Julia London
Author Interview - Julia London
Author of Nice Work, Nora November
Now that Nora is not dead, only one question remains: What does she want to do with her life?
Nora November is alive—but she wasn’t always. She was once clinically dead, having spent several minutes under water after a terrible surfing accident she doesn’t remember. What she does remember from her time in a coma is her grandfather, who passed away over a year ago. And a beautiful garden. And the most delicious tomato she ever tasted.
Now that she’s awake again her life has been cleaved in two. In the Before, Nora lived like a ghost, drowning under the weight of her parents’ expectations. In the After, she’s determined to accomplish the things she left undone before she died. Her reverse bucket list is simple: She wants to learn to cook and to be a better older sister to Lacey. She wants to quit her terrible job as a personal injury lawyer at her dad’s firm. She wants to bring Grandpa’s now-neglected garden back to life. And she wants to find the guy she met in a corner store months ago—the one she never called but never stopped thinking about.
As Nora’s attempts at a new life prove disastrous at best, her mission to fulfill her reverse bucket list leads her to a reckoning with the truth she almost hid from herself.
Women’s fiction with just a hint of light romance
Stand-alone novel
Perfect for fans of Linda Holmes, Matt Haig, and Abi Waxman
Book length: 100,000 words
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Author Interview - Julia London
Author I draw inspiration from:
What a hard question! I draw inspiration from every book I read. I very rarely pick up one I don't want to finish or don't admire the way the author did one thing or another. One author I have long admired is Marian Keyes. She can take very difficult subjects and make them laugh out loud reads. Rachel's Holiday, which deals with addiction, was both profound and hilarious.
Author Interview - Julia London | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
I have a little nook in my bedroom with comfy chairs, an ottoman, a small coffee table, and the dog bed right next to it. So I am usually there with a book while my dog snoozes beside me. Bonus, our pool is right outside so it also features the sound of running water. I used to have a great set up in the corner of my office with a super comfy chair and a view of the birds, but my dog has commandeered it and I'm not allowed to sit there anymore.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Right now (and this answer will change based on what books I've recently wed), I would love to get on an elevator with Lara from Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Now, I might be heavily influenced by the fact that I listened to Meryl Streep read it, but I found the character so interesting and I wanted to know more about her brush with stardom. Usually, my go-to answer is Mr. D'Arcy, even though he could be a pain. I think I could win him over.
Author Interview - Julia London | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I don't know that I ever wanted to "be" an author, but I know the moment I wanted to try. It was something I thought I could do, and I wanted to see if I could. I found an Iris Johanssen book at a garage sale and read it in one sitting. It was an historical romance, and I really did believe I could do that. It's like when I started running: the odds seemed stacked against me. You don't look at me and think, "runner." You don't look at me and think writer, either. But I thought I could, and I tried, and turns out, I could. Now, the rest of the story is the sheer dumb luck I had in selling my first book, and how I hit the market at the right time with the right book, and that rolled on to a twenty-six year career.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I buy a lot of hardbacks because I read a lot and when I want a new book, I want it right then. It's a terrible character flaw. I also like paperbacks, as long as they are trade sized, which is ironic, given how many of my books are in mass market format. But I find it is hard to read a mass market paperback. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, but usually non-fiction. If I am listening to a thriller, I might get distracted while driving or running (like a snake! true story), and miss some pretty important moments. Ebook is my least favorite format, although I do partake. But I think after working on a computer all day on my books, it's easier for me to read paper.
The last book I read:
I read the Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin (an Orpah book). It was a memoir of a woman with four kids who became a heroin addict. And then, how she overcame her addiction. It was fascinating to follow her in and out of the system and learn the impact it had on her family. And when she at last wanted to change, the chips were stacked against her. I also read a popular psychological thriller I will not name because I did not enjoy it. I don't think it was the book as much as it is me - I've read so many of that type of book that they are all beginning to look the same. I do that with potato chips, too. Just too many of a good thing.
Author Interview - Julia London | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I make notes with pen and paper, but my writing is on a computer. I type as fast as my thoughts come and I don't get a hand cramp. How sad is it that I am writer who can only physically pen a page before my hand cramps up? I've been trying to remedy that by writing something every morning, but it's even harder to think like that. My writing process is ingrained—notes on paper, full sentences with structure and depth on the computer, lol.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I think I would be very good friends with Kathleen Deane from Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano. She is about my age, and she has gone through some of the same things in her life as I have. She had me at: "When Kathleen Deane’s husband, Tom, tells her he’s no longer happy with his life and their marriage, Kathleen is confused. They live in Kansas. They’ve been married thirty years. Who said anything about being happy?" I totally related to this and the character. I think we'd be walking the beach right now venting about our neighbors and the town politics.
Author Interview - Julia London | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
If you'd asked me twenty years ago, I probably would have had a lofty answer for you—something in the arts. An artist, a book curator, or own a bookstore. But now? What I would love is to have a simple house in the country with a writing studio and lots of rescue dogs. Old dogs, hard to place dogs, puppies...I would love to provide a dog paradise and spend my days making things up and wondering what's for dinner. Heaven.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I love looking at the old Hollywood pictures of glamorous gowns and hairdos and men in tuxedos. I just love the richness of it all. I grew up on a ranch in west Texas where there was nothing for miles, and watching old movies with those beautiful gowns was so inspiring to me as a girl and an escape from all that red dirt.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I have not been to Japan, and I would like to see it one day. Seems like a fascinating place with interesting art and culture.
My signature drink:
Water, for one. I drink a ton of it. But my signature drink is becoming a champagne cocktail. I don't know why I have gravitated to them—it probably has something to do with those old Hollywood movies. Did I mention when I have my dog ranch, I shall wear silk caftans and entertain at cocktail hour? I will serve champagne cocktails and talk about famous people like they are all personal friends of mine.
Favorite artist:
I really like the work of Janet Hill. She creates these mysterious women, often with books and dogs, but also in unusual circumstances, and always in lovely settings. She's a modern artist, so her work is also available in bookstores and other places.
Number one on my bucket list:
This year, my number one item on my bucket list is to take a weaving class. This is, of course, subject to change, depending on whims and fanciful thoughts. But lately I have resurrected the art of needlepoint, and I want to try the next thing.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I'm so excited about Nice Work, Nora November. It is something different from me after writing romance for twenty-six years. I am ready to spread my writing wings and try new things, new topics, new characters. Wish me luck!
Find more from the author:
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About Julia London:
Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than sixty fiction novels. She is the author of popular historical romances set in Scotland and England, and several contemporary romances, most notably, You Lucky Dog and It Started with a Dog. She is also the author of women's fiction titles, including Nice Work, Nora November and the Pine River series.
Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.
She lives in Austin with a massive pile of unread books, a dog, and people in and out of her house all day long.
