Two For Joy
Two for Joy tells the story of Toby and Julia. They've been friends since university, but Julia only realises she feels something more than friendship for Toby when he tells her he's about to propose to his new girlfriend, Ruby. When Ruby turns Toby down, it is Julia's arms he falls into, and they both realise that what they have been looking for has been under their noses the whole time. Unfortunately their idyll doesn't last long before Ruby is back in touch with Toby to tell him that she's pregnant, and Toby leaves Julia heartbroken when he decides he has no choice but to stand by the mother of his child.
It has been said that this book is perfect for Bridget Jones fans, so why is this?
Helen Fielding is a genius, and made an art-form of chronicling a thirty-something woman navigating her way through the maze of career, family and dating in the wittiest way imaginable. I would blush to compare myself, but certainly a lot of the same themes are explored in Two for Joy, and my heroine, Julia, like Bridget, is a girl who really understands the power of comfort eating!
Here did the inspiration for the story come from?
I literally dreamt up the plot idea. The relationship between Toby and Julia is slightly inspired by mine with my husband - we met at university and became a couple straight away; but I let myself imagine how things might have played out differently had we slipped into platonic friendship instead.
You read English at Oxford University, so how much has this aided your own writing skills?
Well, there certainly wasn't any creative writing on the course - unless you count the 'creativity' which comes from writing an essay on a book you haven't actually read! What I do really believe, though, is that to be able to write well you have to read extensively and eclectically, and an English degree is certainly a good basis for this.
You work as a manager for the NHS, so when did writing some into play?
I worked in healthcare management until my daughter was born in 2009. I surprised myself then by deciding to become a stay-at-home mum, and for two years that was my only focus. When Anna was two I started to feel the need for something else, but didn't want to go back to a fairly high-pressure, long hour’s job. I was rather unenthusiastically exploring various part-time jobs when two things happened. Firstly, I came up with the idea for a novel. And secondly my mother-in-law offered to look after Anna for a few hours a week, so I had time to write.
This is your first novel, so do you have plans for another?
Yes! I'm about half way through my second novel now. It's provisionally called To Have and to Hold and it explores the lives of three very different couples experiencing different degrees of marital crisis, and what happens when their lives become unexpectedly entwined.
What is your writing process?
I have an idea, and then sit down with a notebook and pen (never a computer at this point!) to work it up. This initial outline will have notes on the structure and the characters, but isn't very detailed. Then I just sit down at my laptop and start writing. After a chapter or two I stop and re-read, correcting as I go, and then every so often I re-read the entire draft so far and make yet more changes.
Why do girls always turn to ice cream and pyjamas in times of heartbreak??
Personally I don't need to be heartbroken to turn to them, slightly fed-up will do! If I get a mid-afternoon phone call from my husband saying he needs to work late, I've got my PJs on and the lid off a tub of Ben & Jerry's within seconds. I suppose there's so much pressure on modern women - having it all is not only about balancing work, family, relationships and children, it also seems to be about looking good, keeping fit, producing restaurant standard food and maintaining a Homes and Gardens style house while you do it. Having times when we can snuggle on our own sofa wearing something comfy and enjoying a little self-indulgence is the perfect antidote to all that. Although I do realise that a true superwoman would probably say she dealt with these pressures through a workout at the gym followed by a goji berries smoothie.
Who are your favourite reads?
Well, I really enjoy many of the writers working in my genre - Jane Green, Lisa Jewell, Elizabeth Noble, Adele Parks, Katie FForde, to name but a few. And I'm HUGELY excited at the third Bridget Jones novel coming out this autumn. Otherwise, I'm generally to be found reading Golden Age detective fiction (the subject of my dissertation at university), Georgette Heyer novels, or cookery books by people like Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater or Sophie Dahl who are all amazing writers as well as fabulous cooks.
What is next for you?
I'm working on my next novel, and my blog, A Life More Ordinary, on my website. I'm also preparing (practically and psychologically) for my daughter starting school in September!