Eat, Drink and Get Married
Every so often it's good to mix it up and this week, we're breaking the mold with an author interview. I had the pleasure of chatting with California native and writer Rebecca Bloom from her Venice Ca. home this week. What I found refreshing is her willingness to try new things in multiple creative arenas and keep moving forward like a true Aquarius. From being an Escoffier-trained chef in Paris, a magazine editor to currently sitting on the board of a contemporary arts non-profit, she follows her creative soul, "It all comes down to the notion that I love
making things and the act of transformation."
Bloom spoke frankly about the writing process after getting married and having a baby as well as being traditionally published versus self-publishing. z"The amount of money spent on marketing and PR results in a wash," Bloom says, and has no illusions of making money writing. Her third novel, Eat Drink an Be Married is a breezy chick lit about four former college roommates who reexamine their lives when one of them, Hannah, gets married. Pulled from all directions, the four meet up in Tahoe for the destination wedding with unexpected repercussions.
LMW: Has your writing process changed since your first novel?
RB: A baby has made writing and concentrating much more difficult but I love being a mom. I wrote the first draft of this book before the hubby and the son so I didn't suffer from mommy brain quite yet. Also my first book was 90 percent based on my life, now I feel confident to make things up.
LMW:Of the four main characters, who is your favorite and why?
RB: I have a soft spot for all of them as they probably are each a piece of some version of me. The most fun to write was Zoe, sweet and punk rock is an easy mix to get on paper.
Bloom spoke frankly about the writing process after getting married and having a baby as well as being traditionally published versus self-publishing. z"The amount of money spent on marketing and PR results in a wash," Bloom says, and has no illusions of making money writing. Her third novel, Eat Drink an Be Married is a breezy chick lit about four former college roommates who reexamine their lives when one of them, Hannah, gets married. Pulled from all directions, the four meet up in Tahoe for the destination wedding with unexpected repercussions.
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LMW: Has your writing process changed since your first novel?
RB: A baby has made writing and concentrating much more difficult but I love being a mom. I wrote the first draft of this book before the hubby and the son so I didn't suffer from mommy brain quite yet. Also my first book was 90 percent based on my life, now I feel confident to make things up.
LMW:Of the four main characters, who is your favorite and why?
RB: I have a soft spot for all of them as they probably are each a piece of some version of me. The most fun to write was Zoe, sweet and punk rock is an easy mix to get on paper.
LMW: How did you decide on the novel's title? (Someone other than Bloom snapped up the URL for their wedding). Hey kids, if you have great title idea, snap up the URL in advance.
RB: It just came to me andI liked the play of phrases. All of my titles came really quick.
LMW: Would you consider writing a sequel of the four characters .i.e. five years later? Or branch into a new genre?
RB: I would and I think it would bleed into I guess what they call mommy-lit? The next thing though I want to write is a short story collection based around food.
LMW: I love that idea, given your culinary experiences in France.
What's the main take-away you'd like your readers to have from this novel?
RB:That friendships always can be a touchstone even of you are on different time lines.
LMW: You live in the entertainment capital of the world. Any interest in writing screenplays, producing etc.?
RB: Of course, actually have written a pilot but it didn't go anywhere. I was working on some TV reality things but now in truth it is all too long a process for me with toothy hands in the cookie jar so to speak. (my two-year-old son).
LMW: How was you self-publishing experience with iUniverse and your PR firm Ascot Media. Would you self-pub again and any tips for someone considering that route?
RB: I had an agent and did the traditional route for my first two books but then the world exploded and no one is buying books anymore. I think self publishing so far is good but it's hard to get into all bookstores and you really have to spend $ to make $. (Current package with Ascot is $800.00 per month) Ascot has been good so far.
To learn more, visit RebeccaBloom.com or at Amazon
RB: It just came to me andI liked the play of phrases. All of my titles came really quick.
LMW: Would you consider writing a sequel of the four characters .i.e. five years later? Or branch into a new genre?
RB: I would and I think it would bleed into I guess what they call mommy-lit? The next thing though I want to write is a short story collection based around food.
LMW: I love that idea, given your culinary experiences in France.
What's the main take-away you'd like your readers to have from this novel?
RB:That friendships always can be a touchstone even of you are on different time lines.
LMW: You live in the entertainment capital of the world. Any interest in writing screenplays, producing etc.?
RB: Of course, actually have written a pilot but it didn't go anywhere. I was working on some TV reality things but now in truth it is all too long a process for me with toothy hands in the cookie jar so to speak. (my two-year-old son).
LMW: How was you self-publishing experience with iUniverse and your PR firm Ascot Media. Would you self-pub again and any tips for someone considering that route?
RB: I had an agent and did the traditional route for my first two books but then the world exploded and no one is buying books anymore. I think self publishing so far is good but it's hard to get into all bookstores and you really have to spend $ to make $. (Current package with Ascot is $800.00 per month) Ascot has been good so far.
To learn more, visit RebeccaBloom.com or at Amazon
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 12/11/2011 12:00 AM 
Categories: Design, Astrology, What I'm Reading This Week, Art
Tags: eart drink and be married-novel-review rebecca bloom-writer-review- Layla Morgan Wilde chick lit-novel-rebecca bloom
Categories: Design, Astrology, What I'm Reading This Week, Art
Tags: eart drink and be married-novel-review rebecca bloom-writer-review- Layla Morgan Wilde chick lit-novel-rebecca bloom
I cringe everytime I hear an author say "noone is buying books anymore." It may be true, but authors are doing themselves, and everyone else, a disservice by constantly complaining about this. Yes, the publishing landscape is changing, but these changes also open up new venues for authors, and I think we haven't even begun to scratch the surface.
I would also like to know more about what she meant by "it's a wash" when comparing traditional vs. independent publishing, because that makes no sense to me. I'm assuming she meant that she had to spend her own marketing and PR $$$ when she self-published, but does this mean that she sold just enough to break even, or does it mean that she didn't sell more when she published traditionally? Inquiring minds want to know!
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Despite fluctuations in the industry, some sectors are doing very well. She meant that she spent most of her advance $ on PR. Even large pub houses don't invest much money on first-time writers unless they have a huge platform or are celebrities. Perhaps Ms. Bloom will respond herself.
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Thanks, now it makes more sense. It makes you wonder whether traditional publishing really has that many advantages over self-publishing anymore, especialy for first time authors.
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I do think the one real advantage of traditional publishing that I am coming up against is the availability in bookstores. I can't seem to get my book in many as independents have a hard time with a self published book.
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Is chick lit coming back? I thought it died and turned into woman's fiction?
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Chick lit experienced a boom then bust and many chick lit writers chose to call it something else. The genre is changing and hopefully to something better.
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What I meant by noone is buying books, is publishers are not buying as many books. I should have been more clear. Unless you are a best selling author, or writing a mash-up of teenagers and zombies, the chance you have with a traditional publishing route is very slim. With it being a wash, it means you barely break even in both cases. With traditional publishing you still need to invest $$ for your own pr and marketing, on that comes traveling expenses and the need to out sell your advance and all the costs the publishing house has. Self publishing you do have an opportunity to make more, but you have to spend more on marketing. The are so many facets of women's fiction. I don't mind chick lit as a moniker, but prefer it being called just fiction. Feel like its the same as chick flick. Thanks!
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Thanks for clarifying, Rebecca. I'm with you on the terminology - I've never liked chick lit.
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