my books are classed as romantic comedies, friendship is always at the core of the story. This is probably because I have a large group of brilliant girlfriends who provide endless moments of drama, scandal, laughs and illicit carbohydrates.
I also write raunchy bonkbusters under the pseudonym Ronni Cooper, and with my writing partner, TV presenter Ross King, pen dark thrillers under the name Shari King. Many of the storylines in these books are inspired by my previous career, managing nightclubs around the world.Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
I drop my sons at school and then head straight to my desk, which is actually in a converted cupboard in my house. Yes, I write in a cupboard. It’s all just so glamorous. I work until 4pm, then pick up the boys and spend the next few hours doing mum stuff. I’m usually back at my desk by around 9pm and I’ll work another four, six, eight hours, depending on how close I am to deadline. I also write two newspaper columns so I have to work on those too. Thankfully, I don’t need much sleep!
When you are writing, do you use any famous people or people you know as inspiration?
Just the aforementioned friends. They now start every conversation with, “Don’t put this in a book, but you’ll never believe what I did today.”
What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?
I’d love to quote a classic, but honestly, it’s probably Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. I read it in my late teens and thought it was magnificent. I was a huge fan of the fiction of that genre and era – Shirley Conran, Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins – I loved them all.
What female writer has inspired you?
Jackie Collins. I adored her books as a (fairly wild) teenager living in a small Scottish town. Her scandalous tomes made me want to write but they also opened my eyes to a different world and made me desperate to go to New York and LA, to sail on yachts, fly on private jets and marry a brooding hunk with an exotic name who would sweep me off my feet to his fully-staffed island. Sadly, life didn’t mirror art. I married a bloke called John. We go on package tours to Fuengirola and ride on pedalos.
My other inspiration is the brilliant Marian Keyes. When it comes to blending light and shade, no-one makes me laugh or cry more.
Can you give us three book recommendations?
My reading taste is widely eclectic.
My favourite book of all time is Tai Pan by James Clavell – an epic tale set in Hong Kong during the opium wars of the nineteenth century.
I’ve just finished The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin and it’s wonderful – funny, heartbreaking and one of those books that just touches the soul.
In non-fiction, I adored Yes Please by the fabulously sharp Amy Poehler. That lady has balls. And she wouldn’t mind me saying that.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?
Definitely ‘dive right in’. I now write two novels a year, penning them over a few weeks of sixteen-hour working days. I’m not recommending this process, but it’s just what works for me (see previous comment about not needing much sleep). I like to get carried away with the story and love to see where it takes me so I don’t plan anything – not even the ending. I often have absolutely no clue what a character will do until I’m writing a scene and only when I’m in the moment does it becomes clear. It’s a strategy that delivers nice surprises and panic-induced stress wrinkles.
What was your journey to being a published author?
I was incredibly lucky. I’d always wanted to be a writer but after leaving school at 16 I worked in various jobs around the world to support myself – spending many years in nightclub management and sales. When I was thirty one, I had a mid-life crisis, finally wrote the first ten thousand words of a story I had in my head, and sent it off to a few agents and publishers. I was fortunate and got a book deal straight away. 15 years and 15 books later, I’m hugely thankful to still be making a living from a career I love.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
That it’s a gentle life of creativity, guided by a muse. My muse is extremely temperamental and hopelessly unreliable. I love writing, but it’s long hours, with regular intervals of panic and insecurity, punctuated by endless cups of tea.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
Don’t wait for there to be time to do it, because it’ll never come. I wrote that first 10,000 words of my debut novel in two weeks of 10pm-3am shifts, while working long hours in my existing job.
What are you working on at the moment?
I have two books on the go at the moment. I’m writing a new relationship drama for my German publisher and I’m also working on the next Shari King novel with Ross King. Our second novel together, Breaking Hollywood comes out this summer, so we’re now writing the third.
Thanks, Shari!