Interview with Camilla Isley
Published 2017-10-08.
What’s your coffee order?
Skinny Caramel Macchiato.
Which cult 90s accessory do you miss the most?
Mood rings.
What’s your super power?
I can tell the color of M&Ms just by tasting them. (Serious stuff!)
What’s the last thing that sent you down an Instagram rabbit hole?
#catsofinstagram
What scares you?
Wearing uncomfortable high heels and hearing the phrase, “It’s only a few blocks we can just walk there, right?”
What should a woman never put up with on a first date?
Hearing the phrase, “It’s only a few blocks we can just walk there, right?”
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Sometimes I make myself laugh. When I come up with a good joke or a great line… that makes my day.
Sometimes I make myself cry. When I find myself sniffling over a passage that I wrote I feel silly at first, then very silly, and finally extremely satisfied.
My greatest hope is to bring those same emotions to my readers…
Tell us something about your latest release
My second book will start with my heroine, Joanna Price, at the top of her game, with a job she loves, the perfect guy she just married, and a wonderful honeymoon ahead. Then of course I’m going to wreck her life… Literally!
What are you working on right now?
A Sliding Doors type of novel. I will develop two parallel story lines, and the reader will discover what happens when one of the characters catches or misses a plane.
What's the story behind your first book?
Have you ever asked yourself—if you could have a super power what would it be? Or what would you do if all your wishes could suddenly come true?
My book is one long, hilarious answer to those questions.
Have you ever fantasized about getting a magical solution to all your problems, especially when you hit a low bend in the road?
For example, if you saw you ex-boyfriend that you still love with a Victoria’s Secret model look-alike, would you wish for her to have horrible skin and twenty more pounds to bring around?
I wanted to write a magical story, witty and romantic at the same time that would make me dream and make my readers dream.
What is your writing process?
I write the parts that I’ve a clear mental picture of first, and then I go back and fill in the blanks. I don’t always start at the beginning, sometimes I know how a story will end before I know how it started.
When did you first start writing?
Apparently at a very young age. Recently my mom emailed me a scanned copy of what must’ve been my very first masterpiece, or at least the first recorded one. The short story—one page—is dated January 14, 1991. I was six years old, and I wrote it on an old-fashioned typing machine.
The plot pivots around three brothers arguing over presents. I was probably inspired by the Christmas aftermath, even if I’m an only child, and if I remember correctly the instrument of the craft—the typing machine—was in fact a Christmas present being put to the test.
Do you remember the first story you ever read?
No, but I remember my favorite book as a kid: The Night of Wishes by Michael Ende.
It has plenty of magic and the protagonists are a cat and a raven who have to save the world by preventing their evil masters from brewing a dreadful Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion. I mean, it doesn’t get any better than that.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The promise of coffee!
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Mostly, I am impatient.
Self-publishing is the quickest way to get your work out there. You don’t have to search for an agent, you don’t have to send away hundreds of copies of your manuscript to publishers, and most of all you don’t have to wait for an answer. Going indie gives me complete autonomy on how to distribute and manage my books; it makes me feel in charge of my “babies”.
Who are your favorite authors?
I have many. But just to cite a few… J.K. Rowling, Ken Follett, George R.R. Martin, Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, Wilbur Smith (Egypt and Courtneys)… As for classics, I love Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, Mark Twain, Bram Stoker... and many others!
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