Ask the Author: Carol Cooper
Answered Questions (14)
Carol Cooper
Ahlan, ya Raghad. Lil asif, this book isn't available as an ebook or PDF. Unfortunately this is also true of many illustrated parenting books, so I don't think I can help with this.
Carol Cooper
I don't usually write horror stories, of any length, but here goes:
His hand was still there. His body wasn't.
His hand was still there. His body wasn't.
Carol Cooper
Excellent news! Good luck with it all.
Carol Cooper
I think I'd travel to the world of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows. And no prizes for guessing that I would go boating. The sun would, of course, always be shining, and the only real disturbance would be the Poop-poop of Mr Toad's motor car. It would be very hard to leave.
Carol Cooper
Top of my summer list is 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'. I'm also going to save some reading time for the latest book by JJ Marsh, which is another Beatrice Stubbs mystery (and reputed to be the last).
Carol Cooper
There aren't too many mysteries in my own life, but I sometimes wonder why my father didn't want much contact with me when I was about 8-9 years old, after my parents divorced. From the age of about 11 onwards, however, I did develop a good relationship with him. I also have a stepmother that I love very much, as well as a half-brother and sister, and a step-brother too. But there's a period of time that I can't quite fathom, and, now that my father is no longer with us, I will never know the reason. Perhaps fiction can fill in the blanks and make an interesting read.
Carol Cooper
I live in Hampstead, so it's not the most remote location for me to research... The area is attractive and aspirational, and seems the perfect setting for a story. With that background, the novel had to be about the complicated relationships of thirty-something urbanites. Hence "Hampstead Fever"!
Carol Cooper
I have a soft spot for Elizabeth Bennett & Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is a truth universally acknowledged that these two don't hit it off immediately, but the relationship evolves. I like to think Lizzie Bennett will continue to be, as Mrs Darcy, the spirited individual she really is.
Carol Cooper
In everyday life. There's always something unexpected if you allow yourself to find it. I also get a lot of inspiration from my patients and colleagues. You won't ever find real people in my novels, but in my working life I'm often struck by the ways people face challenges or just react to events.
Carol Cooper
Good question! One definition of romance is a love story between two people with a happy ending, but I prefer a wider interpretation (not surprisingly, since my novels have more than two protagonists). To me, it's a story about relationships, with an appropriate but generally upbeat denouement that doesn't have to be the 'happily ever after'.
Carol Cooper
Just decide what you want to say, then get it down. It's as easy (or as hard) as that. Of course, anyone starting out needs lots of practice, so write often and for as long as you can. Eventually you will find your own style, and, when you do, it will seem as natural to you as the way you walk.
Carol Cooper
I love the fact that you do it anywhere: at your desk, on the beach, on a plane, sitting in bed - you name it. It's the ultimately portable job.
Carol Cooper
I'm working on the sequel to my novel 'One Night at the Jacaranda', in which some of the characters live on to have new adventures. Several people have mentioned characters that particularly resonate with them, such as Sanjay's family, and I'm happy to accommodate them where I can. Like the first book, the action will be set mostly in London, where I live, but the people's lives will have moved on a little, for better or for worse...
Carol Cooper
It's not that difficult because I've always wanted to write. I think it helps that my mother was a writer too, so I grew up thinking it would be a cool thing to do when I grew up. And life is full of situations and people that inspire great stories.
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