author snapshot: jane green
1. What inspired you to write chick lit?
There wasn't any chick lit when I started. I wrote my first novel, Straight Talking, in 1995. It came out a few months after Bridget Jones's Diary, together with a couple of other novels all dealing with single women in their twenties and thirties, looking for Mr. Right, in a very real, emotionally honest and funny way. The media decided to call it chick lit.
2. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
Soaking in hot bubble baths, going for long walks, cooking, gardening. However, what I actually DO when I'm not writing, is parent - being a single mother of four small children doesn't leave a tremendous amount of time for anything else.
3. Out of all of the books you have written, which was the most fun to write and why?
Jemima J - it was the easiest, and felt like I was watching the events unfold on a movie screen in my head.
4. Are there any naughty episodes in your novels that mirror real life?
Tons, mostly in the earlier ones. There was a scene in Mr Maybe where Libby cooks for her future in-laws, and throws in sixteen small chillis, almost killing everyone at the table. Many moons ago that happened to me.
5. What is your favorite time of the day: morning, afternoon, or night?
I love afternoons, but write in the mornings.
6. If you could cast yourself as a character in one of your novels, who would it be?
I think you'll find I've already been cast. Many times...
7. What did you do to celebrate the publishing of your first novel?
Bought a cherry red BMW - my first ever proper car, and the first new car I had ever bought.
8. Is there anything you’d like to share with your readers?
Look out for my new book, The Beach House, published in June 2008.