Interview with Jasmine Aherne about her new novel Stranded

This is Jasmine's first published novel and is due to be out in May. Jasmine is currently a student on the MA Creative Writing course at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has two other novels which she hopes will be published soon. You can find her at www.jasmineaherne.com or you can follow her on Twitter jasmine_aherne.

Tell me about your book.
My first novel is called Stranded. It's about Rachel, a woman who flies to New York to surprise the man she thinks is her fiance. She gets a nasty surprise when she meets his wife. Needing a shoulder, she turns to Will, a stranger she met on the plane, who helps turn her disaster of a holiday into something better. However, just as she's prepared to go home happier, her belongings are stolen in a hit and run... and she finds herself turning to Will yet again....

It's a sweet love story.

It'll be released on May 7th by Pink Petal Books (www.pinkpetalbooks.com) in e-format. Paperback will be available later in the year.

Where do you get your ideas from?

That's a hard one. From everywhere. From my friends, my family, and other books I read. I love the cinema - if I'm ever hitting a dry spell I'll go see a film, it always gets me thinking.

What is your optimum writing environment?

I'm quite lucky in that I can usually write whatever is going on - music etc. But I can't concentrate is the house is dirty! I have to clean first. I think my ideal environment would be my own office, but I'll have to sell a ot of books before that'll be an option...

How has the MA Creative Writing Course at MMU helped develop you as a writer?

In all kinds of ways. It's so lovely to have a support group to pitch ideas at, and I've found everyone to be so honest and critical - but in a creative, helpful way. It's also made me consider writing styles I hadn't thought of, and introduced me to some very talented writers and poets. The course has also given me the confidence to submit my work to more publishers and agents than I ever had before.

What is your second novel about?

My second novel, Between the Lines, will be published by Wild Horse Press (www.wildhorsepress.webs.com) in June. It's about an emotionally scarred writer who globe-trots to avoid making comittments.

Do you find that your skills as a poet help your novel writing and vice versa?
Definitely. I think poetry is a lot more difficult though - you need to condense what you want to say into fewer lines and there are more forms to choose from. You only have so much space and so much of a reader's attention to make impact in a poem, I find it a lot more demanding.
Thank you so much for giving this interview Jasmine and best of luck with the novels.