Guest Author - Eleanor Moran

Today I have the honour and pleasure of introducing you all to Eleanor Moran - Author of Breakfast in Bed

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (21 July 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-0751545494

Photos courtesy of Publisher

1. Please tell us a little about yourself

I’m an executive producer for drama at the BBC, and have worked on heaps of shows from Being Human to Enid, a single film about Enid Blyton starring Helena Bonham Carter. It’s been a real struggle to juggle the writing with such a busy job, and I’ve written great chunks of my 3 books on trains, rushing to set in Cardiff, or early in the morning when I’d much rather press the snooze button. I’ve always lived in North London, bar a brief three years in Brighton for university, but I’m soon to leave the BBC after a decade, and spend 3 months in LA finishing book 4 and writing my first script. I’m terrified but excited. 

2. Where did the idea for Breakfast in Bed come from?

All my books come out of a romantic dilemma or phenomenon that I see happening around me. My first book, Stick or Twist, came out of my own dilemma about whether or not to get married to my long term boyfriend. Breakfast In Bed’s heroine is 31 year old Amber, a sous chef in a busy restaurant kitchen and recent divorcee. I turned round in my mid 30s and realized that of my 6 closest girlfriends, 4 of them were already divorced. I was fascinated by how it feels to be ending that chapter at the time when you would hope it was just beginning.

 

3. What would be on your breakfast in bed tray, and who would you like to be delivering it?

Ooh, well partly I’d like it to be Nancy Mitford so she could tell me outrageous stories about her and her sisters but if we’re going to get romantic about it, I wouldn’t kick Bradley Cooper out for dropping crumbs on the sheets! I’d like him to make me French toast with maple syrup and a side of blueberries, even though it’s about the most fattening breakfast there is (other than an Egg McMuffin).

4.  What are you working on next?

I’m writing a very emotional story at the moment, about a girl who is estranged from her best friend and then receives the shocking news she’s died in a car crash. As her feelings gradually develop for Sally’s widower, she must try and come to terms with the looming shadow cast by her death.

5.  What book/s are on your bedside table?

At the moment I’m reading Skippy Dies, which I absolutely love. It’s set around an Irish boys boarding school, and it manages to be funny and tragic all at the same time. It’s the width of a doorstep so the pile beside it gets ever larger. I also loved A Visit From the Goon Squad, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and I recently re-read Heartburn, Nora Ephron’s acerbic, hilarious account of her marriage breakdown. The woman’s a genius (When Harry Met Sally is my favourite film). I absolutely adored Jo Jo Moyes’ latest, The Last Letter from Your Lover which was wonderfully romantic without being schlocky.  

Many thanks  Eleanor for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.

Good luck in LA!

You can find out more about Eleanor here

Facebook page here

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