#5 #Saturday Shorts-with #Lynn Forth

Good morning- it's Saturday! 
And that means a Saturday Short interview. 

The days are disappearing so quickly just now that I can hardly credit we're back to the weekend again. Regardless of what I've achieved in my new writing, the mornings are getting lighter and that's progress in itself (I've been consistently editing and writing all week).  Though, as well as managing some new writing, I'm also getting to know author friends a lot better - especially those who are popping on here to my blog. Let's see what we can learn about a fellow Crooked Cat author, Lynn Forth who is popping herself onto my lovely Saturday chair. 

Hello Lynn. Take a pew and let's get going! 

Hallo Nancy and thank you for inviting me on to your blog.  Although I’m a northern girl from Accrington, I have lived with my family in Worcestershire for many years.

Having always had a fascination with words and people, I had a lovely long career as a Lecturer in English at the local College. I left before the paperwork and procedures sucked all the joy out of an occupation I loved. And so now, at last, I can concentrate on my life-long ambition to write.
As an ex primary teacher I'm so sad that many in our general teaching profession have got to a scunnered level, and nothing to do with the students/pupils they were teaching. 

When is your best time to write?

I like to wait till the afternoon to start actually writing. I have usually spent the morning warming up to it as I go about all my daily jobs, or exercising at Zumba classes or attending meetings etc. Then, after lunch, I feel the rest of the day and evening is mine to write the words that have been tumbling through my head all morning. 

Lynn Forth

Which social media platforms do you find most comfortable to use?

I’m more of a Facebook fan but do try to keep up with Twitter as well, especially now we can write much more than before 

I like Facebook but am not so hot at tweeting. I'm still at the 140 characters stage and have to get used to the 'more is possible' scenario.  

Please tell us what your latest book is about and its genre.

My debut novel, Love in La La Land is a romantic comedy set in the glittering, glossy bubble-world of Hollywood.
I read your novel not long after returning from the Los Angeles area ( Pasadena) where I actually met quite a few 'Hollywood types'  at my niece's wedding who do TV comedy and TV shows that I'm not sure I'd actually want to watch. Individually they are all lovely people but there is a collective hype, that 'tinseltown' glow, that just isn't me. 

Did anything in particular influence you to write it?

I’ve always been equally interested in both books and films so have had a long fascination with the adaptation process when a book is made into a film. Hence the idea for my first novel when my author heroine, Jane Jones, rails against all the changes the movie scriptwriter, Jack Clancy, has made to her precious story. I liked the idea of exploring the process from both angles and thinking of all the modifications Jack needed to make to transform one storytelling medium into the other.  Both Jane and Jack are creative people, both proud of what they do and so the seeds of their disagreements are sown.

Did it require any specialised research?

I did want to get the setting right.  Obviously I’ve have seen a lot of movies set in and around Hollywood, but I did spend quite a bit of time on Google Earth searching round the starry suburbs of Tinseltown to get the ambience of Scott Flynn’s ’s house as accurate as I could. I have been to San Francisco but also researched the possible location of a hospital there. 

Who is your main character?

My main character is Yorkshire novelist, Jane Jones, who goes to Hollywood to try to sell her second novel to interested producers.  She was really thrilled when her first novel was snapped up and adapted into a film, starring her favourite heart-throb, Scott Flynn. She’s even more thrilled when she gets a chance to spend a day on the movie set actually watching him perform. 

What’s your main character’s greatest weakness?

Her main weakness is probably pride and a certain literary snobbishness. This causes her to look down on screen writer, Jack Clancy, as a mere movie hack without appreciating the skills he has brought to the adaptation process.

What’s your main character’s greatest strengths?

But her pride is also her greatest strength, that, and her integrity. In the end she can’t, and won’t, go against what she feels is right, even if it means losing everything.

It's a while since I read the novel but I warmed a lot more to Jack, than Jane, which might be odd since he's the one whose been living in the bubble of tinseltown- though it's because you do ensure that he's a very grounded guy. 

Are you a lover of editing your work?

I quite like editing, up to a point. The story and characters have tumbled out headlong on to the page so I love going back and doing all the polishing and refining which beds it all down and makes everything shine. However, after the umpteenth time of reading, I find it can lose its charm and I worry that funny scenes are no longer making me laugh and sad scenes are becoming trite. And by then, I’m itching to get on to my next book.

What’s your favourite occupation? (apart from writing) Do you have a favourite place to ‘hide’ out from life?

Favourite occupation apart from writing is, as you might expect, reading, especially when ‘hiding out’ on holiday. If I’m away, I feel I can indulge guilt-free reading without the pressure of feeling I ought to be doing something else. 

Favourite food and drink?

I have so many favourite food and drinks choices, but I’m a big fan of fruit and nuts, so if they were to be combined in a chocolate bar, served with a nice cup of builders’ tea, that will do me. Not very exotic is it? But I feel my Yorkshire heroine would approve.
Cadbury's Fruit and Nut is my all time favourite chocolate bar - so long as it's the original proper full fat taste! I'm not so sure that what it around now has that original yumminess!

If you’d like to add anything else about your recent release please add it here:

My next novel has, in fact, just been accepted by Crooked Cat for publishing in the autumn. It’s another romantic comedy, this time set in Nice and is called Love, Lies and Café au Lait. Can’t wait to start polishing it.

If you love an amusing quick read then I can definitely recommend Lynn's work. 

Love in LA La Land is available as both eBook and paperback from Amazon HERE

You can find Lynn at these places:
Website: lynnforthauthor.wordpress.com.

Twitter: @lynnforth

Facebook Page: Lynn Forth

Author Page: Lynn Forth Author

Thanks for coming today, Lynn and best wishes with all of your new writing. I'll be looking out for Love, Lies and Cafe au Lait when it's available! 

Till my next #Saturday Short, have a fine week. 

Slainthe!