The Quarter-Life Reviews

What happens when your long time boyfriend breaks up with you-and promptly finds a new girlfriend?  For most of us, we would probably wallow in self pity with a bowl of ice cream (chocolate of course) and some terribly depressing DVD.  Sophie Kintock isn’t like most girls however-when her initial plans of winning her Ex back don’t work she moves on to plan B.  Employing the help of a new friend she turns herself into a psychic.  Or at least fakes it.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy books that make me laugh…and I laughed a lot reading “Unpredictable”.  Sophie Kintock is funny, whether she is sneaking into her Ex’s new apartment building’s laundry room to steal his socks-or faking out his new girlfriend with her psychic act-it’ll be a long time before you forget her.

The only possible downside of this book was the ending was a bit predictable, especially if you are familiar with romantic comedy.  However, it doesn’t make this book any less enjoyable and I look forward to seeing more from the author in the future.

I had the opportunity to interview Ms Cook via email.  Below is the question and answer session we had.

Before writing “Unpredictable” you were working on a mystery correct?  What changed your mind/direction?

I briefly considered making up an answer to this question- but I’ve decided to go with the truth- I changed direction because the mystery was really bad. I had the realization that although I love reading mysteries, I couldn’t write one to save my life. By the end of the first chapter I had pretty much given everything away which defeats the purpose of a mystery.  When I would have people read the manuscript for me they would say “the funny parts are good.” I decided to write a humerous book so I could focus on the things I did well.

I’ve noticed that many books in the “chick lit” genre follow a certain pattern in their stories, often the main characters share the same insecurities and their romances often seem similar (like having two interests at once).  Do you find it hard to incorporate these elements into your stories while at the same time creating a story that stands out from the rest?

I didn’t set out to write any particular genre. I knew I wanted to write about someone who was on the edge because the plan she had for her life was slipping away from her and show how far she would go to get what she wanted.  What I think binds the chick lit genre together is the common elements of grappling with who you are and who you want to be.  This includes facing our insecurities and sorting out relationship issues. I didn’t see having to do this in a a new way something to overcome as much as part of the fun of writing. It’s been argued that there are no new stories, only new ways to tell the same old stories.
When and how did you start writing? You also teach writing in workshops, can you explain how you started to become involved with that?

I’ve loved books and reading as long as I can remember. I don’t remember when I first grasped the concept that someone got to write the books I read, but once I did, I knew that was what I wanted to do. For a long time the fear of rejection kept me from doing anything with my writing.  Then it occurred to me that hearing no couldn’t be that bad.  I was already unpublished, the worst that would happen is that I would stay unpublished.

For my day job I do a lot of presentations and teaching. I’m one of the few people who doesn’t mind public speaking so it seemed quite natural to start speaking on writing when the chance came.  I love the craft of writing, how stories and characters come together.  Next to writing- talking about writing is one of my favorite things.

Do you find it difficult to separate your day job as a counselor for the disabled to your writing career?  I would imagine that it would be difficult to just put aside everything from work and concentrate fully on your writing.

Strangely, I think my job has been a huge boost for my writing in two very different ways.  Because working with people who have been through various catastrophic injuries or illness can be draining, I’ve always worked hard to have a way to turn it off at the end of the day.  Writing gives me a perfect escape- I get to make up whatever I want, control the outcome and have a happy ending if I want it.  Being able to sink into my imagination is a great way to balance out my work.  Secondly, one thing my job has taught me is that life doesn’t have a “do over” button.  I meet a lot of people who have regrets- but these are almost always over things they wish they had done when they had the chance.  Seeing people have this experience has encouraged me to seize opportunities when they come- including sending my writing off.

Do you have another book in the works?  It also looks like there will be a movie version of “Unpredictable”, any news on that?

My second book is tentatively called WWAD (What Would Alice Do?) It’s a retelling of The Crucible set in a modern day Christian high school.  It is planned to come out in January.  I had a ton of fun writing the story and I’m excited to see it come out.

The film rights for Unpredictable were sold to New Line Cinema. I was thrilled as I’m a huge movie junkie. Although film options are no guarantee of the studio going to production, New Line has started the process and have hired a screenwriter to adapt the book to film.  I’m excited to see the completed the script.  I also have spent countless hours day dreaming about walking the red carpet.

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A big thank you to Eileen Cook for taking the time to answer my questions.  Please take the time to visit her website and order her book on Amazon.