Interrogation Room and giveaways

Okay even though she agreed to come here gracefully, I still decided to grab her by her by her blonde hair and haul her in here. Our "guest" today is the one who took my place when I left London, although if she ever tells you North London is awesome don't believe her(am jealous), you want to go to my hood in the south west we have Hampton Court Palace built by Henry VIII and Chessington World of Adventures!
Okay enough reminiscing I give you the amazing Talli Roland 



Joanna: Facebook, Twitter or Blogger? which do you prefer and why?

Talli: I love them all! Twitter is instantaneous – if you’re looking for a little bit of interaction without too much commitment, you can just duck in for a few minutes. Facebook is great for catching up on bits of news and other fun I might have missed during the day, while Blogger is ideal for writing longer and more detailed posts on things that can’t be captured in 140 characters or less (like the true horrors of writers’ arse). They’re all brilliant tools for interacting with other writers and I’ve found the communities on each to be so supportive and welcoming. 

  

Joanna: Do you have any other manuscripts that will never see the light of day?

Talli: Many. I think about (gulp) five! The thing is, it took me a while to really find and get comfortable with my voice – fun, slightly snarky with a bit of sweetness thrown in. I tried to write literary fiction and it just didn’t work. It took a few tries before I could settle in to my writing style. Also, I didn’t think enough about my story ideas. I’d just sit down and write, without really assessing whether the concept was unique enough to hook in readers. Writing novels was (and still is!) quite a learning process for me. 

Joanna: What is the most outrageous thing you have done in the name of book research?

Talli: I’ve never done anything outrageous in the name of research – usually it’s the other way around! I’ve done some crazy things and made quite a few drastic changes in my life so far, so past life experience usually finds its way somehow into my writing. I do love to eavesdrop, though, so writing has certainly given me a great excuse to shamelessly earwig.  

Joanna: Some writers swear by chocolate, what do you swear by?

Talli: I do love chocolate (and cupcakes and Red Twizzlers) but when I’m writing and I need a little bit of sustenance to get me through the home stretch, I turn to Captain Crunch. Sadly, you can’t buy Captain Crunch in England, so I’ve had to resort to friends and family smuggling it over to me. It’s great because you can scoff it with one hand while you type with the other. 

Joanna: If you had 3 options; Borat, Ali G and Russell Brand who would you base a main character on?

Talli: Wow, what a choice! I’m going to have to say Ali G. I taught secondary school in his hometown of Staines, so I think I know his kind of character very well. Perhaps too well! Let’s just say I don’t teach any longer, although Staines does make a brief reappearance in my novel The Hating Game.  

Joanna: How did you find your agent or publishing house?

Talli: I’d been working with my publisher already on some non-fiction titles, so when I hit upon the concept of The Hating Game, I pitched it to them straightaway. Luckily, they loved it! It will be out worldwide as an e-book on December 1, and in paperback next year. 

Joanna: Nice! tell us about the book please

Talli: The Hating Game:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

Joanna: And what is this innovative stunt I hear you are trying to pull on Amazon and how do we help a fellow blogger out?

Take On Amazon Web Splash:

On December 1, the e-book version of The Hating Game will launch ahead of its UK hard-copy launch next year! So I'm dreaming big. Wouldn't it be great if my debut novel by an indie publisher made it into the top ranks of Amazon Kindle sales? It might sound crazy, but it's amazing how quickly your book can move up the ranks if a number of people purchase it on the same day. And with an e-book, there are no distribution issues. Anyone, anywhere can buy it!  On release day -- December 1 -- I'm looking for bloggers (and Tweeters and Facebookers) to help with a Web Splash to spread the word. Go here for more details and to sign up! http://talliroland.blogspot.com/p/join-blogsplash.html

Talli Roland has three loves in her life: coffee, cupcakes and rom coms.

She lives in London, on a street with two Starbucks and (at last count) three other cafés that constantly tempt her outside her cozy little flat.

She has a secret crush on Sir Alan of The Apprentice and if she was forced to wax anyone's hairy chest, it would have to be Simon Cowell. Clearly she watches too much reality television.

Her debut novel, The Hating Game, will be released worldwide as an e-book on December 1, and in paperback in early 2011. To read more about The Hating Game and Talli, go to www.talliroland.com or follow Talli on Twitter: @talliroland.

The Winners of my not 100 or 150 followers contest as picked by grabby toddler
Ann from Wisconsin and Ireland
Madeleine at Scribble and Edit
Quinn
Congratulations and please send me your addresses so I can start shipping the surprize books. If you tweeted, blogged or facebooked about my contest there is another drawing for you on Monday just let me know you did it.
If you did not win. don't be sad I snagged a 5books giveaway for you next Friday , so we have more chances coming up.