Author Interview: Keris Stainton

Today I'm pleased to have the very sweet, very wonderful Keris Stainton for interview! Her debut novel, Della Says: OMG! was published 6th May. I asked her several questions and this is what she has to say!

1. What inspired Della Says: OMG! ?

My sister had a party when I was a teenager and the next day I found that my diary was missing. It did eventually turn up - shoved under my mattress - but while it was missing, I was terrified someone was going to use it to humiliate me. I started thinking about how much worse that would be now, with Facebook and mobile phones.

2. Who would most likely steal your diary?

Well these days I pretty much put all my most personal thoughts/secrets on the internet anyway so no one would need to! When I was a teenager I was much more embarrassed about pretty much everything I was thinking and feeling, now I'm much more open and honest. I find that the more honest and open I get, the easier life becomes.

3. If there was one person in the world whose diary you could steal and read, whose would it be?

Oh my goodness. Great question. My brain seems to be stuck on Oprah. Not sure why since I'm not sure how interesting her diary would be - "Worked. Worked more." - but maybe it would give me an insight into how she stays so completely awesome and inspirational.

4. My favourite character is Della's dad - which character is your favourite?

Oh good, I love Della's dad too! I think Della's probably my favourite character though. I feel very protective of her.

5. What were the biggest challenges in writing your debut novel?

Dealing with self-doubt, I think. It started when I sent three chapters over to my editor. They were nothing like the first three chapters now - one was from Della's point of view, another from Jamie's and then Maddy's chapter was diary-style. I then worried that my editor absolutely hated them, but didn't know how to tell me. My brain would come up with things like, "She's probably looking into how difficult it would be to cancel your contract..." Excruciating. Then she said that she loved them, but liked Della the best and asked if I could write the whole book from Della's point of view and the worry started again. And now I've got to do it all again with another book! *cries* (I do know how lucky I am though, honestly.)

6. Who do you admire most as a writer?

Meg Cabot, Meg Cabot, Meg Cabot. I love her books and she's a huge inspiration to me. I love how prolific she is and that she's able to write for different ages and in different genres. So you can imagine how excited I was when she agreed to read Della and gave me a cover quote? I happy-danced all over the house!

7. What in your opinion is the most fulfilling aspect of being a writer?

For me, it's just so wonderful to be able to work from home and fit what I do around my children. I love the fact that my sons get to see me doing something that I love and that makes me happy - that was always really important to me. I also really love reading back something I've written and not remembering writing it - I sometimes think "Ooh! That's actually quite good!" - but that's peculiar rather than fulfilling... I'm going to have to cop-out and say it's ALL fulfilling. It's the best job in the world and I still can't believe I'm doing it!

8. Are you currently working on another novel? A sequel to Della Says: OMG! perhaps?

I am working on another novel (you can read about it here: http://novelista-michele.blogspot.com/2010/05/guest-blog-keris-stainton.html), but it's not a sequel. I am definitely thinking about a sequel to Della. Or maybe even two - I'd quite like to write Maddy's book and also Jamie's, but not sure when that will be (or if they'll be published!)

Thank you Keris! :) I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to Keris' next books. You can visit Keris at her website, http://dellasays.wordpress.com/ to find out more about our lovely author!

This interview is part of Keris' blog tour. You can view the list of blog stops (as opposed to bus stops - love it) HERE. Don't forget to head over to The View from My Garret tomorrow for more interview questions!