Taken (39 page)
Where does your inspiration come from?
Well,
Taken
was inspired by some of my own experiences, but on the whole I’ll hear something or see something that I’m passionate about and for whatever reason it’ll touch my heart. Then that will trigger an idea in my head and, whether I want it to or not, it’ll start forming a storyline. Then characters start popping out of nowhere, wanting me to tell their stories and the only way to get rid of the constant dialogue in my head is to write it down!
Have you always wanted to become a writer?
Yes and no. I’ve always loved writing and as I little girl when I knew I had to write a story for homework I’d get butterflies in my tummy from the excitement. The idea of losing myself with characters I’d created and going anywhere I wanted in my stories made me happy beyond words, but I assumed writing was for clever people, people who went to University, so I never even considered it as an option. But as I come full circle in my life, I feel I’ve finally found what I’m supposed to do and wonder how I could’ve ever doubted it.
What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?
I suppose it would be working in a transvestite shop doing makeovers. My day would be spent transforming the men who came into the shop into their female alter egos. So I’d start off with Ralf and within a couple of hours I’d magically be with Rachael. It’d be a total makeover, from choosing their underwear right the way through to their wigs from the huge store cupboard there, but I couldn’t begin to tell you how many arguments I had trying to explain that most women really don’t care if their underwear matches with their handbags! But I loved every moment of it.
When you’re not writing, what are your favourite things to do?
This is another difficult one. Because of the situation I was in, for a long time it seemed as if I went around with my eyes closed, shutting out the world, but now my life has changed so much that everything fills me with interest and wonder, whether it’s going for a simple walk, jet skiing, riding, meeting with friends or fishing off the Brigg. As long as it makes me feel happy and safe then it becomes one of my favourite things.
What is a typical working day like for you?
I’m very disciplined. I have a strict routine which even her majesty’s forces would be proud and envious of. I take my children to school, go to the gym for strictly ninety minutes, have my cup of tea out in the garden whatever the weather, try to stop myself from tweeting the most tedious of things and then precisely on the stroke of eleven thirty, I start to write, not stopping until the clock strikes four when I go to pick up my children again, only for it to begin again the next day. I love every moment of it.
Have you ever had writer’s block and if so how do you cope with it?
No, I’ve never had writer’s block, quite the opposite. My head is so full of characters letting me know they want their story told, it sometimes gets to the point where it wakes me up at night and I’m like, ‘Okay, okay, enough already. I’ll write about you.’ Names come into my head and I write them down knowing there’s a story behind them but I don’t know what it is until I let my characters lead me along their path.
Do you have any secret ambitions?
Yes, I really, really want to do investigative television documentaries, a kind of female version of Ross Kemp; I like what he does, his show don’t pretend to be anything clever, it is what it is and I like that, somehow it just works. The idea of doing a weekly radio phone- in show also appeals to me, but only if I had a co-presenter!
When Laila falls in love with Ray she attracts the attention of some very dangerous men …
Buy
Dishonour
.
Jacqui Rose is a debut novelist who now lives in London, although she hails from South Yorkshire. She has always written for pleasure but the idea of
Taken
came from her own experiences.
For more information about Jacqui, please visit
www.jacquirose.com
or follow her on Twitter @JacPereirauk
Avon an imprint of
HarperCollins
Publishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollins
Publishers
2012
Copyright © Jacqui Rose 2012
Jacqui Rose asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © August 2013 ISBN: 9780007455720
Version: 2014-05-22
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