Confessions of
a tinderella
Because it's our birthday, we got our hands on two brilliant books and spoke to the two inspirational authoresses this issue. Have you
seen Bridget Jones' Baby yet? My lovely pal, Rosy Edwards, is reminiscent of Bridget in her book, Confessions of a Tinderella, in her hilarious search for Mr Right...
Hi Rosy. How did you come about writing for a living?
Writing for a living has been my life-long dream. I never thought I would get to do it, so
I don't know how it's happened! I started out as a Junior Account Executive in a PR firm, then went on to do Teach First and taught, then did a Masters in Child Psychotherapy. Then I wrote a book and became a journalist!
I was born and raised in London until I was nine, when my family moved to Kent.
Then it was off to Durham for a degree in Politics. My older brother is a photographer, my younger brother is creating his own company, and both my parents sing and play the piano, so there must have been some creativity in there amidst all the ordinariness.
I now live in Clapham, although I am increasingly spending more time at my boyfriend's flat in Balham in a ploy to move in after Christmas. I spend a lot of my time writing. I am lucky enough to be based in an amazing co-workspace, so I do a lot of work for other companies based here; I write for Smallish and The Metro and I am trying to get the second book (that I have been talking about for ages) going.
Writing is, in all seriousness, about the only thing I am good at. I love words.
I love they way they sound and they way they can be put together to make something greater than the sum of their parts. I love how one person's words can give a voice to someone else's thoughts. I love how writing connects you to people and its ability to let people know they are not alone. It is a cathartic exercise for me and it is a way of putting yourself out into the world – of making your mark. There is nothing more satisfying than reading something and thinking, yes, that's me, too.
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So tell us about your first book...
It is called Confessions of a Tinderella and details my highs, and many, many lows,
of dating on Tinder. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cringe with sheer embarrassment for me... I was lucky enough to have some wonderful dates, but I also had some comically
bad ones. They are all in there, although I watered down some of the ultra non-PG bits
as I knew my parents would read it.
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How long did it take you to get published – and what was the response?
I was incredibly, incredibly, incredibly lucky. I was actually asked to write the book.
A friend of mine is a literary agent; her agency was approached by Penguin Random House, who wanted someone to write a Tinder book, and she put me forward. There
was a lot of response from the media, and people have been so kind and generous in
their feedback. It has now been translated into three different languages, including Serbian – they have changed my name to Rozi Edvards, which my friends have found hilarious. Rozi is now my Beyonce-style alter ego!
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Any other books in the pipeline?
Yes, about 17. I want to write about everything and anything. I have a couple of projects on the go, mainly based on past experiences.
Where do you get your ideas?
I like to write from experience. It lends the writing a sense of authenticity and, frankly, it is easier than making something up. I think most writers use their own experience to an extent, even if the subject matter is surreal. You will always find a strand of something relatable in any sci-fi novel.
I find people constantly inspiring: my friends, people I see when I'm on the bus, people on the news. TED talks are an endless stream of inspiration, for the ideas they raise and peoples' incredible stories. Music, too. Kate Bush is my constant companion – all the chapter titles in Tinderella are named after Kate Bush songs.
No one has ever pointed this out, even though one of the chapters is called 'Hounds of Love'. Kate Bush is my idol. I was lucky enough to see her perform live last year. I cried for the first 20 minutes. Caitlyn Moran has the career I aspire to. The day I sent the final copy of Tinderella to my editor, I tweeted her, and she tweeted back, so now I assume we are basically best mates.
My favourite quote is: 'Never, never, never give up,' from Churchill.
Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
Write. That probably sounds ridiculous, but I think if you want to write for a living,
you need to write anything and everything, all the time, for anyone, for everything.
If you want to write for magazines, be proactive, and stay on top of trends because
that's what magazines thrive on. Also, find something that distinguishes you from the crowd. Everyone and their dog has a blog these days... what makes yours different?
If you want to write a book, be true to yourself and be brave – write what you want
to say, not what you think people want to read.
What do you like to read? Who is your favourite author?
It's a toss-up between Melissa Bank and Jenny Offill. Bank has, to my knowledge,
only written two books: The Wonder Spot and The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
–some people have heard of the latter but otherwise she is quite obscure. Jenny Offill wrote Dept. of Speclation, which is the best book I have ever read. I could only dream
about writing something like it.
Do you get any spare time? If so, what do you like to do?
When I'm not at my laptop, being with my friends keeps me sane. I have been bitten
by the travelling bug this year. I've managed Majorca, France and Ibiza so far, and am already planning my next, albeit slightly less exotic, trip. I run and do yoga when
I can, otherwise the BF and I have just got into Narcos, so it's Netflix and a family-size
bag of M&Ms all the way.
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Anything else we ought to know about you?
I am essentially very boring, but I've had two kidney transplants. I reel that one
out at parties quite a lot! The first one came from my mum, the second from a deceased donor, and there was some dialysis in the middle. I used to write a blog about it: http://thelistlife.blogspot.co.uk, which is probably what put me in line for the book.
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