Sorry I've been a bit AWAL, but I've been so busy it's untrue. I'm currently in Starbucks, with my weight in christmas shopping (which, trust me, is a lot), a muffin I dropped on the floor, the wrong textbook for college and without my pencil case to do work, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to let you all read my interview with the fabulous Lindsey Kelk. Have you read any of her books? She's such a lovely person. Here you are wonderful's:I had the pleasure of meeting the quirky, red-headed character that is author Lindsey Kelk in Liverpool earlier this year. Her addictive books and loveable persona have contributed to me gearing myself up to interview her. Lindsey’s been a lot busier herself, constantly writing for different reasons and of course living in New York, which must be hard work. Sigh.
She is someone who would happily live off guacamole and buffalo wings, dreams of visiting Japan, and is a self-confessed WWE enthusiast, so the thought of her once working a 9-5 job is a difficult one. Her CV includes her novelisations of famous brands such as Noddy and Batman, but even though it was writing stories, she wanted to be writing her own novels, and not adaptations of other people’s. Cue the ‘I heart…’ series and ‘The Single Girls To Do List’, which have given her the status of bestselling author.
Her novels are renowned for their humour and Lindey’s straight-to-the-point style of writing. On the surface, her novels appear to be another series of lighthearted chicklits, but if you scratch away you’ll see the underlying issues Lindsey is trying to address to empower women across the globe. “There's a common thread to all my work and that is ‘seize the day’, I very much believe nothing happens unless you make it happen.” Angela, the main character in her ‘I heart…’ series, is clearly the perfect candidate to show her ‘seize the day’ attitude. She flies to New York after finding her fiancé is having an affair and the events that unravel whilst there are most definitely decisions that are a case of now or never. “We see her learn how to be in a relationship, how that progresses, how she makes new friends, establishes her career, everything.”
Lindsey has been able to stay true to a genre she is confident and good at writing, whilst always being able to create a twist on the traditional chick-lit. “This summer I released my first standalone book, The Single Girl's To-Do List, which was a book very much about making the most out of your life and the importance of friends.” Lindsey clearly believes in the idea of ‘girl power’ and being independent, an admirable quality, although some of the events that occur in the novel are possibly just madness. Bungee jumping is never a good idea, in my opinion, let alone off Niagara Falls.
Her own life has been a big influence on what she writes, such as making the move stateside. “It's hard not to let that happen. I find myself in such ridiculous situations all the time and it would be a crime not to use them!” However, Angela’s situations may have had an influence on her creator’s life too, as her main character becomes a big name writer for the Look Magazine. Lindsey, herself, has now emerged as a columnist for the monthly magazine Marie Claire, where the situations she speaks of makes it hard not to choke on your own laughs when reading. In the December issue, for example, she keeps her one-time love interest anonymous by referring to him as ‘Tex-Ex’, for the simple reason she see’s him in Texas, and he’s an ex. Smart. “It's really just looking at the situations we all get ourselves in, hopefully with a sense of humour. It's fun to have another creative outlet and to tell stories in a more real time, real life way. I've had to tone down my swearing.”
Since writing her first installment to the ‘I heart…’ series back in 2009, she has since written ‘I Heart Hollywood’, ‘I Heart Paris’, ‘I Heart Las Vegas’ and she’s currently writing ‘I Heart London’ which will be released next Summer. Also on her impressive list of things she writes, is that of her blog. “It started as a beauty blog because I LOVE make up and beauty products but once the books came out, I wanted to have an outlet to interact with my readers. And obviously to over share. I'm a huge over sharer.”
Author, columnist, blogger and the character of a comedienne, what else is there for this inspirational woman? “Last night I went to a rifle range for the first time and was terrifyingly good at it. Might have missed my calling.” Good to know.
Lindsey’s new novel, I Heart Vegas, is released December 8th.
