Adele Parks

Adele Parks wrote her first novel ‘Playing Away in 2000 and was identified as one of London’s “Twenty Faces to Watch” that same year.

One and a half million copies of her books have been sold in the UK and retranslated into 25 different languages. Since 2000, she has published nine novels in nine years, all of which have been Times Top Ten bestsellers. Men I’ve Loved Before, is her tenth novel.

1. Adele, to those who aren’t familiar with you or your writing, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
   I was born in Teesside, NE England. I enjoyed a traditional childhood, watching too much TV and eating convenience food because nobody minded if kids did that in the late 70s and early 80s. Since graduating from Leicester University, where I studied English Language and Literature, I’ve worked in advertising and as a management consultant. I’ve always dreamed of being a writer but I bided my time. I wrote one novel and didn’t even submit it, it wasn’t up to it. I waited until I was at a stage of my life where I knew I had something compelling and different to write. I worked on my novel three times a week for three hours and for five hours at a weekend, while holding down an extremely busy day job. I was very disciplined and determined. I then did lots of research on which agent might be interested in my kind of work and yet more research on how to present my work to best advantage. It paid off because the agent I approached did like my pitch and encouraged me. It took just 3 months from my initial approach to my agent until he secured me a deal for my first novel,‘Playing Away’.

   Now I’m lucky enough to be described as one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK, for which I’m extremely grateful (who wouldn’t like that?!) One and a half million copies of my work have been sold in the UK and I’m translated into 25 different languages. I’ve published ten novels in ten years, all of which have been Times Top Ten bestsellers (try saying that when you’ve had a few!). I write numerous articles and short stories for national magazines and newspapers and often appear on radio and TV talking about my work and related matters. Once I get going, it’s quite hard to shut me up. I passionately believe that reading is a basic right. Since 2006 I’ve been heavily involved with www.worldbookday.com World Book Day. In 2008 I wrote a Quick Read, Happy Families as part of the celebrations of World Book Day, which went on to win Quick Read Learners Favourite Award, as voted for by the public. I’ve worked with www.literacytrust.org.uk. The National Literacy Trust in an effort to apply pressure on political parties and individual MPs to adopt effective literacy policies and to place greater importance on literacy as part of their manifestos. I’m currently involved in The National Literacy Trust’s latest project which is highlighting the importance of parents reading with their kids. That campaign is called, ‘Tell Me a Story’.

2. Your latest book ‘Men I Loved Before’ is about Nat, who think she has the perfect life with her husband Neil. Early on in the relationship they both decided they didn’t want children but on Neil’s birthday, he suddenly has a change of heart. Distraught with this sudden turn in the secure relationship and wondering if in fact Neil is the one, Nat starts on a journey of discovery looking up old ex’s with the aid of her little black book to see if the one really did get away. What inspired behind this element of the story?
   I’m always really concerned that my genre peddles the belief that one person will come along and fix everything in your life, and that there is one person, and one person only, out there for each of us; it sets a false expectation of what a relationship is about. I think being in a relationship is absolutely wonderful but I also think it requires a lot of effort, understanding and perseverance. ‘In Men I’ve Loved Before’ I wanted to blow up the myth of the romantic notion of ‘the One’ and have a serious look at how a couple can manage their way through a horribly tough time and huge emotional dilemma. I made Nat look back at her exes because I think it’s something we are all guilty of at some point or other, to some degree or other. It’s always so easy to romanticise the past but it’s rarely helpful!
3. What was the first book you ever wrote about?
   ‘Playing Away’ was my debut novel. It was published in 2000; that year the Evening Standard identified me as one of London’s ‘Twenty Faces to Watch’, which was very nice of them! I think this book caught the attention of the press and the public’s imagination because it was about a female lust-fuelled infidelity. At the time, that concept was quite shocking. People believed women only had affairs because their husbands were tyrants or because they rather unfortunately fell in love with someone else. I wrote a rather difficult-to-like heroine, Connie who had it all and then throws it away for a bout of passion. It was a challenging, shocking and very sexy book. The tag line is “As close as you’ll ever get to an affair without actually having one,” I think that says it all!
4. Who was your favourite character from all the stories you have written and what is it that you like so much about this character?
   That’s like asking me which child I like best! I love many of my characters for many different reasons so it’s hard to pick one. But I do have a huge soft spot for Nat in ‘Men I’ve Loved Before’ because she is brave yet vulnerable, mature and yet still quite lost. She has some very deep problems and as I wrote her I just want to hug her and promise her it was all going to be OK, like we do with our friends.
5. What was the first book you read?
   I read a lot of fairytales when I was tiny and a lot of Enid Blyton. I loved the ‘Magic Faraway Tree’ series.
6. Your book covers have always been among the most eye-catching on the bookshelves with the leggy imagery. Is the cover design important to you?
   Actually, we’ve moved away from the legs now. Design is really important to me but more than that, it’s important to readers. We do judge books by their covers and in a very busy market when we are leading extremely busy lives an eye-catching is important as decisions on which books to buy can often be made in moments. My publishers and I thought that after 9 books with legs on the covers that it was getting difficult to distinguish between one book and another. I love my new bold look.
7. What authors do you admire?
   There are so many wonderful authors out there. Recently I’ve been reading Helen Dunmore, Louise Doughty and Maggie O’Farrell. I’ve been a long term fan of David Nicholls, Jane Fallon and Kate Long. But my list could go on and on and on. This year I’m one of the judges for the “http://www.costabookawards.com/” Costa Book Awards and I’ve read over 70 books!
8. Did you read any writers guidebooks at any point in your career? Are there any books or tools which you would recommend for the readers?
   I didn’t read any writers guides but I do strongly recommend an enormous book called “The Writers and Artists Yearbook.” It’s published annually and lists every UK and Irish publisher and agent, plus it offers some guidance as to which genre the agent is interested in. This book also gives tips on how to present your work to attract agents (or at least how to avoid offending them!).
9. If you were put into the unfortunate position of being stranded on a desert island. What three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
   I’d pick big fat ones! ‘Anna Karenina’ by Leo Tolstoy, ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ by Philippa Gregory and ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen (it’s not fat in size but it is in thought). These books are among my all time favourites. But maybe it would be more sensible to pick three books I’d never read before, there’s nothing more exciting than opening a new book.
10. When you sit down to write, what is the one item you need to have with you at all times?
    A cup of tea is nice!
11. What is your top tip for budding writers?
    My first big tip for writing a novel is get writing. So many people say to me that they want to write a novel but in fact never write anything longer than a shopping list! Try to write something every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes and even if you’re not in the mood. If you’re stuck for something to write about set yourself tasks, such as describing what you can see if you look out of the window, or your earliest memory or how a new dish tastes. It doesn’t matter what you write, or even if you ever use the exercises in your big novel, it simply develops discipline. But I do have a lot more tips on my website. http://www.adeleparks.com/tips.html
12. And finally Adele, do you have any upcoming projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of HandwrittenGirl?
    In April 2011 ‘Men I’ve Loved Before’ will be released in paperback and then in July that year my new hardback will be launched. I’ve just finished proof reading that one; it’s called, ‘About Last Night’. There are two female protagonists that have been friend since childhood, as adults their friendship is tested beyond endurance when one needs an alibi that the other simply can’t provide. It’s a heartfelt novel which looks at some of the perennial issues that concern us today; friendship, fidelity and our responsibility to those we have relationships with, be that a family or friend relationship. It scrutinizes our theories of love, motherhood and infidelity with (I hope) honesty and humour. I try to exam the thorny issues of the lives we lead today with an up-front, tell-it-as-it-is style. I’m very excited by About Last Night, can’t wait!

Read more about Adele Parks online or follow her on Twitter @adeleparks