Guest Blogger Wednesday with Laura Lovelock in the hot seat

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Good morning everyone.  I’ve been a little bit quiet lately, life got a little bit crazy there for a while, but I’m back today with a lovely post for you all.  Did you all enjoy last weeks guest blog?  Well I have another interesting one for you all today –  Laura Lovelock who is a popular book reviewer in the UK.  She is also a talented aspiring writer and I always enjoy Laura’s submissions in our writers group Imagine, Write, Inspire.  So get ready for another nosy into someones life and Enjoy!

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Tell me a little about yourself.

Firstly, I would just like to say thank you for inviting me onto your blog. It’s very lovely here! A little about I…ok. I’m Laura, a 20 year old, unemployed, ex psychology undergraduate in a little bit of a panic about what to do with my life BUT channelling all of my current energy into reviewing books and attempting to write my own!

What do you write? When did you start?

I tend to write quite a lot of ‘stuff’. Being part of the fabulous Imagine, Write, Inspire group, I have found myself writing multiple pieces of flash fiction and surprising myself by adapting to certain genres and styles that I would have normally avoided. However, I am mainly working on my novel which is an untitled work in progress (WIP)!  I started writing when I could hold a pen! I have always loved putting down my ideas onto paper; when I was small I used to write one page stories and think I’d got a bestseller on my hands!

Of the characters you’ve created through writing, which one is your favourite and why so?

Ooh that’s a tough one! In my WIP I am pretty proud of the protagonist, Gemma. She has been a joy to write and I have felt like I’ve gone on a massive journey with her. I think she’s probably been my favourite to write because I can see a lot of myself in the way she behaves and the way she wants her life to turn out! Subconsciously, I have probably made her into the person I want to be in the future!

Tell us about your WIP?

I am working on the untitled WIP and am not loving every second! When I started I had such a passion for the characters and the piece but I’m currently at a stage where I need to do a lot of re-jigging and cut and re-write certain parts so it is a little bit of a traumatic experience! Cutting pages of your own work out and having to start again was not something I had envisaged BUT it is all good experience for future writing projects! And I’m slowly starting to fall in love with the characters and plot again (now they’re behaving themselves and doing what I want them to!)

Tell me about your blog and what we can expect if we pop by.

I do blog and it is one of the most important parts of my life right now! It has been such a release and great distraction from ‘real-life’. I have a book review blog where I review all kinds of books (but mainly chick lit and thrillers!) that I get sent by lovely authors or the wonderful publishing companies out there. If you were to pop by you’d be able to read reviews about books that are soon to be published. You could enter some giveaways to win copies of books and you can catch up with your favourite author in the author interview section!

Please share a sample of your writing (approx 200 words), anything you like!

Ok, this was a tricky one but these are a few words from my current WIP. I hope they spark interest!

I’ll see you later hun, have a good night.’

‘You too,’ I replied, reaching for the remote to turn over the channel. I heard the front door slam and hoisted myself into a sitting position on the sofa. I still hadn’t had anything to eat so made my way into the kitchen to rummage around the cupboards. With my search efforts resulting in a bag of out of date peanuts and a half eaten kitkat chunky, I walked over to the ‘junk’ drawer and fished out a takeaway menu. I returned to the sofa minutes later awaiting the arrival of my king prawn curry and brown rice.

My handbag sat in the corner of the room and I lazily made my way across the plush carpet to retrieve the exact change for the delivery man. The woman on the phone had said my food should take about half an hour so laying on the sofa filling my evening with mind-numbing TV seemed to be the only way to pass the time. An over excited presenter was currently interviewing an elderly lady about why she wanted to audition for the talent contest and I cringed when she made a fool of herself by trying to rap a song about ‘beatin a bitch up’.

I was contemplating putting The Notebook on and imagining myself with Ryan Gosling when a beeping alerted me to a phone on the edge of the sofa. I looked over and realised Ollie had left his phone at home; he must have dropped it when he left his jacket on the sofa.

Would you consider self-publishing?

This is a tricky question. I’d love to try the traditional way with an agent and a proper publishing house. I’d like someone with a lot of knowledge to help make my novel the best it can be. However, it is incredibly difficult to make it in the publishing world so I would certainly consider self publishing if I was having trouble finding a book deal. I guess the level of control you have when you self publish would be one of the strongest things that would attract me to it!

Give me 3 words to describe your best self and 3 words to describe your worst self.

Another tricky one!

Best self: loud, talkative, happy.

Worst self: moody, rude, blunt!

Girls night out, room for 10 in the limo, who are you bringing with you? (Dead, alive, fictional, celebrities, friends, the choice is yours!)

Oh wow! Firstly, can the limo be pink please and can we have a very sexy chauffeur?  Firstly, without a doubt, I’d bring Sheridan Smith with me. She’s one of my favourite actresses in the world and I would LOVE to chat to her! I’d also choose Alexandra Brown (the author of Cupcakes At Carringntons) and Emma Willis from the telly, they’re both gorgeous and seem like they’d be a LOT of fun! Kate Winslet could have a seat if she was free, she’s a right gem. Kate Middleton, I want to know if she sounds posh all the time. I think it would be rude not to invite Michelle Obama. Agatha Christie would be the next guest, I’d love to get some writing advice from her! Whitney Houston could serenade us all night so she’d be the next one. Then, obviously, I need a seat and it would be terribly rude not to invite you, Carmel. Want to hop in?

Describe a perfect day and night for me.

My perfect day would begin with getting up early and going for a walk along the beach with a bouncy dog and gorgeous man (these are not optional). Then I’d like to eat breakfast in a greasy spoon with NONE of the calories going on my hips. After breakfast, a ride in a fast train and lunch in an Italian restaurant by a river would be fabulous. Then I’d spend the afternoon in a bookshop where everything was free (and I’d be the only customer). Dinner in Paris please, looking at the Eiffel tower and pretending to be posh with frogs legs and snails. Then an evening in the west-end seeing a musical would round off the day nicely. (Ignore the fact a lot of travelling would be involved to get from England to Italy, then Paris and then back again)

What are you reading right now? And is it a paper book or ebook?

I am actually in the glorious stage between books where I am yet to choose what to read next. I tend to have two books on the go at once; one paperback and one ebook. This makes is handy if I want to read in the bath because I can use my e-reader and not get upset that the pages of the paperback would go curly! I have a book on my E-reader that I’d love to read next called Beyond Grace’s Rainbow. I doubt you’d have heard of it though 😉

(Cue anxious author time awaiting book review! )

If you could pick any career in the world other than what you do now, what would it be?

Well I guess my current career is unemployed so I have a lot to choose from! My ultimate dream career would be an author. However, I’d love to be a wedding planner; that would be a fantastic career (albeit incredibly stressful)

Who would you like to meet most for a chat? Dead or alive. Fictional or real.

I’d love to meet ALL of my blogging, writing, and book loving friends! I have met so many fabulous people on twitter and facebook since I’ve started writing and reviewing and I would just love to be able to meet them all in one go!

Quick fire round, pick one of each of the below!<

Beer or cocktails

I don’t drink but if I had to choose then it would be cocktails!

Jeans or dress

Dress

Sun or Snow

Snow

Beach or Pool

Pool

Cats or Dogs

Cats

Theatre or Cinema

100% Theatre

Pink or Green

Pink

Night in or night out

Night in!

Paperback or eBook

Ooooo paperback!

Lobster or steak

Lobster

What is the best compliment anyone could give you?

‘You’re a great writer, would you like to sign a book deal with us?!’ (That’s a compliment leading into a question!)  Once again, thank you SO much Carmel for inviting me to stay for a while on your lovely blog.

Isn’t Laura just lovely? In answer to her question above,hell yes I’ll hop in! That limo sounds like a whole lot of fun!

So everyone, if you would like to find out more about Laura, you can

follow her here 

find her here

like her here

I have another great guest blogging lined up for next week and if you would like be one of my guest bloggers, send me an email at happymrsh@yahoo.ie, I’d love to hear from you.

Chat soon

Carmel x

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