Author Interview: Claudia Carroll

Today I'm chatting to Claudia Carroll on the latest leg of her Our Little Secret blog tour.

Hi Claudia and welcome back to the blog.  It's been a few years since you last visited us so can you give readers a quick recap/intro to yourself and your writing journey.
Oh Sharon, it’s a joy to be back on your blog again! You know I follow you religiously and really have to congratute you on the fab job you do every day. I love seeing all your wonderful book reccomendations and really do be very honoured to be back here again. So  huge and heartfelt thank you, lovely lady. Your support means the world to me , it really does. 

So to answer your question, just to say that yes indeed, I’ve been a busy girl and my new paperback Our Little Secret hit the shelves on February 8th. SO exciting…!  

If you had to give an elevator pitch for Our Little Secret, what would it be? 
Did you ever see the old movie, All About Eve with Bette Davis? It’s basically about a good deed that comes back to bite you. Just like the song in Wicked (my all time favourite musical) about no good deed going unpunished. 

Our Little Secret has more of a serious undertone to it than your earlier books, where did the inspiration come from? 
As I mentioned above, the movie All About Eve, was a huge inspiration point for me, so I got to wondering – suppose you had a middle aged, older woman who, with no motive other than kindness and a genuine altruism, decides to help a younger woman, who needs a bit of a leg up in her own career. But of course there’s a twist, and pretty soon, my leading character comes to deeply regret ever having giving this young one the time of day.

Who was your favourite character to write in the book?
It’s always fun to write baddies, so I suppose I really enjoying writing the character of Lauren, who is basically all sweetness and light on the surface, but tough as a boot just underneath and with an ambition that’s terrifying. Someone who would walk all over you, just to advance their own career. So the moral of the story is---- be on the lookout for Lauren’s everywhere! 

You have recently returned to acting in the Irish soap Fair City, how do you manage to achieve the perfect balance between writing alongside your filming schedule?   
I wish I knew!! Seriously, I spend so much time chasing my own tail, I really wish I was a better time manager. But writing will always come first with me, because it’s my passion as well as my job. I’d write on the back of a bus ticket if I had to. I’m always emptying out my coat pockets and seeing ideas I’ve scrowed down on the back of losing Lotto tickets. 

If you could swap lives with someone for one day, who would it be and why?  
Kate Middleton. We know so little about her, except that she smiles all the time and seems to be forever elegant and groomed and happy. But no one is happy and smiling all the time, are they? I’d KILL to know what goes on behind closed doors at Kensington Palace. I love that she and Wills are so lovely, but they always seem so glossily, impossibly perfect when out in public. I want to meet the real Kate, when the kids have had her up all night and she’s scrubbing crayon off the walls and trying to get George to eat vegetables.

If one of your books was to be made into a TV series or film, which would you like to see optioned? And if you could cast yourself in a role, which character would you like to play?  
It would be a dream of mine to see Our Little Secret optioned – but who would play Lauren, that’s what I’d love to know? As for me? At my advanced state of decrepitude, I’d be doing well to get cast as third crone from the left in the back of a pub scene. 

What would you say is the best thing about writing?  And on the flip side, what is the hardest? 
The best thing without a doubt is seeing an actual physical book on the shelf. I’m not a mother, but I often imagine it’s how a mother must feel seeing her own baby for the very first time. The hardest is when you might have  a day when you feel like you’re going nowhere – in which case, the answer for me is always to go back to my original book plot plan – trust me, you can’t go wrong with a book plotted out in advance.

What type of books do you like to read?
Anything and everything from historical to crime to comedy to young adult to commercial fiction. I’m a hungry reader and will happy read the back of a cereal box.

Do you treat yourself to something to celebrate the publication of your books?
Ahh, give me a large jar of Nutella and a giant spoon and I’m a happy lady. I have a sweet tooth that will probably kill me. 

And finally what can we expect from your next? 
Very exciting news! I have a brand new book coming out in hardback later this year – it’s called THE SECRETS OF PRIMROSE SQUARE and I’m ridiculously happy with it – stay toooned!!! 

Emma reviewed Our Little Secret last year for the Irish publication date, check out her review here.

Sarah Keyes has the perfect life. A high-flying job in a law firm, a beautiful daughter and a house to die for. So how does she find herself looking in through the kitchen window while another woman enjoys it all?

When Sarah takes pity on a struggling young graduate who can’t get a job, she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She’s being kind, generous and helpful to others, as she always is.

But as Sarah allows the younger woman into her home, her law firm and even her family, is there more to this pretty youngster than meets the eye? And how can Sarah reclaim the life she has built?

I was recently sent a copy of the UK paperback of Our Little Secret but as Emma had already sent me the Irish paperback, I have decided to run a giveaway for the duplicate copy. 

As with all giveaways on the blog, this one is open to existing followers of the blog as a thank you for your support.  The winner will be selected at random when the giveaway ends and contacted for their postal address to enable me to post the book to them. NB. Please do not add details of this giveaway to other sites without my permission.     

a Rafflecopter giveaway All book titles in bold are Amazon UK Affiliate links which will earn me a few pence if anyone clicks through and makes a purchase - any money earned will go towards buying books or gifts for giveaways.