Q and A and Giveaway with Tina Seskis!

Tina Seskis's debut novel One Step Too Far was released in January of this year in North America (Did you see my review) Tina was kind enough to stop by today to answer a few questions about her book, her writing - and herself!

 Hi Tina!  One Step Too Far is the story of a young woman who walks out on her life, which leads some readers to be critical of her choices. What do you think of your heroine, Emily?

Well, I've always known her secret, so I guess I understood her actions, even some of the more extreme ones. It means that I've always had a degree of empathy with her, and I just really willed her on in the story to get some kind of resolution. I did find that she became almost like a real person to me, and I liked her, despite her flaws (hey, who's perfect?) although I know some readers found her to be quite self-indulgent. All I would say is take a walk in her shoes before you judge...

In One Step Too Far you bring London to life in a very gritty way at times. How well do you think the book helps London tourism?

Ha, well, I think if you want to go to Finsbury Park or the Nag's Head you won't find them in any tourist books, so I've given you a flavour. I think I may have brought to life the real London, of beautiful parks and squares cheek by jowl with less aesthetic places, of smoky dives and fancy hotels. I hope I've shown that London is also a very green city (in the original sense of the word), and the magnificent Hampstead Heath in particular is one of my favourite places anywhere. So come visit!!

Like many writers, you struggled at first to get One Step Too Far published. What made you so determined to carry on?

First, that I had had enough feedback, from my family (which every writer knows doesn't count!), friends, acquaintances, literary agents, and most importantly readers to know that there was something about the book: people found that they couldn't put it down, plus it seemed to elicit some very extreme responses (love and hate spring to mind, fortunately with love in the vast majority) that made me think it was the type of book that people wanted to talk about and share. And secondly, I had run out of money and it was either get published or get another job in freelance marketing, which I didn't want to do.

What is your favourite place to write? Do you have a specific daily routine?

I write on an iPad with a wireless keyboard, so I tend to write anywhere. I follow the sun around the house (kitchen table, living room sofa, bedroom sofa, a deckchair in the summer etc), I rarely go to cafes or libraries, but nearly always edit if I'm on public transport. I get some very odd looks sometimes. And my routine is non-existent unless I'm in the writing bit, where I do 2,000 words a day, even if it's finished in the dead of night.

What's next for you?

Well, my next book (When We Were Friends) is about to come out in the UK, I am editing my third novel, writing short stories, doing quite a bit of PR activity, looking after my dog with a broken paw, and I am going to Australia to see family at Easter. So I'm pretty busy...

Thanks so much for stopping by Tina! You can connect with Tina on Twitter as well as on Facebook.

If you haven't had a chance to read One Step Too Far - well, here's your chance! I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader, courtesy of Harper Collins. Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to US only, no PO boxes please. Ends April 18/15.  Get a sneak peek - here's an excerpt of One Step Too Far.

a Rafflecopter giveaway