Author Joanne Rawson: My Interview with Joanne Rawson and a review of another short story By Ashley

Hey guys!!!!

I am pleased to share with yall my interview with the wonderful author and a new friend, Joanne Rawson. The name should sound familiar, because I did a review of her short story "No Strings Attached", which if you haven't read it yet, yall are missing out on an amazing story, that will have you laughing your butt off. I am also going to review another one of her short stories, which is in a book called " Trials and Tribulations of a blind date", Joanne's is entitled "Unexpected Blind Date". "Unexpected Blind Date" is another laugh out loud comedy.

Here is a small description of Joanne's Story....

" If any of Grace Worthing’s friends dared to suggest she should go on a blind date, her answer would have been, “Blind dates are so tacky; they are definitely for the desperate.” She was so over men! After her fifth Sex on the Beach cocktail she told friends she would never have sex again, let alone have sex on a beach. Then, somewhere between her second and third tequila slammer, Grace found herself, agreeing to meet Adrian. Little did she know how interesting and unexpected her blind date would be."

That right there should tell you a little about this laugh out loud story and I have to admit, I could totally relate to Grace's experience with this blind date. I have had some crazy horror stories of dates and one was even so bad I had to text Alexis to call me with an emergency. Which I don't know how I kept a straight face, because she was laughing in my ear the entire time. So, this book definitely connected with me and I must say there is a twist that you never see coming, but are glad when it happens. You need to read this story, because it will put you in a good mood and is a quick, well-worth it read. You don't want to miss this amazing story.

Now on to the interview, which I was honoured that Joanne took the time out of her busy schedule to do for our blog. Here is a pic of Joanne, so yall can see who this amazing author is and it will be followed by the interview....

1. What made you decide to choose the subjects like "No Strings Attached" and "Trials and Tribulations of a Blind Date"?

Trials and Tribulations of a Blind Date, was a title my publisher thought of for the anthology. The subject a blind date was already there, it was just a matter of thinking of a story. I eventually came up with the idea of how unusual it would be, while waiting to meet her date, if she actually started talking to another man and found how so much in common they both had. When her real date arrives, she wishes the man she had just met by chance, had been her date. While writing Unexpected Blind Date, I had the inspiration for No Strings Attached. A single woman finds herself dateless for a wedding. After telling her family she has a boyfriend, she only has a few days to find a date. Not able to find a suitable partner, an offer from a most unexpected and inappropriate source seems to be her only option.

2. What was your inspiration for your characters of Laura and Adam in "No Strings Attached"?

Do you know, like all of my other characters I have no idea where my inspiration comes from. I have a weird technique that involves playing scrabble while listening to music and drinking wine with my hubbie, I hear a song and something in my head sparks a character, a book title, or a plot for a story, so I grab my notebook and jot down my ideas. It’s surprising what you can achieve after a few glasses of Blossom Hill. (Should have had a few glasses before I did this interview!)

3. How did you know that you wanted to become an author and how long did it take you to achieve your goal?

When I was about seven or eight, most girls wanted to be Farrah Fawcett, or marry Donny Osmond. I on the other hand wanted to be Enid Blyton. I always had my nose stuck in a book, and dreamed of one day when I was older I would be an author. However at that age it was just a dream, I had more important things going on in my life. Studying, dreaming of the boy in the sixth form who drove a motorbike, college, marathon dating. Work, dating a string of no hopeful men, work, falling in love, work, marriage and work. By now I was thirty-nine, my husband and I shocked our family and friends by taking early retirement. I just knew this was the right time to put my dream into a reality. It took me eighteen months to write and get my first book published. Now I have an American publisher and four published stories, I wouldn’t say I have achieved my goal just yet, there still is a lot of work ahead.

4.You told me that you were working on a new book, can you tell me a little about what it is about and how it came into creation?

I wanted to do something a little different, other than boy meets girl. Always Mr Wrong is a lovely funny short story.

Clare Darby had been feeling restless, she couldn’t quite put her finger on why, she had a good job, as a midwife. Her finances were in order; and had a wonderful home, a perfect daughter, and a caring family, so what in the world was wrong with her?

As her seven-year-old daughter pondered over her Christmas letter to Santa, she asked Clare, what she really wanted for Christmas. Could Clare tell her daughter that all she wanted was to get laid?

It seemed all her adult life she had fallen for Mr Wrong by dating a string of no hopeful boyfriends. Divorced from Phil, a philandering police officer, who had trouble keeping his truncheon in his trousers. Would Clare ever find her Mr Right? That was until, she met Dr Guy Foreman, a devilishly handsome orthodontic surgeon at a party. The only problem was, he had once been her dentist, twenty years ago, at the age of sixteen she’d had an awful crush on him. Will Guy turn out to be her Mr Right? Read it and find out.

5. Have you experienced any of these events that you write about in your books?

Now that would be telling! Having worked in education, social services and the hospitality trade, let’s just say there was never a dull moment when it came to other people’s relationships and love. It was like Grey’s Anatomy if you didn’t keep up you didn’t know who was dating whom. Having said that, I am naughty, I am a people watcher, and I get a lot of ideas for characters purely by looking and listening.

6. Can we possibly expect a little follow up to see how our two favourite characters from "No Strings Attached" are getting along with each other?

As much as I love Laura and Adam, at the moment I can’t see a follow on, but never say never.

I want to say a HUGE thank you again to the wonderfully, awesome, Joanne Rawson for taking the time out of her busy schedule to do this interview.

Hope you enjoy reading her stories as much as me!!!

Ashley