What can you reveal about your new book The Boot Camp?
It’s the story of three women who’re all so desperate to change their bodies and their lives that they enrol on a weeklong military fitness boot camp – run by two tough ex-Army instructors.But it’s not just about getting rid of bingo wings or muffin tops: Darcy is already slim and appears to be living the dream, yet is haunted by memories of someone she let down, while Vicki is scared she won’t be around to see her boys grow up if she doesn’t get fitter.
It was also the toughest of all my books to research – I went on a Boot Camp myself, even though I’m the original couch potato. It was one of the hardest weeks of my life, from the dawn runs to the rumbling tummy at dinner time. Not an experience I’ll repeat, but great to help me get the details right!
Where did your inspiration come from for the main protagonist, Stephanie?
Stephanie isn’t particularly overweight, but she’s got lots of hang-ups about how she looks, as do most women I know. I certainly drew on some of my own experiences, for example, both Steph and I only feel truly confident about our wrists, and spend a lot of time comparing other women’s slim thighs with our own! In the course of her week at boot camp, she has some really low moments – she’s clumsy, which I am too – yet begins to rely on the support of the other women. Though not all the boot campers manage to stay the course...
Boot Camps are very much in vogue as a way of getting fit now, is this something you had in mind when writing the novel?
Absolutely – I’ve been fascinated by the ‘quick fix’ idea that Boot Camps push and I was dying to know what reallywent on. The quick fix will happen if you put the work in – I lost half a stone. But then I put it all back on and more afterwards, because for me, it’s not sustainable. Other women from my week have kept it up, though, it’s all about how you approach exercise.
You used to be a TV Reporter and then a director on programmes such as Panorama, so when did you decide you wanted to write?
Even as a little girl, I wanted to be a writer but it didn’t seem to be a possible career option, so I trained as a journalist instead, to tell true stores! But the novel instinct was always there, I used to jot down ideas when I had any free time, and then in 2001, I had an idea about school reunions, because Friends Reunited was all the rage, and that was the first novel I wrote and sold. It was published in 2003 and since then, I’ve published a total of 11 books, including two thrillers for teenagers, which are very different. I definitely like to write about current issues like boot camps, reunions or the dangers of social media!
Did you go on a bootcamp yourself for reasrch?
As I mentioned above, I’d hoped I could get away with not doing it – but in the end, I had to, and I’m glad I did – though I wasn’t when I was lying on freezing sand in November, trying and failing to do a sit-up ‘properly’ – or eating beans at every meal because they were the vegetarian option. Still – I look at it this way – I went on the camp so readers don’t have to!
Given that many women are sensitive about the subject of their weight, do you think that this sometimes alone appeals to the reader as opposed to the characters or plot? Something that they can instantly relate to?
I hope so – it’s pretty much universal among the women I know to want to lose half a stone, even if they’re already tiny. And I hope that with my characters’ very different motivations for going on an extreme boot camp, there’ll be something for any woman to relate to.
Who do you most like to read in your spare time?
I read anything and everything – I love other women’s fiction authors like Lisa Jewell, Jojo Moyes, Sarah Rayner and Lucy Diamond, but I also like a good thriller, or a fantastically imaginative teen book. I’ve fallen in love with my Kindle and have about 30+ titles on there ready to be read, because I often avoid reading when I’m in the middle of writing.
You were shortlisted for the Melisssa Natahan Comedy Romance Award, how did this make you feel as a writer?
I was so thrilled – it was one of the best moments in my writing career. Melissa was such an inspiration, and it was wonderful to meet her husband and young son at the awards party. I was really honoured to be in the company of terrific writers on the shortlist, and I also feel very strongly that funny books should be celebrated. There’s a lot of snobbery about women’s fiction that has comic moments and I love the fact that this award celebrates how life-affirming these books can be!
You ar the author of the Secret Shopper Series, for those who are not familiar with these can you tell us a bit about them?
The Secret Shopper’s Revengewas the book that was on the Melissa Nathan list, and it’s about three women who are brought together because they’re desperate for money – desperate enough to become retail spies, spotting good and bad service in shops by being ‘mystery shoppers.’ One has been sacked, one is widowed and the third has been dumped by her husband just after giving birth. They get into all sorts of retail dramas, but forge an unlikely friendship, too. The other two books – The Secret Shopper UnwrappedandSecret Shopper Affair –follow them through new relationships, an erotic embroidery empire, and a fight to save one of London’s most iconic department stores. The books are partly based on my own experiences as an undercover TV journalist, wearing secret cameras and exposing bad behaviour!
What are your plans for another novel?
Right now, I’m working hard on the final book in mySoulBeach teen trilogy, and I finally get to reveal who the murderer is who has been stalking my heroine. That’s very intense. Meanwhile, I’m doing some research into my next adult novel which is fascinating – but I’m keeping the story under wraps for now!
Female First Lucy Walton
by Lucy Walton
find me on 
and follow me on 
