Paul Burston has written three books: Shameless, Star People, Lovers and Losers. His latest novel, The Gay Divorcee is pubished by Sphere on May 7.
The Gay Divorcee is described as 'a hugely entertaining tale about love, marriage and the lies that happen in between'.
I am thrilled to have interviewed Paul and wish him every success with the new book.
photo by Miguel SobreiraI never planned to be a writer. Although I'd always written for my own amusement, I never imagined I'd make a career of it. I came to London to study English and Drama at university. Then, after I graduated I had no idea what to do so I dedicated myself to being gay. I joined the gay policing group GALOP, and became an AIDS activist with ACT-UP. I was media liaison officer for ACT-UP, which meant I met a lot of journalists. And I thought, "I could do that". My first job was at City Limits. I also freelanced for the gay press, and helped launch Attitude magazine. I joined Time Out in 1993 and I’ve been very happy there. We won the Stonewall Award last year, which was nice. And from the journalism it wasn't such a big leap to writing non-fiction books, and then fiction.
Tell me about your books.
My first novel Shameless was published in 2001 (a year before the TV show of the same name!) It was well received and shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. Then came my 'difficult second novel' Star People, which wasn't as well received and wasn't nominated for anything! My last novel Lovers & Losers did better, and was shortlisted for the Stonewall Book of the Year. The Gay Divorcee is the culmination of everything I've learned on the job as it were. Everyone tells me it's my best book by far, and who am I to argue? It's also more personal. It's about a gay man who's planning to get married, which is something I did myself two years ago. Only unlike Phil in the book I didn't have a wife lurking in the background! It's a romantic comedy, a gay comedy of manners, and it has earned comparisons with Armistead Maupin (for which I'm flattered) and Jackie Collins (hmm)
When do you write best?
I write in the mornings mainly, in my dressing gown, with lots of coffee. There's no great secret to writing. You don't wait for the muse to strike you. You just have to get on with it. Coming from a journalistic background, I don't have time for all that writers block stuff. I have to deliver copy on time every week. So it's a good discipline. Blogging helps too. It certainly helped free me up as a writer. It's like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. I've already started work on my next novel (I can't say anything about it yet). The gap between them gets shorter each time. Many thanks for that Paul.
You can find more information about the book on facebook 'The Gay Divorcee'.
Tell me about your books.
My first novel Shameless was published in 2001 (a year before the TV show of the same name!) It was well received and shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. Then came my 'difficult second novel' Star People, which wasn't as well received and wasn't nominated for anything! My last novel Lovers & Losers did better, and was shortlisted for the Stonewall Book of the Year. The Gay Divorcee is the culmination of everything I've learned on the job as it were. Everyone tells me it's my best book by far, and who am I to argue? It's also more personal. It's about a gay man who's planning to get married, which is something I did myself two years ago. Only unlike Phil in the book I didn't have a wife lurking in the background! It's a romantic comedy, a gay comedy of manners, and it has earned comparisons with Armistead Maupin (for which I'm flattered) and Jackie Collins (hmm)
When do you write best?
I write in the mornings mainly, in my dressing gown, with lots of coffee. There's no great secret to writing. You don't wait for the muse to strike you. You just have to get on with it. Coming from a journalistic background, I don't have time for all that writers block stuff. I have to deliver copy on time every week. So it's a good discipline. Blogging helps too. It certainly helped free me up as a writer. It's like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. I've already started work on my next novel (I can't say anything about it yet). The gap between them gets shorter each time. Many thanks for that Paul.
You can find more information about the book on facebook 'The Gay Divorcee'.
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