Fiona Gibson Book Tour – The Woman Who Upped And Left

On the book tour for Fiona Gibson’s fun and vibrant new book, ‘The Woman Who Upped And Left’, I have an interview with the woman behind the witty tale.

Your book is stuffed with delicious French cooking. How did you research for this (and can we join in next time…)?
When we were bringing up our family we had most of our holidays in France – my husband Jimmy and I are both in love with the country. I thought about the dishes we’d tried – the real classics – that had stuck with me, and I started playing around, adapting things and having great fun along the way. I love to cook, but before I had my twin boys 19 years ago, I could barely make toast! I had to teach myself quickly in order to feed my family. Jamie was my guide.

Do you have a favourite French recipe?
I actually like the simplest thing, which ISN’T in this book – just a simple cheese omelette with frites, a small green salad and a glass of white wine, sitting outside, somewhere sunny and French. From the recipes in the book, I have to say a madeleine is perfect with a cuppa.

Audrey’s son is a little … well, hopeless. But was it fun to write his character?
Writing Morgan was my favourite part of this book. I love writing hapless males – in fact, I usually tend to enjoy creating my male characters most of all. I have no idea why – perhaps because my main female leads are usually slightly based on me, or on someone I know well, whereas my guys are completely invented. A lot of fun can be had with someone as clueless and misguidedly defensive and belligerent as Morgan!

[amazon_link id=”1847563678″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]

Is there any advice you’d give to aspiring writers?
If your aim is to write light, humorous fiction, then it’s important that the process is as fun as you can make it. I think we can all pay too much attention to that inner critic – the voice in our head that keeps telling us, ‘This is awful. You’re wasting your time!’ In fact, a first draft is usually going to be pretty ropey with billions of faults, but the important thing is to keep on, and finish it, then go back and polish it up. Also, do bear in mind that commercial fiction does need to rollick along at quite a sprightly pace, so be ruthless at cutting and trimming back, as you edit. You want your reader to be pulled along with you, desperate to know what happens next.

And finally, if you could Up and Leave, where would you go?
Oohh… good question! Recently, I’ve had a huge urge to go to Greece. When I was a young, single girl – 20-odd years ago now – I used to head off every summer to one of the islands with my friend Jane or Cheryl. Crete, Cos, Corfu, Santorini… we went all over and I don’t think anywhere matches the beauty of Greece. So, yes, that’s where I’d up and leave to – just for a short escape from the Scottish winter!

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1847563678″ target=”_blank” ]The Woman Who Upped and Left from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops