 Featured Book Interview - December 2004
This month Jennifer O’Connell tells us how she got on CNN with her first chick-lit novel and embraced the joys and struggles of writing book number two. More information about Bachelorette #1, and a chance to win the cake featured in Dress Rehearsal, can be found at www.jenniferoconnell.com
Deanna Carlyle: Tell us about your next book.
 Jennifer O’Connell: Dress Rehearsal is about the owner of Lauren's Luscious Licks, Boston's premier wedding cake boutique. Lauren's wedding day confections are well-known throughout the city, but what her clients don't know is that her talent doesn't end there. Because while the happy couple is choosing between buttercream and royal icing, Lauren is predicting which relationships will last, and which marriages will crumble, simply by watching them pick a cake. But when Lauren's best friend Paige shows up to pick out a cake with her fiancé, Lauren's latest prediction is anything but sweet. Unless her marital Magic Eight Ball is off, Paige is about to tie the knot with Mr. Absolutely All Wrong. Lauren joins forces with her other best friend, a still bitterly divorced Robin, to derail the pending nuptials and save Paige from making the biggest mistake of her life.
I had an idea to write a book about how so many women treat life before marriage as a dress rehearsal - they don't buy good plates or nice linens, they don't invest in their own home because they're thinking that "when" they meet the man of their dreams, they'll do that together. Because Lauren has spent years catering to blissful brides, she thinks she's over the whole wedding/marriage thing. She soon learns that she's not as immune to the idea of prince charming as she thought she was. The three friends in the story are so different from one another and yet each of them have to come to terms with how they view themselves and their idea of happily ever after.
Dress Rehearsal will be published in January 2005.
DC: How did you manage to get on CNN with Bachelorette #1, and what's it
like being on TV?
JO: One word - a publicist. One thing I learned when B#1 was published is that fiction is very difficult to promote beyond the typical reviews. TV shows, newspapers, magazines, radio - they all want non-fiction books or books by heavy hitters, like celebrities or people who are infamous by association. I hired an independent publicist, which I'd highly recommend for any author.
She was able to get me on tons of radio shows and some TV, including CNN. I was lucky that the book had a pop culture hook during a time when reality dating shows were hot. The best thing about CNN was that the two women doing my hair introduced me to a straightening iron - what a find! I raced home and purchased my own. Being on the show wasn't scary because there wasn't a live audience. It was just me, the hosts and lots of wires and cameras. I would absolutely recommend that a new author invest in a publicist - you'll be investing in your career.
DC: What's one of the most helpful writing craft lessons you've learned, and how did you learn it?
JO: I am not a "trained" writer. I wasn't an English major, I don't have tons of unfinished manuscripts in my desk drawer, and I wrote B#1 in two months (I was slightly possessed). So, as far as craft goes, the only thing I can really say for sure is that you have to absolutely love what you're writing.
When I had the idea for B#1 it literally just flowed from my fingertips, it was so easy! Then, with the second book, my original idea was a little different from the way Dress Rehearsal actually ended up because my agent and editor wanted the story told from Lauren's point of view, when it was originally told from four women's points of view. In the beginning it was very hard trying to write a story that I didn't initially envision. It almost felt like I was manufacturing the story to be what they wanted, not what I intended. Once I got into it, that changed, but it made it so much harder to start.
The second thing I'd tell writers has less to do with writing and more to do with the business of publishing. Understand it, study it, and educate yourselves. Know what agents are accepting, don't waste your time submitting to agents who don't even represent what you're writing. Realize that you'll be your own best publicity tool and milk every contact you have - from alumni groups to local newspapers. Don't be afraid to "market" yourself - writing may be an art, but your books have to sell if you want to keep writing. The best, and maybe worst, thing about writing is that your career is in your own hands.
DC: Thanks for your time, Jennifer. Here’s looking forward to Dress Rehearsal in January 2005.
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