Jessica Ruston’s debut novel Luxury is getting some rave reviews from the newspapers, magazines and Amazon.co.uk and if you haven’t bagged your copy yet then why on Earth not? It has a beautiful cover and sounds fantastic (see below). The lovely Jessica agreed to do an author interview with us and here are her answers!

1. Tell us about your debut novel Luxury?

Luxury is based around the rivalry between two luxury hotel tycoons who met at college – Logan Barnes and Nicolo Flores. They fell out – over a woman, as is so often the case – and have been at loggerheads ever since. It’s also a family drama in many ways – the Barnes family is falling apart at the seams somewhat. Logan’s wife, Maryanne, is a pill-popping socialite, his daughter is an ambitious it-girl – maybe too ambitious; his son is a laid back musician who is torn between following his heart and doing what his father wants him to. When the novel opens, Logan is about to open the biggest and most opulent hotel of his career – Luxury – on a magical private island. But Nicolo is out to bring him down… There’s plenty of scandal, intrigue, sex and designer shoes…

2. What made you decide to write a big fat blockbuster of a book rather than regular chick lit?

It’s what I prefer to read, really, as well as write about. I like big stories with masses going on – lots of different locations, big drama, big characters. This genre is one I love to read and one I grew up reading, with books like Lace and Savages, by Shirley Conrann, Penny Vincenzi, Judith Krantz, Jilly Cooper…

3. Now I didn’t know this until Rosie at Headline told me but your parents are both writers. What made you decide to start writing?

Yes, that’s right; my mother is a novelist and my father is an academic. I’ve been writing for years in one form or another – first screenplays, then non-fiction, articles, that kind of thing. Writing a novel was something I’d always felt I would do eventually but had never felt it was the right time, or that I was ready, or that I had the right idea. Then someone said to me that they had been looking for a really great blockbuster to read, and it got me thinking…

4. Are you working on book number two? If so, can you tell us anything about it?

I am hard at work on book number two, yes! It’s in the same style and genre as Luxury but is a very different story. It’s an updating of the classic rags-to-riches story in a way – the main character is a couture milliner who is convinced that her family is cursed, and it explores that. It moves from an English seaside town, to East Africa, St. Petersburg, London in the 1960s, and has lots of characters and lots of little mysteries.

5. Luxury is set in many glamorous destinations, did you visit them all in the name of research or did you use books/the internet to learn about them all?

A bit of both. I do alot of research, and use books and the internet, as well as magazine articles, television programmes, youtube etc. I’ve spent time in Manhattan and I live in London so know those pretty well, but I’ve never been to Vegas, where some of the book takes place, for instance. And L’Isle de Violettes, the island that Luxury is built on, exists only in my head…

6. How did your publishing deal come around?

I signed up with my agent, Simon Trewin, when I had only written about 25,000 words of the book. He took me on and guided me through the process of writing it, and handled the deal with Headline for me.

7. How long did it take to write Luxury? Particularly compared to book two?

A couple of years, but not anything like full-time, so it’s hard to say how long it took all together. Book two isn’t finished yet but I’m on a much tighter deadline!

8. What’s the best thing about being an author?

Oh, so many things. I love working from home (most of the time, though it can get lonely) and being able to make my own schedule. And the satisfaction of seeing my book in the shops has been huge. But really one of the absolute best things is hearing from readers who have enjoyed your book – that’s a real thrill.

9. What authors/books do you like to read?

A real mixed bag. The blockbuster authors I mentioned above, and I also love writers like Jay McInerney, Patrick McGrath, thrillers by people like Michael Connelly, I loved The Shadow of the Wind and The Time Travellers Wife and other ‘book club’ types of books, I’ve just finished David Sedaris’ most recent collection of essays. Penny Vincenzi, Joanna Trollope… All sorts!

10. What advice would you give to those wanting to write a book and get it published?

Read – not just in the genre you want to write in but in others as well. Figure out what works and what doesn’t, look beyond the obvious to see how the authors are achieving the effects they are, how they are building characters and structuring their stories. Make sure you have a good story – it’s absolutely key, particularly in commercial fiction. And most importantly – write it! Don’t just talk about it or wait for inspiration to strike. Writing a book is a long slog, you have to put the hours in…

Thanks so much Jessica.

To read more on Jessica visit her website: http://www.jessicaruston.com/

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