Author Interview with Miranda Dickinson

Miranda Dickinson is living every unpublished author's dream - her novel, Fairytale of New York, was spotted online by a huge publishing company and is now set to hit shops in November. Here, she talks about finding out her book was being published - and not believing it...
 
Bookarmy: First off, tell us about Fairytale of New York!

Miranda Dickinson: Fairytale of New York follows the story of Rosie, an English girl who now lives and works in New York’s Upper West Side. She owns Kowalski’s, a florist’s shop which she took over from the enigmatic Mr Kowalski – a lovely old Polish man who had a profound influence on her when she first arrived in the city.

Rosie is an eternal optimist, despite the fact that several things in her life have been less than perfect – including the reason she came to America. She adores living in New York and is surrounded by friends who love her – New York Times journalist (and one-woman tornado) Celia, charming but commitment-phobic Ed and kooky Marnie – but despite their best protests, she still keeps her heart under lock and key.

Then she meets gorgeous editor Nate and starts to feel her resolve being shaken. Striking up a friendship, they meet over coffee at Kowalski’s and begin to get closer. At the same time, Rosie’s brother James arrives in the city hiding a secret that could shatter both their lives…

I wanted to bring out the neighbourhood side of New York, so the book is filled with stories of everyday life for the people that surround Rosie – from Kowalski’s customers to people she meets in her neighbourhood bakery, local cafés and even the ubiquitous yellow taxis! I hope that it brings alive the unique warmth, wit and community spirit of the city, together with giving you an insight into other people’s stories.

BA: Fairytale was chosen for publication from Authonomy, HarperCollins website for unpublished authors. What went through your mind when you found out your book had been selected?

MD: At first, I didn’t believe it! I thought the email from Sammia, my editor, was a scam and it was only when I googled her name that I realised it was genuine! When Avon requested the full manuscript it wasn’t actually finished, so I spent a frantic three days and nights writing 20,000 more words to complete it and sent it off, never really thinking I’d hear from them again. But two weeks later, Maxine (the Publishing Director at Avon) emailed me and asked me to call her. Still, I didn’t really believe my book was good enough to be published. After a long phone conversation she said, “We do want to publish your novel, by the way,” and the penny finally dropped!

As an unpublished writer, you always dream of the day when someone says, “I love your book and I want to publish it,” – so the strange thing was that when it did happen to me it felt so unreal. Even now it hasn’t completely sunk in. That said, I’m thoroughly over the moon and feel ridiculously lucky to be on the verge of seeing my book on the shelves. It’s a complete dream come true for me!

BA: You’re a musician as well as an author. How is the album coming along?

MD: Really well – it’s almost finished! I’ve been writing, performing and recording my own songs for over fifteen years, singing with a variety of bands and also doing session singing for other artists. Doing my own album is something I’d always wanted to do but as I’m self-funding it, it’s taken till this year to save up enough to do it. I’m very blessed that my best chum Chris co-owns a recording studio and is a fantastic musician, so it’s been brilliant to work on the album tracks with him. It’s going to be called ‘About Time’, which is a bit of pun seeing as it’s taken me so long to do it. You can hear some of the tracks at my music site: www.mirandadickinson.com

BA: You’re currently working on a book called Travels with My Teapot, which looks to be quite different from Fairytale. Can you tell us more about it?

MD: Travels with My Teapot (or Tea Ladies, Arise!) is my daft comedy spy-thriller, where Tea Ladies are undercover secret agents working in the offices of politicians, newspapers, media and even the Prime Minister! After all, nobody suspects a tea lady… It’s a very British comedy, in the vein of Jasper Fforde or Neil Gaiman, with thrills, spills, dastardly deeds and an ultra-dimensional travel portal (which happens to be a teapot found at a car boot sale…) This book is my own comedy project and isn’t going to be published yet – it’s just nice to write in a completely different style. I’m a massive fan of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next novels, Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett, so Travels is a bit of an homage to them. You can read it so far on Authonomy, along with my wombat novel (another daft comedy thriller!).

At the moment, though, I’m working on my second book for Avon, called Welcome to my World, which will be published next year. It’s a romantic comedy, set in England this time, following a travel agent who longs to see the world and a world traveller who just wants to stay in one place. The first chapter is going to be at the end of Fairytale of New York, so you’ll be able to read it soon!

BA: If you could only recommend one book to everyone you meet for the rest of your life, what would it be?

MD: Blimey, that’s a tough question! I’d probably have to say Pride and Prejudice because it’s such a perfectly constructed story and it’s my all-time favourite book. I first read it when I was twelve and it made me want to write. I think the best recommendation for a book is when it makes an impact on someone’s life… For me, this book is special because it taught me so much about how to write a great story. It has everything – comedy, satire, social observation, drama, tear-jerking moments and a happy ending. What’s not to love?

BA: Lastly, what are you reading at the moment, and is it any good?

MD: I’m reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and it’s awesome. The main character is so endearing and the way the author uses this to tackle hard-hitting subjects is really clever. I’m fascinated by other people’s stories and the way they view the world, so this is right up my street. I’d thoroughly recommend it – it’s a cracking book.


 

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