AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH MARIA MURNANE

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Author website: http://www.mariamurnane.com/ or if you want to send her a note through Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perfect-on-Paper/26239620721

I am thrilled that author of the wonderful book PERFECT ON PAPER- Maria Murnane has agreed to do my very first AUTHOR INTERVIEW. For my complete review of her book, please go to:


http://bookshipper.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-for-perfect-on-paper.html

Q: Most people will certainly comment on the main character's unusual name (actually this is mentioned in the book). What is the history behind creating her name?

MARIA: I wanted to choose an unusual name for the main character, and after sitting in front of my laptop for a few minutes to think, that name just popped into my head. When I was in high school the stepmom of a girl on my soccer team had a baby and named her Waverly, and I always loved that name. To this day I’ve never heard it used again, although just the other day my friend Cheryl said she saw it listed in the most recent edition of "Freakonomics" as a popular name, so maybe I've started a trend! :) The last name I just made up entirely—I thought Bryson went well with Waverly.

Q: Waverly works in a very male dominated world. Why did you decided to give her this type of job - instead of the more mainstreams we usually find such as - working in the fashion industry?

MARIA: I really didn’t want this book to be traditional chick lit- and on top of that I know zero about the fashion industry. I worked in sports PR myself for a few years and thought the Atlanta Super Show would be a great thing to include in the book- it’s nuts there!

Q: One of the biggest strengths in this novel is the relationship between the 3 friends. Can you tell us more about that?

MARIA: Waverly’s relationship with McKenna is a lot like my relationship with my friend Alison, whom I’ve known since the first week of college. She’s very level-headed, and I’m always stressed out, so she’s great at calming me down and helping me look at the big picture. Andie isn’t really based anyone in particular—I guess you could say she’s the friend I’ve always wished I had, someone who seriously doesn’t care at all about what anyone thinks about her. Sometimes I wish I could be more like that.

Q: Does the Brad character have a hidden meaning?

MARIA: I think everyone has a Brad in her/her life-- it just takes a bit of growing up to realize that maybe he's not such a bad guy.

Q: Many authors take exception to the term 'chick lit' - what is your view on this term? and would you consider your book chick lit?

MARIA: As I mentioned earlier, I never really considered this book “chick lit” because the characters aren’t obsessed with brand names, high heels or the size of their designer jeans, which seems to be what a lot of chick lit is about. I’ve always thought of it as a romantic comedy, but if people want to call it chick lit, that’s fine with me. As long as they give it a read, they can call it anything they want.

Q: The "Honey Notes" were a great idea and added a nice twist to the book - is this something you would consider doing yourself?

MARIA: Yes, definitely. I’ve actually trademarked the idea,, but so far I’ve been too busy promoting the book to get much further than that. Ideally I could bundle a card with each book, but we’ll see. Readers really seem to love the cards, so it would be fun to watch them come to life. My sister Monica in particular really really wants me to publish them- I keep telling her that she should do it for me. :)

Q: Finally, will there be a second book?

MARIA: A lot of people have asked me if I’m going to write a sequel—everyone seems to want to know what happens to Waverly! I would love to write another book, so we’ll see. If your readers are interested in a sequel, please tell them to email me! I’m at mariamurnane at yahoo dot com and would honestly love to hear from them.

Thank you so much Maria - this was fun. Don't forget to buy her book. Its well worth the read.