Lisa Heidke’s debut novel Lucy Springer Gets Even was published in Australia earlier this year and will finally be available in the UK tomorrow (5th November). I thought it was a fantastic read and you can read my review here. Lisa kindly agreed to do an author interview with us and here it is.

1. Describe your novel, Lucy Springer Gets Even, in a sentence.

Lucy Springer Gets Even is about Lucy, an out of work actress and mother, who is living through a renovation nightmare when her husband suddenly takes off and she is forced to get her act and life together.

2. What’s next after Lucy Springer Get Even?

My second novel What Kate Did Next is being released in Australia at Christmas and tells the story of Kate Cavendish, a married mother of two, who rediscovers her passion for life amidst dealing with a distant husband, a rebellious thirteen-year-old daughter, a heavily pregnant and neurotic sister and parents who reunite after twenty years apart. Kate has a lot to deal with and her life quickly spirals out of control. However, the time has come for Kate to follow some of her own dreams…

3. What inspired Lucy Springer Gets Even, is it based off your own experiences?

With Lucy Springer Gets Even, I wanted to write a light hearted story in diary form about a woman whose husband leaves her, day one, sentence one. I thought it would be interesting to look at a woman in her mid-thirties with a couple of kids who thinks her life is moving happily along and rip it to shreds. I plotted Lucy’s journey from the depths of despair and bewilderment on day one to her getting her life together by day sixty-five.

After charting the story, I realised I was missing a few crucial elements. Lucy needed a career and I’m fascinated by the reality TV phenomenon so I decided to make her an actress. I was going through a renovation at the time so thought that throwing a few builders into the mix would add realistic mayhem; and with regard to Lucy’s epiphany, that fell into place with the advent of the Bali bombings.

As for Lucy’s story being based on my own experiences, I have three children so could realistically portray the parenting side of Lucy’s life. I’ve been through a renovation (not nearly as traumatic as Lucy’s) and was in Bali during the 2005 bombings. That’s about it. I’m not an actress and my husband hasn’t left me (yet). However, he does own a red Malibu surfboard.

4. What was your road to getting published?

I think I got published through sheer persistence and determination. I didn’t give up. I joined critique groups, entered manuscript competitions and basically forced myself to sit at the computer every day and write. After I got short listed for a competition in Australia, it was suggested I contact Allen & Unwin, an Australian publisher, who were actively seeking contemporary women’s fiction writers. By the time I signed a contract, I had written three 85,000 manuscripts. I think it helped that I had a body of work to show them.

5. Who are some of your favourite authors/books?

Marian Keyes is brilliant. She’s funny and incredibly talented and I admire her enormously. Her writing always seems so effortless even when her characters are dealing with serious issues like alcoholism and divorce. Sophie Kinsella is also a favourite, as is Jane Green and Nick Hornby.

But I will read anything when the back cover blurb appeals to me. I’m always on the lookout for new authors. I also love re-reading classics by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.

6. What is your normal writing day like?

I wish I had a normal writing day! In a perfect world, where my house is tidy, the fridge is fully stocked and my children are flu-free and attending school, my writing day starts around nine in the morning when I turn on the computer, answer emails and fuss about playing solitaire before getting settled. I start writing in earnest by about ten. If I’m working on a new manuscript I like to write at least 2,500 words a day, in one long sitting, four days a week. If I’m on a roll, that might take three hours. After that I’ll do some manuscript related research on the internet. I’m also trying to maintain a blog on my website and a presence on Facebook so I try to keep up to date with those, but am failing miserably! I generally switch off the computer around two-thirty to prepare for the after-school madness. I hardly ever write at night. I prefer taking a book to bed.

7. What’s the best thing about being an author?

The best thing about being an author is that I get to create real but flawed characters who often behave appallingly and say and do things that I’d never dare to in real life. I have a lot of fun writing and thinking up plot twists and turns. It’s great seeing a story come together. I start with a blank page and think, ‘how am I going to fill this with 85,000 words?’ I love disappearing into a world of make believe. The possibilities…

8. Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers?

The best advice I can give writers wanting to get published is: Don’t give up. Start writing your novel, short story or memoir, and don’t stop until you’ve finished it. If you can only write one hour a day, write hard for sixty minutes. Before long you’ll have your story. You have to be persistent and determined, as well as have a lot of faith in yourself.

Despite setbacks you may suffer – deleting hundreds of words at the foolish press of a button, panic attacks in the middle of the night that you’re wasting your time - you have to have a determined belief in your ability. Make sure you keep your long term objectives in mind. If you’re going to take every rejection personally, your dream of becoming a published writer will quickly end in tears.

If you’re not passionate, you won’t sustain the motivation needed to finish. But if you are passionate, determined and persistent, eventually you will be published. Keep writing!

Visit Lisa’s website at: http://www.lisaheidke.com

Thanks Lisa!

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