Q&A with Lindsey Kelk

We said you could ask Lindsey anything – read on for her answers to your burning questions …

Edel Salisbury: What was your favourite book when growing up that you would still read now?

I’ve always been an epic reader so there are many! When I moved to NYC I brought four with me, The Secret Garden, Remember Me To Harold Square by Paula Danziger, Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobell and Setting Up Home at Willowtree Cottage by Elizabeth MacDonald which is a beautiful story about the trauma of living with terrible roommates that really never made sense until I had them.

Michelle Pickles: In I Heart New York, Angela peed in her fiancé’s expensive wash bag. What I want to know is, where did that great idea come from?

At the time, the scene just came from my overactive imagination but it may or may not have inspired me to pee on my ex’s toothbrush. For which I apologise.

Izzy Rowland: Favourite author besides yourself?

There are so, so many but I’ve always been a big fan of Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis and Michael Cunningham. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with Paula Danziger and Virginia Andrews. And vampires. Big fan of vampires. Thank god Twilight didn’t publish until I’d learned to control myself.

Helen Antill: Are the books based on your life experiences, or purely from imagination?

Bit of both. The storylines are totally imagined but sometimes some of the scenes are inspired by real life events. Like colouring Rachel’s hair red in The Single Girl’s To-Do List and the pole dancing scene in I Heart Vegas. For shame … Sorry, Mum.

Kimberly Golden Malmgren: If you could steal away to anywhere in the world with anyone in the world to get inspiration for your next book, where would you go and who would you pick as your companion?

Right now, I’d nick off to Hawaii with every single one of my girlfriends and never come back. It’s paradise. If I had to visit somewhere new, it would be Russia or Japan with a certain gentleman friend. Really want to visit both countries.

Amy Keen: What one piece of music do you need in your life when you are busy writing?

I have a writing playlist that goes on for about four hours pre-loaded onto my iPod and iPhone! It’s full of stuff by The National, Camera Obscura, Tegan & Sara, Sleater-Kinney, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Tanlines and tons and tons of soul and Motown. I’m a sucker for a bit of Smokey Robinson and Etta James. And Fleetwood Mac. Who doesn’t love Fleetwood Mac?

Kate Bain: Would you rather have a dog that can rap or a cat that sings you to sleep every night?

Oh my god, I’m SO TORN. The dog would be best at parties but I’m selfish and I think the cat might be soothing. Although that might be awkward on occasion: I don’t think it would go down well with the chaps? But still, the cat. We could watch Buffy together and then have a singsong. Amazing.

Kevin Loh: If NYC was under siege what would you stock up on? Only THREE things!

Pizza, Diet Pepsi and Ben & Jerry’s. I could go for months on that. Or at least until I had a heart attack.

Megan In The Sunshine: Do you have any lucky underwear? Or a lucky anything?

I have a Marc Jacobs watch necklace that I wear every single day even though the battery died months ago but I can’t bear to be away from it to have it fixed. And while I don’t have lucky undies, I do have a first date dress … It has an excellent success rate.

Bridget Siegel: What’s your favourite type of character to write?

I love writing all of them. The main characters, Angela, Rachel and Tess, are always the most like me so they can be quite hard – being honest with them is like being honest with myself – whereas writing all the others is like trying on a new personality. It stretches my imagination to be a boy or a bitch. OK, maybe it doesn’t stretch it that much to be a bitch for a few hours …

Ellie Rooke: Would you rather be a giraffe-sized ant or an ant-sized giraffe?

Ant-sized giraffe! I’d be adorable!

Jade Marie Johnston: Do you ever get your own back on people by calling them out in your books in a Taylor Swift-like fashion?

Ha! No … I’ve definitely been inspired by a few people but I never write someone directly into a book. It would be too weird – who wants to spend that much time constantly thinking about someone after a break up? I’d much rather move on.

Kelly Cooke: If you could have a super power, what would it be?

I fly all the time and while I love being on the plane, there’s far too much time wasted in airports when I could be doing something fun! So I would definitely pick being able to fly. That way I could nip back home for a cup of tea with my mum whenever I wanted. Bliss.

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