Siobhan's Sporking: Billy and Me, Q&A

Hey, so I said I’d do the Q&A and analyse … here we are. Questions are in bold, Giovanna’s answers are in italics, my comments are basic font. Sound easy enough? My overall analysis will be done in a couple of days.

Billy and Me looks at the price of fame and having a relationship in the spotlight. What made you decide to write about this subject Did you draw from your own experiences?

Before Giovanna even responds – did it look at the price of fame? I mean, really? I didn’t see Billy struggle with his lack of privacy or how he might have protected Sophie from crazy fans. I didn’t see late nights and early mornings and him struggling to smile and look grateful for what he’d been given even though it was damn hard work. I didn’t see him telling Sophie that he missed her and he wished work wasn’t coming between them so much. I saw him working late shifts and being sociable and enjoying life.

Thanks to the media, people have certain ideas of what dating a celebrity must be like – some girls claim that it’s all they want from life. All us ‘WAGS’ just shop and eat lettuce leaves all day, don’t we? Erm, no. In Billy and Me I wanted to capture a more rounded version of that supportive lifestyle. There are incredible highs, but there’s also the hurt, the insecurities and the loneliness to contend with. And yes, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t inspired by my own experiences at first, but that was only when I started. The novel had a life of its own after those initial ideas.

I always thought the idea of dating a celebrity was heinous. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have celebrity crushes and if Zac Efron, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jensen Ackles or Lee Pace (to name a few) came banging on my door, it would be damn near impossible to say no to them. But the months apart, the other influences on them, being out of the in-jokes or made to feel like an accessory … no thanks. And those girls who say it’s all they want? Five minutes ago, all they wanted was a dress, two weeks ago all they wanted was a dog … I’m not saying there’s not people obsessed with the idea of celebrity culture, but they’re few and far between. For the most part, people just want the free shit and hot partner.

And doesn’t WAG just apply to footballer’s partners? Actual question, I always thought it did. Regardless, the only WAGS fitting that obnoxious stereotype are the ones who want to make their own name on the back of their husbands/boyfriends. Think of how many footballers there are in the national leagues, and how many of their WAGs we hear about … just a small point, Giovanna.

I laughed at ‘well rounded version of that supportive lifestyle’. So sulking in bed rather than staying up to see your partner and removing all your interests to stare at the clock waiting for them and screeching at them for doing their job is all well-rounded?

I’m just grateful that she admits hardly any of the story compares to her experience.

What made you decide to set the majority of Billy and Me in a tiny village in Kent? Do you have a particular connection to this area?

Did Giovanna write her own questions?

I have lived in Kent – I studied there for three years – but I don’t think Sidcup can be compared to Rosefont Hill. With Kent known as ‘The Garden Of England’, it seemed fitting to set my idyllic village there. Also, I wanted somewhere small and safe for Sophie, with a close-knit community, somewhere vastly different to the busy streets of London.

She should have made the village Pagford.

Seriously, one of my BFFs lives in Kent, and together we’ve gone through Dover, Maidstone, Folkestone and another one escaping my memory. My family did a caravan holiday there in 2012, in New Romney, around the Hythe/Dymchurch/Dungeoness area. My stepbrother lives in Maidstone. I know Kent. Nowhere in Kent is how she described, let alone Sidcup. It’s like me writing a place in Essex that was just full of scholars and nerds … and not just the Ideas Hub in Chelmsford. Like, a village the size of Stock.

I’m all for writing a quaint little town, but I honestly think Giovanna’s writing in the wrong century.

One of the main themes of Billy and Me focuses on keeping hold of your dreams and not losing sight of who you really are and what you want out of life. What is it about this theme that made you want to write about it?

Being an actress it’s important to keep focused and positive, which is hard when there’s so much rejection out there. I think of it like being on a bucking broncko – you sit there holding on for as long as you can, trying not to get flung to the ground. It’s inevitable that you will be at some point, what’s important is how you handle it when you do. You get up, get back on and keep striving towards your goal. I’ve had my fair share of setbacks and it’s so easy to get sidetracked and lose sight of what you cherish and value – but it’s those little things that make everything worthwhile! That’s where the magic happens.

Is it me, or did she not even answer the question? She’s talking about how hard it is to be an actress, not what I would have expected, like being inspired by a quote or valuing her own dreams. Maybe I’m missing the point?

How and where do you write?

Are you freaking kidding me? With a laptop, a pen and paper, in a chair. Like everyone else.

First, I create a big summary, letting me know where I’m going with the plot and helping me focus my thoughts. Then I just get cracking. I aim to write 1,500 words a day. On a good day I’ll do double that, on a bad day I’ll do half. I write in my office at home, which is like my little den – it’s full of posters, Venetian masks, inspiring quotes, books and photos of almost everyone I know and love. I usually write in there but sometimes, if my room becomes a distraction (there’s so much to look at), I sit in the garden room looking out at the greenery – just me, my laptop and a glass of water. Oh, and a cat, or two, or three, or four …

So she basically NaNos. And 3,000 words on a good day? Awww, hunny, my best day on NaNo I did 6742. Outside of Nano, on a day off I managed 6626. Of course, there’s days I don’t write anything – I have a week completely clear on my calendar – my point is, her best days are kinda like my average day. Just as an example, I have written 771 words by this point. And we’re barely getting started, plus I’ve done some Reunited. I can do 1200 in an hour – I did so during a NaNo writing sprint. Her boasting really doesn’t amount to much. I know a guy who completed the 50k NaNo challenge in 12 days.

Also, her workspace sounds cluttered and distracting and like someone trying to fit into a role. Don’t all authors have an office full of inspiration? Um … well, I sit on the sofa and zone out of my parents TV shows to type like crazy. I get in the zone in the middle of the living room, pissing off my mum when she fails to make conversation with me because I’m typing furiously. Apparently, I type megafast as well (no, really mother, no).

Oh God, it’s that answer next, the one that makes me look at like, four of my books and shake my head in disgust.

Who or what was your biggest influence in deciding to become a writer?

A couple of people said they thought I should do it – my husband and my friend Karen. I knew I’d love to, but had no idea where you start with something like that. Then I met Hannah, an agent, who told me she thought I’d be good at it … again, where do you start? Then, I was out for lunch with author Dorothy Koomson one day and she told me her biggest piece of advice to aspiring authors was, ‘do it’. So I did!

I’m just going to leave this here.

I love how she only decided to be a writer because her husband and friend said she should, and then some agent (who was probably shagging Danny, let’s face it) was like ‘oh, yeah, sure’ and then she needed someone to say ‘you just write’ to know to … just write.

Okay, so little story time that the majority of you may have seen on my Facebook recently. I was saying how I thought authorship should run more like a business, and decided it was a story idea I would develop at a later date (my fourth in a week, and third written down. On fire right now!) and a friend said he wanted to write, but never knew what to write about. He had tried before, and knew what genre would suit him best and it’s one I know he knows well. And I did encourage him to just write it, see what happened. And then I said – and I think it’s important that this message gets across too – that the first draft might be bad, but it’s the springboard to go from. I’ve written uprooted about four times now, and this last version is the one that feels alive, that I feel comfortable with. So write the crappy version, then strip away the bad and add the good and find some good beta readers who will call you out on your shit and reason through plotholes and help make it better.

There are tonnes of people out there who call themselves writers and never pick up a pen or open a word document. There are writers I know who have been doing it for years and only just now consider themselves writers. And there are people (hi, this bit is me) who know they’re writers because that’s just how they are, but they’re not authors, because authors publish books and writers tell stories regardless.

And finally, this was the opportunity to talk about her favourite authors and books that inspired, and … nothing. Wow.

What are your favourite books?

The question needs to be repeated because she didn’t get it.

I have so many – I’m a real bookworm. Three books that I read years ago that have stuck with me are Jemima J by Jane Green, My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson and Playing Away by Adele Parks. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is my absolute favourite though.

I have the second book, it was my first DK. But what a crappy answer! Like, my absolute favourite book is Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, but I love Scarlett Thomas’ The End Of Mr Y, anything JK Rowling puts her name (or pseudo name) on. I love Sarah Dessen, with This Lullaby and Dreamland being my favourites and Just Listen reminding me strongly of Lamb and Carter in Annabel and Owen. I still adore Narnia, The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader being the best one. I loved reading The Count Of Monte Cristo, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde. Veronica Roth and Ally Condie write amazing dystopians. I love Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why. The Pittacus Lore chronicles are awesome, even if James Frey made up his autobiography and may publish under just his name, despite writing the series with his students (dodgy!) Holly Smale is a new author to watch for, and I recently discovered Jennifer E Smith. I loved Suzanne Collins, and have you read Septimus Heap? But also, and I can’t stress this enough, there is a world of beauty in just The Raven. I grew up on Ann M Martin, Paula Danziger, Judy Blume, Enid Blyton and Jacqueline Wilson.

All these books – and others I can’t stand – have had such an impact on me. I would hate to do a disservice to any of those books by forgetting them.

How do you most love to spend your time when you’re not writing?

So, the other 23 hours of the day.

I’d love to say lying in bed while eating chocolate, but I don’t want to appear like a complete slob. In my downtime I read anything I can get my hands on, see my friends and remember what it’s like to have a life, and go on great walks in the country.

I will only say this in regards to the above – Giovanna is now pregnant. Congratulations and all … but remember what it’s like to have a life in six months. Try it.

Where’s your favourite place to escape to?

I’d have to say my bed!

What a way to end a book!

That’s it. Thanks for sticking through this with me. Enjoy my summary, when I finally write it. Hopefully it won’t be too long.

Also, currently word count for tonight, including this entire piece and Reunited? And considering I’ve been on it since 9 and it’s 11.15 now? 1614 Words. Making the point again.