Tales Q&A with Georgia Clark
I am super excited to have been asked to be part of the blog tour for a booked pitched as Dorian Gray for the Girls generation, The Regulars by Georgia Clark.
The Regulars was released on the 11th August 2016 published in paperback by Simon & Schuster UK and is a fab contemporary.
A huge thank you to Alix and Alice at FMCM for having me on this wonderful tour.
For my stop on the blog tour I have had the chance to put some questions to the lovely Georgia Clark!
Best friends Evie, Krista and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New York. They’re regular girls with typical quarter life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making sense of online dating, and making rent.
Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well …gorgeous. Like, supermodelgorgeous. With a single drop, each young woman gets the gift of jaw-dropping beauty for one week, presenting them with unimaginable opportunities to make their biggest fantasies come true.
But there’s a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-day Cinderellas, there’s just one question left: What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?
Hi Georgia! Thank you so much for joining me today! I am so excited for The Regulars!
Can you tell us a little about The Regulars?
It’s a sexy, sassy feminist fairytale about three young women living in Brooklyn (where I live), who get their hands on Pretty, a magical elixir. One drop turns you super, jaw-droppingly hot for one week at a time. But there’s a dark side to being Pretty too…
Is there anything in particular that inspired you to write The Regulars?
I was inspired to create this story to join the exciting and important conversation that’s happening around beauty and beauty standards. From the anti-Photoshopping movement to icons like Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer celebrating and embodying a more realistic approach to bodies and being a woman, there’s a real groundswell right now that’s questioning what we want our beauty standards to look like. Ultimately my aim in joining this conversation was to put something out into the world that helped women and girls feel better about themselves and happy in the bodies and faces we live in.
What would you do if you discovered Pretty?
Probably something close to what Evie’s agenda is: using it to become more powerful. There I am, on the Victoria’s Secret runway, high-fiving Taylor Swift before grabbing the mic and espousing an impassioned Equal Pay for Equal Work manifesto. Telling my 5 million Snapchat followers about fighting campus rape. Maybe I’d go real renegade, Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Jessica Jones-style (after all, I’d look great in Nylon) and save the city from rogue mansplainers.
Awesome!
Can you tell us a little fact about each of the main characters Evie, Krista and Willow?
Clever, cautious, idealistic Evie is an only child who secretly loves Buffy fan fiction.
Aspiring actor/hot mess Krista lost her virginity in the back of a blue Ford.
And shy, sensitive, self-destructive Willow is obsessed with the filmmaker Harmony Korine.
What was your favourite scene to write?
So many! I loved writing the first transformation scene as it has comedy, drama, tension, and some nice surprises. I really liked writing Willow’s scenes, even though her voice was the hardest for me to nail: she’s a very poetic, mysterious girl and her scenes were the most experimental.
Do you see yourself in any of the characters in The Regulars or have you used any of your own experiences in the story?
Certainly: I’m most like Evie, with splashes of Willow and Krista. I used the universal experience of not feeling pretty enough to give the novel depth, truth and authenticity. Many of the girls’ different insecurities I’ve felt myself.
If you could cast your characters from The Regulars in a big Hollywood film adaptation who would you choose?
I think Jess Biel would be a great Velma Woolf.
Mia Wasikowska could be an interesting Willow. Tilda Swinton could play Evie’s boss at the magazine.
And of course, Ellen Page would be Quinn.
What would you like your reader to take from The Regulars?
In an ideal world, I’d like readers to feel equal parts entertained, inspired and supported. It’s not easy being a woman in this world, and personally, I feel drawn to telling stories about the female experience that can be helpful, in some small way.
We would love to know a little bit more about you! Can you give us 5 random facts we don’t know about Georgia Clark?
- I was in the Cattle Club at high school and used to show cows at agriculture shows.
- I had braces for 2.5 years and hated every. Single. Moment.
- I had never been to a gym until 2015 when I started dating my (very healthy) girlfriend.
- I once got my aura cleansed for a magazine story and it was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
- I travelled solo through Vietnam and once spent a week singing pop songs to “teach” (re: entertain) a room full of Khmer (Cambodian) school kids.
Which of your characters would you most like to spend the day with?
Probably Krista. She’s the most fun, for sure. She’d get us into the best kind of trouble.
Growing up who inspired you into writing? Are there any Authors or books that inspired you?
The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper.
I was totally and completely obsessed with this Young Adult series as a kid. Hungrily consumed when my imagination was a ripe and fertile thing, I really felt like I was there, alongside the Drew family, searching for the legendary Holy Grail in the mysterious windswept hills of Cornwall. I have vivid memories of the Greenwitch, Will Stanton, the Things of Power; the mix of myth, magic and memory that all good fantasy-adventure stories possess. Being an Aussie, I was raised with equal parts American and British culture, and thus feel quite fond of UK classis such as The Five Children and It, the Narnia chronicles and the Famous Five. But The Dark is Rising was always my favourite, kicking off a lifetime love of action and adventure.
Are there any recent works or authors that you admire or books you wish you had written?
I adored The Girls, by Emma Cline.
A new favourite. The buzz book of the summer merits all the praise. Her prose is consistently elegant and surprising. Such a wise storyteller makes everyone else seem like cliché-ridden buffoons. I had the odd experience of having my life reflected back to me by a person I didn’t know.
I wish I’d written Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I was given this novel by my best friend with the wild-eyed you-have-to-read this endorsement known to all book lovers. It’s my kind of story: snappily written, cleverly crafted, opinionated in ways I relate to, deliciously brutal, and just a cracker of a crime story.
What are you currently reading?
Right now I’m halfway through Phoebe Robinson’s You Can’t Touch My Hair (and other things I still have to explain). It’s so smart and funny; a must-read for Fall.
Are there any authors you would like to collaborate with? Who?
I love collabs! Everyone I’ve mentioned, plus David Mitchell, Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, Maggie Stiefvater, Karen Russell, and ALL funny ladies: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Lena Dunham, Carrie Brownstein, Judith Lucy, Mindy Kaling. Bring it!
When starting a new book or idea what does your writing process look like?
I start with one of the most fun parts: brainstorming. This involves some forms of research, depending on how much I actually need to learn, and extensive note taking. It’s basically months of daydreaming, where the sky’s the limit. Only in the outline phase do I start culling ideas and getting things at order; at the very beginning, it’s pure play.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
If I’m alone, I’ll read it out loud and do the voices. I need total silence: I get furious with snifflers/loud typers/coughers.
If The Regulars had a theme tune what would it be?
Anything by Beyoncé.
Are there any exciting plans for the rest of 2016?
My year is packed! I’m in Canada (Nova Scotia) right now for a friend’s wedding. Heading to LA at the end of the month for a book launch and to hang out for a bit, then I’ll be in Australia for three weeks for more press and to see my family. I’ll be in NY for Fall, maybe a weekend upstate for apple-picking. I’m doing a writers’ residency outside Chicago in early winter to start a new idea!
Thank you so much for answering all my questions Georgia!
You can buy a copy of The Regulars here or from your local bookshop
Georgia Clark is the author of The Regulars. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and sign up for her newsletter.
About Georgia Clark
Georgia Clark is an author, screenwriter and journalist who is widely published in women’s and lifestyle magazines, and writes for TV. She is enthusiastically vegetarian, proudly queer, definitely a city-dweller, a long-time lover and supporter of the arts and an advocate for the empowerment of young women.
– Follow me on Twitter/Instagram @georgialouclark
– Sign up to my mailing list from my website georgiaclark.com
– Like my author page on Facebook
Blog Tour
Follow or catch up of the rest of this fab blog tour at the following stops!
A huge huge thank you to Georgia for answering all my questions and to FMCM for organising!
Have you read any of the The Regulars? What did you think? I would love to hear from you! Why not leave a comment using the reply button at the top of this review or tweet me on twitter using @chelleytoy!
Happy Reading!
