A Chat with Cally Taylor

Beth Prince has always loved fairytales and now, aged twenty-four, she feels like she's finally on the verge of her own happily ever after. She lives by the seaside, works in the Picturebox - a charming but rundown independent cinema - and has a boyfriend who's so debonair and charming she can't believe her luck! There's just one problem - none of her boyfriends have ever told her they love her and it doesn't look like Aiden's going to say it any time soon. Desperate to hear 'I love you' for the first time Beth takes matters into her own hands - and instantly wishes she hadn't.

Just when it seems like her luck can't get any worse, bad news arrives in the devilishly handsome shape of Matt Jones. Matt is the regional director of a multiplex cinema and he's determined to get his hands on the Picturebox by Christmas. Can Beth keep her job, her man and her home or is her romantic-comedy life about to turn into a disaster movie?


Hi Cally and a warm welcome to High Heels and Book Deals. Tell me about your journey to publication.

I was inspired to write Heaven Can Wait, my first novel, when a friend died very quickly and unexpectedly. Her death was a wake up call to stop procrastinating and stop putting ‘write a novel’ at the end of my to do list. I started in March 2007, wrote like I was possessed and completed my 100,000 word first draft in three months and three weeks. I was ecstatic that I'd managed it - I'd written a novel! - but I didn't want to stop there. The novel needed editing, a lot, and I was starting to believe that maybe, just maybe I could get it published.

In September 2007 I bought a copy of the Writers and Artists Yearbook and looked through it, ticking the agents that represented women's fiction and chicklit. I shortlisted half a dozen and sent off six brown envelopes. Three days later I received my first rejection. It was personalised but still a no. A couple of days after that I received a phone call from Darley Anderson. He said he'd liked what he'd read and could I send him the rest of my novel? Could I? I hardly slept for the next three nights as I read through my novel again and made a few more tweaks before I sent it off. I didn't hear anything for six more weeks - but did receive a couple of other rejections - then finally, in January 2008, my phone rang. It was Darley. I was on tenterhooks as I answered it, so hopeful that this was the phone call I'd dreamed about - the one where I was offered representation - but by the end of the conversation I was in tears. The novel showed a lot of promise, Darley told me but there was no way he could represent me or show it to any publishers in its current state, I'd have to do a lot more work on it.

I was gutted, and certain there was no way I could turn my novel into the book Darley thought it could be. For a few months I did nothing. I was scared that if I edited my book and sent it back I'd get a definite NO but eventually the fear ebbed away and was replaced with a 'sod it, if I don't try I'll never know' attitude and I set to work.

At the end of June 2008 I sent off my complete manuscript for the second time. I heard nothing for three months and just had shortlisted a second set of agents to approach when my phone rang. It was Madeleine Buston, Head of Foreign Rights at the Darley Anderson Agency. She told me Darley had given her my revised manuscript to read on the train up to Scotland from London and it had made her laugh and cry. She'd loved it so much in fact, that she'd asked Darley if she could represent me! As she excitedly told me about her plans for my book and the publishers she wanted to approach I just kept waiting for the 'but'. There had to be one. As the phone call came to an end I couldn't bear it anymore and said "So..er...are you my agent then?" and she said "Yes!". The second she rang off I burst into tears.

One month later I had a two book deal with Orion and Maddie had sold my book to Brazil. Since then, HEAVEN CAN WAIT has been translated into 13 languages and was awarded the Debut Novel of the Year Award on chicklitreviews.com and chicklitclub.com.

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is my second novel.

Your first novel, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, although a romance novel was a paranormal romance. HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a romantic comedy. Why the change in sub genre?

I’ll let you into a secret - Home for Christmas had TWO paranormal romantic-comedy incarnations before it became the novel it is today. There’s a good reason why ‘Second Novel Syndrome’ is such a widespread phenomenon – because second novels can be extraordinarily hard to get right and mine was no exception! I ditched my first attempt at 20,000 words because I didn’t care about my main character and figured that if the author didn’t like her own creation then none of the readers would. The second attempt – Happiness Ever After – I actually finished but, after a conversation with my agent and editor, we all agreed that it would be a stronger novel without the paranormal subplot. Cue a re-write! Altogether it took me two years to whip Home for Christmas into shape and it was a pretty torturous process at times but the finished novel is a lot better for it and I'm proud of the hard work I put into it.

Are you a plotter or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-panter?

A seat-of-your-panter with a tiny bit of plotting thrown in. I always know how my novels start (at least the first 5 or 6 scenes) and what happens at the end. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I know what happens in the middle and then it’s a case of joining the dots by the seat of my pants!

How many drafts do you complete?
Oh gosh. The first draft, my first edit and a polish. So three. And then it goes to Maddy my agent and I’ll edit again – so that’s four. Then Kate my editor’s edits. Five in total. Possibly six, possibly more!

What are you working on now?
I’m working on something I’m calling ‘Project B’. I haven’t got a publishing deal for Project B but it’s a story that popped into my head earlier this year and refused to go away so I just HAD to write it. I was planning on completing a 70,000 word first draft before my baby was born (1st October) but I managed to slice the tendon in my thumb when I took a food processor blade out of the dishwasher so that put paid to that! I’d still like to finish Project B but think I might tidy up the 20,000 words I did manage to get written first and send it to my agent to see if she thinks it’s worth continuing with. With a little one taking up my time and, hopefully, a third romantic comedy to write in the next year or so, I can’t afford to write novels for the ‘fun of it’ anymore!

You’ve written and had published numerous short stories. How does this compare to writing a novel?

It hurts a lot less to ditch a short story that isn’t working. And takes less of your time! Seriously though – I like short stories because you can get a great sense of satisfaction in a relatively short amount of time. Writing a complete story in a few hours or an afternoon can give you a nice buzz, particularly if you get it published. Writing a novel is much more arduous but the sense of achievement when you finish is HUGE. I’ve always wanted to run a marathon and reckon the two are probably comparable in terms of effort, exhaustion and the feeling you have when you’ve finished!

Some days I’ll do anything not to get down to the writing. What’s your favourite way to procrastinate?

I’m afraid I’ve got a horrible reality TV addiction that really I should keep quiet about in public.

What is your best writing tip?

Write the novel that excites you, not the novel you think/hope will sell. Readers can tell when you put your heart and soul into a story. If it makes you laugh and cry the chances are it’ll affect the reader to. If you do it for the money/to jump on a bandwagon/to get a book deal they won’t be fooled.

And your worst writing habit?

How many do you want? Getting distracted. Listening to my internal editor when I’m writing a first draft (instead of shutting her out). Doubting myself. Worrying that someone else is writing the same novel as me. Skimping on description. Procrastinating. I could go on...

And finally, what’s your poison, high heels or flat shoes?

Having spent the best part of 9 months in flat shoes (during my pregnancy) I’m tempted to burn every pair I own...but they’re so comfy I can’t bear to let them go (I’m much more of a slummy mummy than a yummy one!). Then there’s the fact I can’t really push the pram into town in heels - it’s a 40 minute walk! Right now I’m trying to get fit after the birth of my baby so the ‘heels’ I choose are my stupidly expensive trainers – and a pair of my baby’s shoes, because they’re cute!



Many thanks, Cally. All the best for Home for Christmas and with your new little one. You can find out more about Cally at her website here and her blog here.