Interview with Rebeccah Giltrow, author of THE TWELVE DAYS OF KRISTA MAY ROSE

By: Meradeth Houston on 5:00 AM

A delightful interview today with Rebeccah Giltrow! She's the author of THE TWELVE DAYS OF KRISTA MAY ROSE, and is a fellow sticky-note addict :) Be sure to say hello in the comments!

12 Days of Krista May Rose

 

It's Christmas, times twelve.  The traditional song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ inspires this series of poignant, festive tales.  Follow Krista May Rose as she experiences ups and downs over her life's Christmases, from her Christmas school play, to an Aussie crimbo barbie, to her hen night, to a trip to the hospital for her sister's ultrasound, to an awkward lunch at the in-laws', to the anniversary of her mother's death.

Accompany Krista on her journey from childhood to old age, stopping off at twelve Christmases throughout her life, and free your emotions along with her as she relates her stories attached to this eventful time of year.

Amazon

(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from? Is there any place online you’d like to direct us to learn more about you?

Hello, thank you for having me.  I’m from a little town on the east coast of England, called Lowestoft.  It’s not the best place in the world, but I love living near the beach so that makes up for it.  I’ve got a four year old Lhasa Apso cross Jack Russell dog, so the beach is a great place for us to go on long walks.

I’m a bit of a social networking addict, so you can find me all over the internet.  My main base is my blog (http://rebeccahgiltrow.blogspot.co.uk/), but you can also find me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Rebeccah.Giltrow.Writer), Twitter (https://twitter.com/RebeccahGiltrow), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/beckamj), Linked in (http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccahgiltrow), about me (http://about.me/rebeccahgiltrow), goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/rebeccah_giltrow), and my Amazon author page (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebeccah-Giltrow/e/B00A9Q3BY2/)

(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for 12 Days of Krista May Rose.

I love writing collections of short stories that all have a connection.  This book is a collection of twelve short stories; each one is a day in Krista’s life starting off a pre-birth going through childhood, adulthood, and ending in old age.

The idea for this collection came from two places.  I belong to Lowestoft Library Writers’ Group (http://lowestoftlibrarywritersgroup.onesuffolk.net/) and we get set pieces of writing homework.  A couple of years ago our homework was to write something inspired by the traditional Christmas song, ’12 Days of Christmas’.  I wrote a short story which included all the elements of the song, but wasn’t overly happy with the piece.

A little while later there was a series of television programmes called ‘Little Crackers’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Crackers) which were Christmas stories written by comedians.  Each programme was only 15 minutes long, but I absolutely loved them.  They were all different but they all conjured up memories of Christmases I’d had.

So I combined the two ideas.  I took each element of the song (ladies dancing, gold rings, French hens, drummers drumming, etc.) and wrote a story about Christmas for each one.  As I said earlier, I like my short stories to be connected, so I decided that each story would be from the perspective of one character, Krista, and they would take the reader on a journey through her life, stopping off at various Christmases.  Some are fiction and some are based on my own Christmases. 

And even though it’s a Christmas book, it can be read at any time of year, or just dipped in and out of if you want a quick read.

(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?

I guess I draw bits and pieces from various places; Georges Perec, Phil Terry, Roald Dahl, Raymond Queneau, Italo Calvino, Marcus Zusak.

(Q) What do you do for fun other than writing?

When I’m not writing I like to bake, knit, read, swim, do Pilates, go to the gym, paint, take photos, listen to music, watch horror films, and spend time down at the beach.

(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be? What music would you listen to (if at all)? What treats would you have on hand?

Ooh, that’s a good question.  I would love to have my own library room; floor to ceiling bookshelves full of books on every wall.  There would be one large window looking out over a peaceful garden.  My desk would be in front of that window.  I’d have my computer and stacks of Post-it notes (I always write my ideas down on Post-its and stick them all over my desk!).  I would definitely have music.  I can’t write without music.  I get a bit scared if everything is too quiet.  When I write, I just put my music player on shuffle and skip the songs I don’t like.  So I guess in an ideal world, I’d only have the songs I like so that I didn’t have to waste time skipping any!  My playlist would include Sonic Boom Six, Random Hand, Mouthwash, Buck 65, The Faint, The Whip, Example, Urthboy, Hilltop Hoods, Rizzle Kicks, The King Blues, The Cure, V V Brown, The Pipettes, Saul Williams, Metronomy, Scroobius Pip, Ian Brown, JJ72, Ok Go, Imperial Leisure, Goldie Lookin Chain, Tenacious D, Frisky & Mannish, and so many more!!

And as for treats, hmm … Firstly I would need to have my dog in the room with me.  She gives me inspiration and she also distracts me by being cute and adorable when I’m struggling with my writing.  I would also need an unlimited supply of crisps and pick ‘n’ mix.  I graze a lot when I write, and although I know I should eat healthily, I prefer chomping on sweets all the time!

(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?

I generally start out with a vague idea for my stories, and when I start writing it just seems to flow.  I don’t like to plan too much as I like to be surprised as I write.  I often leave the plot to my characters and let them write their own stories.  It’s more exciting that way.

(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share? 

I am currently writing a sequel to my first full length novel, Lexa Wright’s Dating Sights.  It’s untitled and far from finished, but I hope to release it by the end of the year at the latest.  The first book is a chic lit romcom, about Lexa who is looking for love, but she wants to meet someone by chance like people do in films.  Not only does she want a boyfriend, she also wants to write a book.  Her best friend suggests she joins an online dating site, and Lexa meets a man and goes on a date with him.  The next day, while walking her dog through the park, she meets another man by chance and goes on a date with him.  She likes them both and can’t decide who to choose.  I won’t say whether or not she finds love, or if she manages to write a book.  You’ll just have to buy the book, and then buy the sequel (once I’ve finished writing it) to find out what happens next!

(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)

I’m not too sure to be honest.  I was told by a fellow author that I needed to build myself a platform.  So I established myself on various social networking sites, started a blog, and tried to promote myself that way.  Recently I have been doing author interviews (just like this one) in the hope I can reach a wider audience.  It’s difficult to know what works for the best, but I guess if you can promote yourself on every possible avenue, it can only work to your advantage.

I also do poetry readings at a local open mic event, and I’m going to be putting some of my books into my local library, in the hope more people will see me/my work.  I guess it’s necessary to be patient and persevere, and eventually something good will happen.

(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers? 

This comes from the first chapter, ‘Rings’, from 12 Days of Krista May Rose.

It’s Christmas.  It’s 1981.  I am not yet born and yet I am very much alive.  I let my mother know this on a regular basis in a variety of ways.  Right now I am wriggling and twisting and making myself comfortable on her bladder.  She, not happy by my movement, is clenching her muscles and running up the stairs, letting out a frustrated whine as her fingers forget how to unbutton buttons.

When she returns she sits in the armchair watching my father prepare Christmas dinner.  The smell of the meat roasting makes her feel a bit nauseous so she sits at a safe distance from the kitchen; close enough to keep an eye on my father just in case he causes irreversible damage on a similar scale to his exploits eight months ago, but far enough away to avoid vomiting all over the floor.

Sally, our border collie cross Labrador cross retriever cross I don’t know what else, sits at her feet, taking care of us.  The low growl from her stomach reverberates through my mother’s feet, up her legs and into her lower torso.  I can hear everything.  Her tail flaps slowly, not really in any sort of rhythm.  She just wants to let us know she’s there. 

“She’s changed,” my mother remarks, “all because of you.”  She strokes my head and smiles.  “She never used to be this calm,” she continues, “especially if there was a chance of food falling onto the floor.”