Love At First Flight by Tess Woods
Published by: HarperCollinsPublication date: April 1st 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
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Looking back on it now, I can see it was instant. The second we locked eyes. Boom. Just like that. The me I had spent a lifetime perfecting began its disintegration from that moment. And despite the carnage it brought to all our lives, I still don’t regret it.
What would you risk to be with the love of your life? And what if your soul mate is the one who will destroy you?
Mel is living the dream. She’s a successful GP, married to a charming anaesthetist and raising a beautiful family in their plush home in Perth. But when she boards a flight to Melbourne, she meets Matt and her picture perfect Stepford life unravels as she falls in love for the first time ever.
What begins as a flirty conversation between strangers quickly develops into a hot and obsessive affair with disastrous consequences neither Mel nor Matt could have ever seen coming. Mel’s dream life turns into her worst nightmare.
Love at First Flight will take everything you believe about what true love is and spin it on its head.
What
inspired you to write Love at First Flight?
I've
always been inspired by the tragic love story, the story of great
love that just can't be. My favourite book The Bridges of Madison
County stayed with me years after reading it and played on my mind.
Then I read Twilight and out of nowhere I had to write my own book.
Before this I had never entertained the idea of writing. But the
longing in Twilight and the knowing that the one you love is the one
that is dangerous for you resonated with me and I just had to write
about that. So with the themes of desire and danger, I wrote a book
about a married mother, because I wanted to write of what I know. I
wanted to bring the great love story into the world of the typical
suburban mum who is chasing after kids, working and running a home. I
wanted her to have that Romeo and Juliet moment. So I wrote 'Love at
First Flight'.
Did
you use real events/people from your own life as inspiration when
writing Love at First Flight?
Hell
yes! I really do believe you write what you know. Of course the novel
is a novel, not a biography, and I credit my imagination for it, but
I have definitely taken inspiration from events and people in my
life.
It
is no coincidence that Mel has long black hair and is a health
professional who falls for a tall, dark, handsome and broody, moody
physio. That’s me and my husband! But the great thing about writing
is that I get to make Mel as hot as I like and morph her into someone
as sexy as Angelina Jolie - hey, it’s my prerogative isn’t it?
Matt’s parents are very much inspired by own mother and father
in-law who lived out in the country on a sprawling property where we
used to go to wind down from the city with them. Matt’s sister is a
powerful human rights lawyer, just like two of my world-beating
cousins. I even used my children’s names for characters - Tom, Lara
and Lachlan. (Lara has a blink and you miss it part because I am
saving her. I have big things planned for Lara in book two!)
And
I incorporated many real life events into this fictional story. My
husband and I tragically lost our third child Lachy at birth, my
darling friend Jess committed suicide, my darling friend Julie fought
a fierce battle with cancer and those stories and a few more events
that shaped my life made it into the book. Writing was my
counselling!
Also,
I am inherently lazy so the fact that the story unfolds in Perth and
Melbourne, the two cities I’ve lived in most of my life, is not by
accident. The more you know, the less you research. Some writers
thrive on research, me – not so much!
What
is the best advice you were given for writing?
The
wonderful writer Nikki Davies who assessed the manuscript in the
early days, told me to imagine every scene as a scene on a stage. The
curtain opens- What do you see? What should the audience feel? What
are the actors saying and how do they move around? What expressions
are on their faces and in their voices? Start the scene with an
opening and end it with closure. Do this for every single scene in
the book. Once I learnt to write in scene like this, my writing
changed dramatically and it became more authentic and palpable.
More
recently, when we were doing the copyedit of Love at First Flight,
the brilliant author Dianne Blacklock taught me the concept of
Chekhov’s gun, one of her favourite writing tips, which is now one
of mine too. Chekhov himself advised, “Remove everything that has
no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there
is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it
absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't
be hanging there.” This helped cut a lot of excess junk from my
writing which was clogging it up.
Which
Hollywood stars would you like to see play the lead roles in the
movie version of your book?
Hugh
Jackman is the ultimate Adam, Orlando Bloom (with an Aussie accent)
would make a convincing Matt, Rose Byrne (with dyed black hair) has
Mel written all over her. Nobody gets to make a movie though unless
my daughter Lara gets to be Lily.
What
do you love the most about the main character in your book?
I
love that Mel is raw. She is openly vulnerable and tortured and she
desperately needs attention. I want to help her dig her way out of
the hole she is in and help her find inner peace and happiness.
Why
do you write?
Because
if I didn’t I would need to be institutionalised. What else would I
do with these people in my head if I couldn’t write their stories?
What
tricks do you have to beat writer’s block?
I
write anyway, even if it’s a pile of pigeon poop, I write it.
Writer’s block eventually passes, and then I have something on
paper and whether I keep what I wrote or not is irrelevant. Even if I
go back and delete those pigeon droppings, I know that writing those
words has led me to explore new ideas anyway. I never regret writing
when I don’t feel inspired. In fact I’m always happy that I did.
What
is the best marketing tip you can share for a new author to get their
book noticed?
Be
forward even if you are shy. Take on an alter ego, the author who is
passionate enough about her book that she will be brave enough to
tell the world how great it is. My friend Steph Pegler gave me this
little gem: ‘Nobody except maybe your mum is out there waiting for
your book. You need to make people notice you.’
What
do you think makes a really good story?
A
story where stuff happens on every page. A story where you don’t
flip ten pages at a time to get to the next good bit.
Pick
one series and tell us why – Harry Potter, Twilight or The Hunger
Games.
Twilight.
Not even a competition in my mind. Edward- ugh, he kills me, he is so
perfect!
Do
you take negative reviews of your book personally or do you shrug
them off?
I
cry. I totally cry.
What
is it about this genre that appeals to you so much?
I
love contemporary women’s fiction because I can easily relate to
books that are set in today’s world with today’s issues. I love
reading about strong women and seeing how they overcome their
struggles. And I am in love with love so any romantic story will tug
at my heart strings.
What
made you want to become an author?
I
didn’t plan on being an author, I was quite happily minding my own
business being a physiotherapist. But these characters in my head
refused to go away so I had to write their story.
How
do you come up with character names?
The
main characters, Mel, Matt, Adam and Lydia all came up with their own
names. There was no conscious thought process, I would find myself
introducing them into the story with their names pre-determined. The
first draft only had these characters named. When I started writing
the second draft, I began to name characters after my children and my
friends or names that I liked.
Name
one of your all-time favourite books?
The
Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller is my all-time
favourite. The intense connection between Francesca and Robert
Kincaid took my breath away and still does.
Who,
or what, inspires you?
I’m
inspired by the people I am closest to, my family and my close
friends. I use a lot of what goes on in our lives to inspire my
writing. I’m inspired by stories of hope, stories of survival. I
love the underdog.
Where
is your favourite place to write?
Snuggled
up in bed. I’ve tried to be bohemian and trendy and take my laptop
to hipster cafes to write, but I am just too distractable and get
nothing done. I need to be tucked up in bed, late at night, hubby
snoring peacefully next to me and that’s where I do my best work.
What
is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
Renee
Zellweger made me fall in love with Bridget Jones even more so than
when I read the book. Watching her squeeze into nanna sized knickers
and make blue food was cinematic gold.
Name
two of your favourite authors.
That’s
easy Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes. I love these two Irish ladies so
much!
Tell
us a random fact about yourself.
I
am completely obsessed with the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills. My
heart goes aflutter every time any one of them tweets anything!
Favourite
myth / fairytale?
Cinderella
– I mean really, is there even any competition?
Tess Woods is a health professional who lives in Perth, Australia with one husband, two children, one dog and one cat who rules over all of them. Love at First Flight is her first novel. When she isn’t working or being a personal assistant to her kids, Tess enjoys reading and all kinds of grannyish pleasures like knitting, baking, drinking tea, watching Downton Abbey and tending to the veggie patch.
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