Interview with Rebecca Campbell

Let's face it. We all know how different men and women are. You don't need an advanced degree to figure that one out. But, what if you could actually step inside your husband's head for just one day without him even knowing and learn firsthand what makes him tick? How great would that be? Better yet, imagine being able to find out why he repeatedly says those insidious remarks that absolutely make your head spin or maybe why he insists on being so insensitive when all you really need is a hug?

THE MARRIAGE DIARIES is the modern day wife's dream come true. Rebecca Campbell's lead character doesn't get to peek inside her husband's head, but what she does get is the opportunity to read his on-line journal about her, their son, and their married life. Can you just imagine what it would be like if your husband kept a journal about your life? You'd finally get a glimpse into his heart.

I was sent THE MARRIAGE DIARIES to review for freshfiction.com and I immediately fell in love with it from the very beginning. Be warned! It is not your typical fluffy romance. There are sex scenes and lots of them. So, if that is not your cup of tea, as the British would say, this book is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a well written, realistic take on the marriage scene, this book is a winner! I honestly could not put it down and I think you'll agree. Not to mention, the fashion aspect of the book is worth the read in itself.

When I contacted Ballantine about interviewing Rebecca, they gladly agreed. It has been such a pleasure getting to know her, especially since she lives in England! My first British author! She is absolutely charming, funny, and now my friend. As part of the column, Rebecca has graciously donated five books to give away! So, don't forget to look for the trivia question at the end and be one of the first five people to read the column and enter. Good Luck!

So, in honor of Rebecca, go grab a cup of tea and get to know my friend, Rebecca Campbell.

JEN: What is your educational and professional background?

REBECCA: I went to an all-girl school in London, which was very academic and competitive -- the kind of school where, if you didn't go on to become a senior TV executive or a leading heart surgeon, you felt you'd let everyone down. After that I took a degree at the London School of Economics. That led on to a brief and not very successful career at a Japanese bank. That made me realize that working for Paddy Campbell -- my mother's fashion business -- wasn't so bad after all. I took some classes in the more technical aspects of design, pattern cutting, that sort of thing, and then began designing alongside my mother.

JEN: Why have you chosen to focus on the fashion industry in your writing and have you ever modeled?

REBECCA: Well, they say write what you know! My first novel, Slave to Fashion, was very much about life in a small fashion company, modeled more or less exactly on Paddy Campbell, and my third is also partially set in the fashion world. I like writing about fashion for various reasons. It's full of weird and wonderful people, eccentrics, egomaniacs and fruitcakes of all kinds; and because it's a world I know intimately, I don't have to spend too much time on research, which means I can concentrate more on character and plot, letting the setting take care of itself. My second novel, Slave to Love, is set in an auction house, and I had to spend months getting the background right. Have I ever modeled? Not tall enough, not thin enough, and my boredom threshold is way too low.

JEN: THE MARRIAGE DIARIES is your third novel. At what juncture in your life did you begin your writing career? Why become a writer?

REBECCA: In the back of my mind I always knew I was going to write a novel, but I didn't have the space in my life to do it. Weirdly it was having my first child, Gabriel, that gave me the time to write. I had three months off work, and then eased myself back very gently, and my husband was around to help with the childcare so I found that my life was suddenly relatively easy. I'm not one of those writers who would write even if they weren't published. I write to amuse and move and engage, and as soon as I thought I wasn't doing that, then I'd stop. Having said that, writing is a great way to explore how you actually feel about the world.

JEN: Do you feel pressure to exceed the high expectations of your readers with the writing of each novel? And if so, how do you overcome it?

REBECCA: I don't really feel the expectations of my readers in that way. I focus more on just writing the best sentences, paragraphs and chapters that I can. My husband is quite a severe critic, and if I've got him hooked, I know I must be on the right track.

JEN: From conception to completion, how long does it take for you to write a book? What is your writing schedule?

REBECCA: I generally assume that a book will take a year, but that's everything up to the final edit, along with all the gaps and the waiting around. In terms of the actual writing time, if I squished it all together, I guess it would be about three months. It really isn't a very hard life. I write a thousand words in a couple of hours, and that's more than enough. But then I suppose my subconscious mind is working away at the various problems and dilemmas in the current book. It's amazing how often I'll go to sleep fretting over what happens next, and the next morning it's all there, taken care of.

JEN: As writers, we are constantly fine tuning our craft. What is the major difference in your writing style and perhaps even your thought process from your first novel, Slave to Fashion, to your third, THE MARRIAGE DIARIES? In what area have you seen the most growth?

REBECCA: I've always enjoyed writing descriptive passages, but dialogue has come much harder. I think that's where I've really improved -- catching the rhythms of the way people speak. There was a massive stylistic change between my first two novels -- the first is a first person narrative, whilst the second has an almost nineteenth century narrative voice. In The marriage Diaries I have two first person narrators. I don't see any of these as being an advance on the others: they're just different ways of telling the story.

JEN: How does the publishing business differ in England compared to the U.S. and which audience is harder to please?

REBECCA: Tough question. In the UK my first book was launched with a huge fanfare. There were posters all over the Underground and train stations and bus stops. I had a lower key launch in the US, and my book had to spread by word of mouth. I'm not sure that there are any fundamental differences between the kind of people who read my books in the UK and the US. The main difference for me is that the US market is so much bigger -- there are simply more readers in the States. That means there will be more readers who happen to be on my wavelength. On the publishing side, I've always been very impressed with the editors I've had, especially my latest, Signe Pike, who manages to be both fiercely intelligent and incredibly sweet.

JEN: My readers might not know, but your husband is also a writer. What's it like having two creative people under one roof? Do you both write at home? Do you critique each other's work?

REBECCA: It works very well for us. Anthony writes during the day, and I write in the evening. He's much more of the tortured artist type than me. But I think we both write for each other. There's a lot of cross fertilization between us. He's even put characters from my books into his. There was a small problem early on, when I was rather more successful than him -- a situation mirrored in THE MARRIAGE DIARIES -- but it's evened out now. If anything he's the famous one now, in the UK at least.

JEN: An obvious question, but one I must ask. Is Celeste, the main character in THE MARRIAGE DIARIES, modeled after yourself and is the character Sean modeled after your husband? At the end of the book, you do allude to that, but really how similar?

REBECCA: The basic set-up, involving the husband staying at home to look after the child, while the mother works is based closely on our experience, and Sean is very closely modeled on my husband. In fact most of what he says in the novel is straight quotation. He's funny and annoying in just the same way, full of ideas and jokes and mad invention. It's more complicated with Celeste and me. In some ways she's similar, but I made her much chillier, much more cynical and calculating.

JEN: Since adultery is a main storyline of the book, (I don't want to give the plot away!), were you fearful that your friends might raise an eyebrow and think of you in a different light?

REBECCA: Yes! Nobody believes that all the adultery is made up. I wish my life were that exciting! I haven't let my parents read the book -- it would be too embarrassing. It was only after I re-read it recently that I realized how much sex there was in it, and how explicit it was.

JEN: The one character, in my mind, that stands out is Uma Thursday. How did you come up with her? Did you have a good time writing her zany lines?

REBECCA: She's actually a pretty accurate portrait of a real person, only slightly exaggerated. She's rather wicked, and it's always fun to write villains. She also has some good qualities -- she says what she thinks, she knows what she wants, she has a certain panache.

JEN: What is your favorite part of the book and why?

REBECCA: I love writing big flashy scenes with lots of things happening at the same time -- like the shop opening scene in the book. But I also really enjoyed writing the emotionally intense scenes between Celeste and her lover, Ludo.

JEN: What message, if any, are you sending your readers in THE MARRIAGE DIARIES?

REBECCA: I'm always a little wary of books with a simple message. And it's very difficult to avoid sounding very bland. I suppose you could extract something like: "learn to appreciate what you have, keep working at relationships, don't give up on a good thing". But, you know, who needs to be told any of those things? I'm more trying to show how characters change over time, and analyze the forces that bring about that change. Oh, and I'm trying to be funny while I'm at it!

JEN: Will there be a sequel?

REBECCA: I'd love to write the sequel. It's all worked out. It may change, but at the moment I'm planning another baby for Celeste, and a terrible tragedy.

JEN: If you could do one thing over in your writing career, what would it be and why?

REBECCA: I think I'd have written this book after SLAVE TO FASHION, and SLAVE TO LOVE after that. There was just too much of a jolt between the first two books, and I lost some readers. Anyone who enjoyed SLAVE TO FASHION will like THE MARRIAGE DIARIES.

JEN: What surprises you most about your fans?

REBECCA: That I've got any!

JEN: Do you have a web site? Blog? Mailing list?

REBECCA: I'm rather behind the times in that respect. But I'm being pestered about it so much that I'm going to get a website soon. I worry that if I start on a blog I'll never have the time to write another novel.

JEN: Do you have any public appearances scheduled in the U.S.?

REBECCA: I'm still waiting on a call from Oprah.:)

Thank you, Rebecca, for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me! Best of luck in the future and please keep us posted on your upcoming releases!

Okay....five people to answer the following question correctly will win a copy of her book:

What is the name of Rebecca's first book she had published?

Next month, I will be bringing to you an interview with Kim Edwards, the author of THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next month.....Jen