Welcome to The Comfy Chair Blog.... Leonie Mack, author of 'My Christmas Number One.'
Leonie Mack is an author of fun contemporary romance with
engaging characters, sparky dialogue and settings that will whisk you away to
new places. She loves a happy ending and shares that love in every book she
writes!
Leonie is a journalism graduate, a language nut and loves to
travel, particularly on foot, by bike and by train. After growing up in
Australia and living most of her adult life in London, she now lives in
Germany, among the vineyards along the Main river.
1. What was
your favourite childhood book/author?
The book I read the most times as a child was
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton. I loved all the characters and the endless
adventures at the top of a magical tree.
2. What
inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this
point?
I have always written stories—as soon as I
learned to write, I started writing stories. I wrote for myself, as a hobby,
for years before I got serious about learning to plot a novel, about three
years ago. I wrote My Christmas Number One last year. It was the third book
I’ve tried to get published and the first one that’s made it!
3. Describe
your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
My
writing space has typically been wherever I manage to set up. I have small
children, so no space for a dedicated office. I wrote most of My Christmas
Number One at the dining table! But now I have a desk in the living room
4. What is the
easiest and hardest part of the writing process?
I love writing romances. Crafting the story is
the best job in the world. I love getting deep inside the characters and
winding up the emotional (and sexual!) tension. The most difficult part is the
hard slog of endlessly proofreading! That, and waiting for Christmas, in the
case of this book!
5. Which other
authors are you influenced by?
I am a romance nut and my early writing
influences were the American authors Nora Roberts and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Now I enjoy reading romcoms by lots of fabulous British authors like Portia
Macintosh and Lucy Keeling.
6. What does
literary success “look” like to you?
My goal is to keep writing. My books need to do
well enough that I can keep bringing out books! I was fortunate to get a
contract for two books, so my second will be out next year and hopefully by
then I’ll be on a path to more books!
7. How do you
select the names of your characters?
Some characters are really easy to name. In My
Christmas Number One, Cara’s name was just hers, right from the beginning. It
just worked well for her. Other times, I’ve had to change a character’s name
partway through (which is a nightmare of Find and Replace). I use lists and naming
statistics and name origin websites to make sure the name is appropriate. For
secondary characters, I often look for similar people in real life. For
example, the character of Susana in My Christmas Number One has the middle name
of famous Mexican singer Paulina Rubio.
8. Do you hide
any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will
understand?
There aren’t any secret messages per se, but
there are a lot of song lyrics that made their way into the book—not quotes or
exact wording, but paraphrased. There are several songs in Spanish I was
listening to while writing that have references to cupid’s arrow and bullets of
love, ‘getting lost’ together, being addicted to someone and even the Colombian
saying that is part of Javi’s character arc (‘You don’t have to drink the
water; let it run’) is actually in a song. The character of Javi came directly
out of these love songs in Spanish, although he becomes a lot more than that as
the story goes on.
9. If your
book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which
role?
I would love to see this story come alive on
screen with all the music and drama! I didn’t have any celebrities in mind when
I was writing, but one reader suggested Emily Blunt for Cara and I love that.
That reader suggested the American actor Benjamin Bratt for Javi, which I also
quite like. Another suggestion I’ve had from a reviewer was Gael Garcia Bernal
for Javi and I like that idea, too. He would bring the appropriate brooding
under the surface.
10. What do you
hope your readers take away from your book?
I want the readers to have a complete escape. I
want readers to feel the heart-pounding chemistry of falling in love. With this
book, I also want readers to see that everyone, no matter what haunts them from
the past or what struggles they have in the present, can fall in love and learn
to enjoy Christmas again.
Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair)
likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake...
what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book?
My Christmas Number One is best enjoyed with a mojito and
some Christmas pudding!
My Christmas Number One
Available HERE
There’s nothing quite like a Christmas love story, to get
you in the mood for celebrating…
Cara doesn’t do sexy and she only does ‘Happy Christmas’
under duress. She is, after all, a serious musician, and her stubborn streak is
born from her struggle to recover from a serious injury.
Javi lives for escapist fun - in his music, and in his life
- especially since he’s always failed at life’s more serious challenges,
including marriage and fatherhood.
Javi and Cara are forced to record a Christmas single
together, but neither of them have plans to spend any more time with each other
than they absolutely have to. With Christmas traditions that couldn’t be more
different, and outlooks on life that are worlds apart, the chemistry just
shouldn’t work. But the magic of Christmas can bring even opposites together…
From the snowy beauty of London at Christmas, to the
candle-lit magic of Javi’s traditional family celebrations, let Leonie Mack
whisk you away on a memorable festive adventure. Perfect for fans of Trisha
Ashley, Mandy Baggot and Holly Martin.
