Welcome to a wonderful interview between
our reviewer and Homa Pourasgari, author of Lemon
Curd
Thank you to both for this interesting chance to get to know this
author.
Morality seems
to be an important issue in Lemon Curd. Why did you choose to include
such a heavy theme in a romance novel?
I like to write about serious issues that are happening in the world
around us and represent them in an entertaining manner. Unfortunately,
ethics and principles are disappearing in our society and people pretty
much take whatever they want without ever thinking about how their
actions affect other people. If I write a dry book about morality, Not
many people would be interested in reading it but when I write a book
that entertains the reader for a few hours, help make them forget about
their long day at work and at the same time talk about a serious issue,
then I feel that as a writer I have done my job.
You place an
emphasis on the hectic pace of life in our multitasking world. Do you
think the fast pace of modern life makes it harder to find love?
Absolutely. In our hectic lifestyles, we do not have time for love and
romance. We’re always running after something, although I’m not quite
sure what we’re chasing most of the time. Today, Men and women have
longer working hours and work weeks. When they come home, they’re too
tired and all they do is eat dinner, watch a little television, sleep
and repeat the same day again.
Did your own
experiences in the business world influence your writing?
Yes it did. Men often get the better positions and paychecks and women
must often fight for their rights. This is evident even outside the
business world. The U.S Supreme court has only one woman presiding. And
we have never had a woman president running our country.
You’ve created
strong characters in Anna Lisa and Neil. Do you think character is more
important than plot?
No. I think character and plot are both important. If you have strong
characters and a terrible plot, people are going to be disappointed in
the novel and if you have weak characters, no one will care about what
happens to them.
Setting is a
huge component of Lemon Curd. How did you select Los Angeles and London?
I was looking for fast paced cities with a liberal outlook. I wanted my
male protagonist to be English and my female protagonist to be an
American. Plus Lemon Curd is a traditional spread in England– they make
tart and custard with it, spread it on their scones and enjoy it with
their afternoon tea.
Anna Lisa and
Neil are fascinating characters. Is there any chance we’ll see them
again in a future novel?
There is a good possibility for me to write a sequel. However it may
not be in the near future.
What is your
writing process?
I pick a topic I’m passionate about and start learning as much as I can
about it. As I do my research, the story starts to unfold in front of
me and I write it down right away. At first, I have no outline,
synopsis or chapter titles. I just write whatever that comes to my
mind. Then I read it and try to make some sense of it. I begin dividing
my writing into chapters. Then I work on defining my characters,
creating the plot, the theme, the setting and the outline.
If you could
give your book to one person, who would it be and why?
I would give Lemon Curd to Jane Austin so she could see how far along
women have come in the past 200 years.
The hard part
of a book would seem to be the writing. But many authors say it is what
comes after- the PR, trying to market a book. Have you found this to be
true?
I believe that writing and marketing are both difficult processes.
Writing takes up an immense amount of time and patience and so does
coming up with a marketing strategy. If you have a mediocre book and a
great marketing plan, your book will succeed but if you have a great
book and no marketing plan, your book is destined to fail. As authors,
we should promote our books at least four months prior to publication
date and continue marketing it after it has been published. I think
authors should invest in a good marketing book written specifically for
writers and publishers such as John Kremer’s 1001 ways to market your
book.
Can you tell us
about your next book? The third one?
My next book which is being released
in 2009 is about oppression of women and abuse of human rights in the
Middle East. Again, in this novel I have taken a serious subject and
have presented it in an entertaining way to show how difficult life is
for women and expatriates in countries where civil laws are
nonexistent.
There are two separate topics I’m working on for my next two novels and
I am not sure yet which one will end up as my third book and which as
my fourth but I will definitely keep you posted.
Thank you so much for the interview.
Sincerely,
Homa Pourasgari