Katy Regan's "tall" tale...plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

Over the past couple of years, I've come to realize what a unique gift it has been to have known a handful of my friends since I was a preteen.  I couldn't imagine my life without my friends in general, so it should come as no surprise that trying to imagine life without this handful of folks is even harder - many times over. 

Today's guest on Chick Lit Central takes a look at what happens in when a tight-knit group of friends loses one of their own in her third novel, How We Met (scheduled to publish on January 29th). 

Journalist Katy Regan is proud of her brief stints at 19 different magazines before finally joining Marie Claire in 2002.  In 2009, she added "author" to her list of accomplishments with her debut novel, One Thing Led To Another.


Although I don't know her in person, I feel like the below interview gives me a good sense of her personality and approach to the world.  So, without further ado, I give you Katy Regan.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK, we have FIVE copies of How We Met to give away to some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

You can find Katy at her Facebook and Twitter pages.
 
What animal do you think would make a unique pet and why?
I think I'd love to have a giraffe in the back garden. Giraffes strike me as very cool, self-contained animals who would probably be good listeners and conversationalists if they could talk, philosophising over life as they chewed the cud! They also look amazing in the wild, they are so TALL they look prehistoric, literally out of this world..

Also, they have really pretty long eyelashes!

Of all the animals you've encountered, what meeting stands out the most?
I would definitely say (if this counts, as we were in a Land Rover and therefore not actually 'meeting' them as such) watching a pride of lions tear at a zebra carcass in the Masai Mara. The inside of the zebra was bright red and looked like the velvet interior of a jewelry box, it was amazing.

Is there any animal you are scared of? If so, which one and why?
I'm not really an animal lover to be honest, I am scared of lots of animals! I wouldn't pick up a guinea pig or hamster for example, as I hate the feeling of tiny bones beneath fur and I would freak if a big dog came bounding towards me - although I like some friendly dogs. I don't mind insects, funnily enough, but the creature I am prob most scared of (or dislike the most) is the slug. This is due to an unfortunate incident I had with a slug when I was nine. Myself and some friends were playing on a building site (it was the 80s) and I fell in this little pit, came up and a big, orange slug was hanging off my fringe!! Yuk! I've been traumatised ever since.

I think pet clothing is:
Mmm.....the fact i don't even understand that question.shows how much I am NOT au fait with animal habits. Do you mean like a dog coat?

What inspires you to write?
Paying the mortgage? (no, I'm joking...) Probably some strange need to dissect the human condition and understand the world and therefore feel more in control and sane!

What distracts you the most from writing?
Social networking DEFINITELY (it's got worse this last year) and finding the sudden need to wash clothes / hang out clothes / fold clothes even though i am very behind with my novel.

Which was easier to write - your first novel or your third novel? Why?
They were probably equally hard and easy for different reasons (my second was harder than both of them, and my fourth is proving harder still, so maybe I just don't get on with even-numbered books...) but I would say that the first was hard because I was still learning how to write fiction (not that you ever stop learning) and i really had no idea at first, so it took soooooo long and yet it was about me and my story, so that made it a lot easier. My third novel really flowed and I loved writing it but it was harder in a way, because it was more ambitious, and dealing with bigger / more universal issues.

How has your writing changed as you progress in your career?
Mmm..I'm not really sure. Sometimes I read my old manuscripts and hope to be wowed with how much I've matured and improved but I think you are so close to your own writing, it's hard, and you are always hyper-critical no matter how much you have improved. I think I've probably become better technically and that is mostly down to reading a lot, I am also more confident, (as with How We Met) with dealing with more complex, deeper issues. In How We Met for example, the drama centres around the untimely death of a friend . I don't think I would have been confident enough to tackle something like this in my first two books. One thing I think has definitely improved is the use of humour: it's tempting at first to go down the gag route, but I've tried with each book just to make the characters genuinely funny people in themselves so that the dialogue and their actions make the reader laugh, rather than the writer's gags!

Thanks to Katy for chatting with us and to HarperCollins UK for sharing How We Met with our readers.


How to win How We Met:
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.) 

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Which animal scares you the most?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
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Giveaway ends February 3rd at midnight EST.