Read Lucy Beresford’s interview with Ellie Holmes from the Romantic Novelists’ Association Blog, in which she discusses her latest book Hungry for Love and life as a writer, therapist and Agony Aunt with her trademark charm:

Hungry for Love has been described as “an amusing, fun read” but it deals with some serious issues such as self respect. How difficult was it to get across a serious message in a lighthearted book?

I thought it was going to be quite tricky, as I’d long wanted this to be the corner-stone of this novel, as I believe that it’s crucial for how we live in the world. But I also wanted to write about food and romance and have a lot of fun with that, so in the end the writing of this novel flowed really easily.

 

You are a trained psychotherapist. As a result of your experience in this area do you create your characters from the inside out and then develop a plot?

I think they go hand in hand – the type of characters they are always drives the plot in certain way, so I’m a great believer in creating strong, believable characters and then seeing where they want to go.

 

 

Cooking features a lot in Hungry for Love. Who would be your fantasy dinner guests and what would you cook?

I’d invite Shakespeare (because I have so many questions to ask him), Daniel Craig, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and Nigella Lawson. She and I would share the cooking and rustle up a world feast of guacamole, risottos, curries and pavlova.

 

One of your previous roles was as an Agony Aunt.  Have you ever failed to follow your own good advice?

Lots of times. As an outsider you can often see someone else’s situation more clearly but when it’s your own issues, it feels impossible to untangle them – but at least that helps me empathise with the struggles other people have: things might look easy on the outside but inside the emotions are complex.

 

Read the full interview here and get your copy of Hungry for Love now from Amazon or Quartet Books!