Q&A with Paige Toon

Posted 5th November 2013 by Emma in Q&A / 0 Comments

So today is a very exciting day for me. I got to interview Paige Toon a few days ago and today I get to share it with you!

Paige is one of my absolute favourite authors. I love all her books and if you haven’t read them yet you should definitely do so.

In just 2 days time Paige will be releasing a new book.

Tell us about your new book.

Johnny’s Girl is my new short story ebook, out 7 Nov, and it’s a follow on from Baby Be Mine (which in itself is a sequel to Johnny Be Good), picking up with Meg and Johnny, who now have two beautiful boys and are about to have a bombshell landed on them: Johnny has a teenage daughter he never knew existed.

I absolutely love that all your books are connected. Why did you decide to do this and is it becoming easier or more difficult as you write more books?

It’s funny, I could link my books in so many ways and sometimes have to resist because I worry it could all be a bit much! It makes it very difficult at times because if I write a little update in one book and then decide to write a sequel to another, I have to remember all of the little facts and make sure they tie in. For example, I wrote about actor Joseph Strike in Baby Be Mine, knowing that he was going to be the main male lead in the next book, One Perfect Summer, which starts when he’s 18. So I was writing about his future before I’d even written about his past. I wrote myself into a couple of holes, mentioning which films he’d starred in.

PTNext year you will be releasing a YA novel about Johnny’s (from Johnny Be Good and Baby Be Mine) daughter Jessie was it difficult writing from this perspective?

No, I absolutely loved writing from Jessie’s perspective. She’s cheeky and naughty and feisty, but also deeply emotionally affected by the death of her mother six months before. I loved writing about her discovering the identity of her real dad – it blew her mind.

I am very excited about this book, I can’t wait to see life from Jessie’s perspective. Click here to see the cover for this book.

Lucy in the Sky was the first book of yours that I read and until The Longest Holiday it was my absolute favourite. Is there any way we will get a second book about Lucy, I would love an update on her life?

I wrote an update on Lucy and Nathan in Johnny Be Good to keep them alive, then again in Pictures of Lily, but I found it strange writing about them from the third person – I was less connected to Lucy. You never know, now that I have the option of writing ebook short stories, I can see myself dipping into their lives again and writing from Lucy’s perspective. I’m not sure I’d write a full-length book though.

I really hope Paige writes us an update on Lucy. I really do love her.

Which of your books was your favourite to write?

Lucy in the Sky because it was my first and I was beside myself to have a book deal – I’d wanted to be an author all my life and couldn’t believe it when it all came together so quickly – I wrote it in two and a half months with a full time job. After that, I had two children and all of my books were written during baby nap times, so it wasn’t until One Perfect Summer, when I had childcare (ie school and nursery) that I felt completely able to lose myself in my characters again – without worrying that my baby was about to wake up!

Where is your favourite place to write?

At a local coffee shop here in Cambridgeshire where I can put my headphones in, listen to music, drink tea and write without wasting time putting a load of washing in.

Where is your favourite place to read?

I wish I had more time to read but when I’m not working, I’m being a mum, so I’ll read in bed at the end of the day.

You have a rare day off, no children, no work, nothing how would you spend it?

I actually just sighed a little thinking about this possibility! After I wrote The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson in July, I took an afternoon off and went shopping with a friend, to Jamie’s for bellinis and bar snacks, then to see a movie and eat popcorn – I’d do that again!

That sounds like a perfect day off.

You’re on a desert island and you can only take three books with you what would you take?

Bridget Jones’s Diary – essential chick-lit – Twilight by Stephanie Meyer to lose myself in Edward fantasies, and maybe something like Memoirs of a Geisha because I loved it so much when it came out and would like to read it again.

These are absolutely fantastic choices. I always think this is a difficult question because there are so many out there to chose from.

Finally where does your inspiration for your books come from?

A: I wish I could remember but so much of the time I’m daydreaming about something weird and then suddenly think, hey, that scenario would make a good idea for a book. I’m always saying to my husband, ‘I’ve just had an idea for a book!’ I just said it tonight, actually, but he thought the idea was rubbish! I get inspiration from films sometimes, too – if I loved something or even just a scene in a film, it could spark off a whole novel idea.

Thank you so much to Paige for taking the time to answer my questions. I cannot wait for Johnny’s Girl and The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson to come out. I’ve already pre-ordered Johnny’s Girl,  Thursday can’t come soon enough.

Q&A with Paige ToonJohnny's Girl Series: Johnny Be Good #2.5
Also in this series: Johnny Be Good, Baby Be Mine, Johnny’s Girl
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About Paige Toon

I was born in 1975 and my dad’s career as a racing driver meant that I grew up between Australia, England and America. I worked at heat magazine for eight years as Reviews Editor, but left to have a baby. I’m now a full-time author and freelance journalist. I live in North London with my husband Greg, son Indy and daughter Idha.

Emma

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