Talented, emerging author, Juliet Madison leaves no gnome unturned as she launches Author Spring Harvest…
STOP PRESS: I am so happy to announce Juliet is no longer an aspiring author. Her first novel, Fast Forward, will be published by Harlequin Escape Digital in February 2013. Escape Publishing
At home…
Juliet, my mum says garden gnomes make a house a home. Are you: (a) loud and proud in your love of garden gnomes at home, (b) a closet gnomer or (c) with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?
Hmm, well, now I think of it. I don’t have a gnome nor do I have much of a garden! All I have in my garden is a few shrubs, a trampoline, and probably a ton of fertilizer courtesy of my cat who thinks the whole yard is his toilet 😉
If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?
Hang on, let me check… okay, looks like I need to go shopping. I have a half-full (I’m an optimist) bottle of juice, a carton of protein-enriched rice milk (no dairy in our house), leftover soup, mayonnaise (half-full again), fish oil capsules and probiotics, chilli paste, mustard, apple cider vinegar, out-of-date pesto (and out of the fridge now), strawberries, vegetables, smoked salmon, strawberry jam (my son goes through bucket loads of the stuff), and an empty lemonade bottle (the one thing my son decides to put away, and it’s EMPTY).
If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)
Mostly pinky-purples! And no, I’m lucky to get as far as putting things away, let alone colour-coordinating them. Backs of chairs make such good clothes hangers!
What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)
Bugger. Knew I shouldn’t have changed out of my Collette Dinnigan designer dress for the sake of the comfort and warmth of my ten-year-old tracksuit pants and lambswool jumper, complete with those little pilly bits hanging off it. Today is a cold day, and daggy is allowed.
(Juliet, daggy is the new black in my part of the country!)
Whose home would you like to housesit and why?
Downton Abbey. Then I could dress up in fancy clothes and put on my best British accent and hope that a handsome Turkish diplomat comes to visit (and doesn’t die, this time).
(Juliet, he may cark it if you feed him from that refigerator!)
Country curiosities…
If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?
Probably an owl because I often stay up late, as that is when my creative muse works best. But I would prefer to be a cat and get lots of naps!
Now for the big country question… Why did the chicken cross the road?
He was chasing after the love of his life, of course. Why she was crossing the road, well that’s another question. Hopefully she wasn’t trying to get away from him!
About you…
Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realised that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream and you were going to make it a reality and a career?
When a crisis resulted in me leaving my health business behind in order to help my son get through high school by distance education, and I realised that being at home full time would be the perfect opportunity to begin my dream of writing a novel. I’d had no time whatsoever when I was running a clinic, and I knew it was now or never. Three years and three novels later, I am one hundred percent committed to doing this as a career, as it is my passion and I love it.
(FYI readers – Juliet joins Author Harvest this spring as a seedling, but she will be reaping the rewards of her hard work with a contract soon enough – or I’ll eat my Akubra.)
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Surprisingly, the hardest part sometimes is stopping. I can get so carried away in the story and before I know it it’s 2am. Creativity strikes me at ridiculous hours. On the opposite end of the spectrum, sometimes just sitting down at the computer and starting can be hard too, but once I start… well, see the first part of my answer!
If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?
Mother on a Mission
Okay, not wanting to take advantage of your hospitality, before I go, tell us…
What does your protagonist think about you? Would he or she want to hang out with you, the author, his/her creator.
I think Kelli, the protagonist in my most recent manuscript, FAST FORWARD, probably wouldn’t want to hang out with me after what I’ve put her through. I made her age twenty-five years overnight, forced her to bungy jump against her will, gave her multiple hot flushes, and almost killed her off courtesy of a revolutionary and ridiculously tight support undergarment. Then again, I did give her a happy ending, so for that she might at least meet me for a quick coffee once a year. I would have to pay, of course.
If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?
I’d tell you about all the funny things my son has done in his life, such as secretly wearing a Superman outfit under his school uniform at age six, and making a well-thought-out decision around the same age that he’d like to be ‘a man’ when he grows up. If that failed to entertain, I could try summoning my dancing skills from the past and hope I don’t end up knocking over a valuable vase or something.
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
What? There was a time when people didn’t have sliced bread? 😉
Name 5 uses for a stapler that has not staple pins.
1. Paperweight
2. Door stopper
3. Bug whacker (sorry bugs!)
4. Back scratcher
5. Weapon (if the need ever arose, though it might be more powerful WITH staples)
(Okay Juliet, I’m backing away now. Put the stapler down. I said, PUT THE STAPLER DOWN! (hehehehehe)
Thank you. The scones were delightful. Not only that, you have FREE treats on your website. So readers, what are you waiting for? Get your free gift now. http://www.julietmadison.com/
