• Blog

    Fast (Holiday) Five with Author Susan Murphy

    11/12/2016

    Ipad Pic of They Do I Don't and Annabel's Wedding by Susan MurphyThis is my second blog post interviewing contributors to the It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Chick Lit Anthology …today’s interview is with Susan Murphy.

    1. You have a holiday story in It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chicklit…what’s your favourite holiday?
    My favourite holiday is definitely Christmas. Ever since I was a kid, I’d start counting down the days from as early as July. I am the youngest of 5 kids and we didn’t have very much growing up, so when Christmas came around it was the only time we’d really get new toys and clothes. It was also fun to see all of our cousins and have roast dinner and dessert. In Australia Christmas is also in the summertime so it’s stinking hot. We would have the sprinklers on in the back yard and after opening our presents in the morning, lunch would be cooking while we played and got wet. I loved it.

    2. What book are you reading right now or looking forward to reading next?
    Right now I can’t wait to start reading The Florentine Bridge by Vanessa Carnevale and Don’t Mean a Thing by Renee Conoulty. They both look great and are wonderful ladies.

    3. Of your own novels do you have a favourite?
    I have 2 published books, a series called ‘Confetti Confidential’ which is loosely based on my work as a marriage and funeral celebrant. I loved book 1, ‘They Do, I Don’t’ but I think the second, ‘Annabel’s Wedding’ was actually better. My books have a lot of comedy, so most of the reviewers said that there were a lot of laugh out loud moments, but there’s also romance and of course, because I am a marriage celebrant, there are weddings!

    4. Are you working on a novel/book/story now? Can you tell me a little bit about it?
    I am working on something now, several things actually. I have written another ChickLit story which is based in Hawaii and is a bit more romance based than my other 2. I hope to have that out early next year. I’ve also been working on a thriller with another author and I have co-written a middle-grade children’s book with a fellow children’s author, Adam Cece. I also have a historical romance in the works too, based on the stories of my grandparents, but I need to wait until I visit Edinburgh next year, where the story is based, before I can really get into the details for that one.

    5. What’s your favourite holiday song/or food or tradition?
    I am one of those awful people that has Christmas carol CDs playing on loop all through December. My favourite tradition is taking the kids out so that they can buy gifts for each other and us with their own money. We wander the shops, listening to carols playing overhead. We have lunch and they spend time sneakily buying gifts and hiding them so that we don’t see. It’s my favourite thing in the lead-up. Boxing Day is also a big one for my family as my siblings and parents usually go our separate ways on Christmas day, to in-laws etc, but then on Boxing Day we have a big feast and celebration.

    Susan MurphyAbout Susan Murphy
    Susan Murphy is an author and marriage (and funeral) celebrant from Adelaide, South Australia. From weddings on cruise ships to family brawls at funerals, Susan has seen (and completely enjoyed) all of it. These situations have of course provided much inspiration for her writing.
    Her first book ‘Confetti Confidential: They Do, I Don’t’ was published with Harper Collins in 2015 with the follow-up, ‘Annabel’s Wedding’ released on November 1st 2015.
    After a stint as the Writer in Residence at the SA Writers Centre, Susan has co-written a middle-grade children’s book and is now working on a historical fiction project as well as a new romantic comedy series.
    In her ‘spare’ time she mainly eats chocolate and drinks wine, although she occasionally turns up at work and sometimes parents her three children, 2 dogs, cat and cockatiel, Moe.

     

    Website: www.susanmurphyauthor.com/
    Facebook author Page: https://www.facebook.com/susanmurphyauthor/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMurphyAuthor
    Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Murphy/e/B00VCZ7HTO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1475038372&sr=1-4
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13495153.Susan_Murphy
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanmurphyauthor/
    Blog: http://www.susanmurphyauthor.com/comechatblog
    Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/SmurphyAuthor/
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13495153.Susan_Murphy
    Harper Collins listing: http://www.harpercollins.com.au/cr-113929/susan-murphy/
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE_DBLbbRGKLOPzCjOrWrFA

    Look for Susan’s story in It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chick Lit out now and free at all major retailers.

    Chick Lit Anthology Promo 2016

    Comment

    Dianne Maguire
    11/13/2016 07:00:11 pm

    Loved this interview Susan. ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chit Lit,’ will definitely be part of my holiday reading. 🙂

  • Blog

    The Fast (Holiday) Five with Amy Gettinger

    11/8/2016

    To celebrate the launch of the new anthology It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chick Lit, which I have a story in I’m doing a series of interviews with some of the authors involved in the project. First up is Amy Gettinger.

    The Five (Holiday) Five With Amy Gettinger
    Alice in Monologue Land - CoverKiss My Sweet Skull - CoverRoll With the Punches - Cover

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. You have a holiday story in It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chicklit…what’s your favourite holiday?
    I probably love Thanksgiving more than Christmas at this point. I used to love Christmas best, but for the woman of the house, it is a huge, exhausting, month-long production with few surprises. Thanksgiving is much less material and just involves a huge, gorgeous meal with a lot of lovely people. Besides, I love turkey and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce AND pumpkin pie.

    2. What book are you reading right now or looking forward to reading next?
    I’m reading In a Gilded Cage and Crowned and Dangerous, both by Rhys Bowen. I love mystery with a female sleuth, and I really enjoy both Bowen’s Molly Murphy series and her Royal Spyness series.

    3. Of your own novels do you have a favourite?
    Probably. I think Roll with the Punches is my favorite. I loved the research into roller derby, and I really knew my stuff as far as Alzheimer’s, so it was easy to write. Plus, it helped me process my father’s long siege of Alzheimer’s.

    4. Are you working on a novel/book/story now? Can you tell me a little bit about it?
    I have a WIP about another roller girl, the biggest one on the team. I can’t say more at the moment. It’s very much in process, and it just isn’t calming down into a smooth story the way I’d like. (darn characters)

    5. What’s your favourite holiday song/or food or tradition?
    I send Christmas cards to over 100 people every year. If you’re on my good list, you get one—plus a long, thorough Christmas letter with pictures. I’m a good writer, and these letters are hilarious. It’s my favorite thing to do at Christmas.

    Amy Gettinger and TaffyAbout Amy
    Amy Gettinger, once a community college ESL instructor, now coaches reader’s theater for seniors. She lives in her dream house in Orange County, California underneath a eucalyptus windrow full of parrots and crows. For fun, she walks the local beach cliff path with her husband and the dogs–and thinks up perfectly ridiculous characters and crimes to write about.

    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Gettinger/e/B00S9Y99II
    Blog: https://amygettinger.com/
    Twitter: @AmyGettinger
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amy-Gettinger-1412625005719904/

    Chick Lit Anthology Promo 2016