Tuesday Chit Chat with Talli Roland

So, the lovely Talli Roland is with us today – knowing Talli likes her coffee, we’ve plenty on the go and then there’s a drop of wine for later on … please feel free to help yourselves, nothing better than a coffee/glass of wine and a natter.

There are lots of things we wanted to ask Talli, but riding high on the list was : How do you manage to continually look so glamorous?

First of all, thank you! Secondly, you wouldn’t ask that if you saw me in my usual daily attire: sloppy jogging bottoms, raggedy tops, and wrapped in a chocolate-stained blanket from Primark. Working from home, I make an effort to look normal when I leave the house, and trot out the shoes and clothes I don’t have a chance to wear anymore. But as soon as I’m back in the flat, I’m all about comfort.

You’ve received some great reviews for your books, what’s the harshest and best thing anyone’s said about your books?

Learning to take negative reviews in stride is one of the hardest things about being published. I’ve had to accept it’s impossible to please everyone. I think one of the harshest things a reviewer ever said was that I’m ‘a disgrace to my genre’ and I ‘should stop writing’. Yikes.

You have great book titles, how easy do you find it to think up titles for your books

I find the title is the first thing that pops into my mind! It’s got to be short, snappy, and memorable – and also reflect the core concept of the novel. I love thinking of titles and blurbs. In fact, if I could do just that, I’d be happy! How often do they get changed? My first two novels were traditionally published, but the titles and covers were very much a collaborative effort. Since I self-publish now, I run the titles by my beta-readers, who usually approve.

What are your three favourite book titles?

Jane Lovering’s ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’ comes to mind. I also love ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (so evocative and fun!), and ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ – such a simple title, but it encapsulates the book’s spirit perfectly.

Thanks for dropping by Talli, it’s been great having you here.

Talli Roland writes fun, romantic fiction. Born and raised in Canada, Talli now lives in London, where she savours the great cultural life (coffee and wine). Despite training as a journalist, Talli soon found she preferred making up her own stories–complete with happy endings. Talli’s debut novel The Hating Game was short-listed for Best Romantic Read at the UK’s Festival of Romance, while her second, Watching Willow Watts, was selected as an Amazon Customer Favourite. Her novels have also been chosen as top books of the year by industry review websites and have been bestsellers in Britain and the United States. Construct A Couple is her latest release. To learn more about Talli, go to www.talliroland.com or follow Talli on Twitter: @talliroland. Talli blogs at talliroland.blogspot.com.