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Interview with Rowan Coleman
Interview with Rowan Coleman
Interview with Rowan Coleman
A Conversation with Rowan Coleman, author of Mommy by Mistake
1. Natalie Curzon is a vibrant, unpredictable heroine. Why were you drawn to writing a novel about such an impulsive woman?
I have often written about women who hesitate to grab on to life and make the most of it, like Catherine in Another Mother’s Life or Sophie in The Accidental Mother. I thought it would be fun to have a heroine who came from the opposite extreme—and it was. I had a great time creating Natalie.
2. Have you ever belonged to a baby group?
Not a formal one. Like Natalie I wasn’t keen on the idea of a structured group of women thrown together with nothing in common but a baby—but I did develop a group of friends through my little girl who became a crucial support network.
3. Did becoming a mother change the way you write?
It’s hard to say really. I’ve only written one book before my daughter was born and I was pregnant throughout writing it. It is true that motherhood and how it defines and influences both your own life and those of your children is a constant source of inspiration and interest to me, and that is evident in my books.
4. You write from a number of different perspectives in Mommy By Mistake. Was there a character you particularly identified with or enjoyed voicing?
I thought that I would love Natalie the most and the other supporting characters would be great to write but not be so exciting. I was wrong. All of the characters became my friends and I enjoyed them all—my very own imaginary baby group!
5. You depict a complex and difficult mother/daughter relationship in Mommy By Mistake. How do you manage to inject such emotional realism and poignancy into your writing?
I think that mother/daughter relationships are so fascinating—so fiercely loyal and loving and yet so potentially destructive and painful. I put a little of my own experience into this book, but I also talked to a lot of other mothers and daughters to create that story line.
6. How do the themes in Mommy By Mistake relate to those you addressed in your earlier novels Another Mother’s Life and The Accidental Mother?
Modern motherhood is a difficult path to follow. The role is much less clearly defined than it used to be half a century ago. In all three of these books I’m exploring what it’s like to be a mother in the twenty-first century and how to reconcile the demands of being a single, teen, or adoptive mother with the common goal—which is to do the best for your children.
7. Have you finished writing the sequel to The Accidental Mother, which became a bestseller in the United States and the United Kingdom? When can readers expect a new Sophie Mills novel?
Just this afternoon I have dotted the last “i” and crossed the final “t” on the new Sophie Mills book The Accidental Family. It was wonderful to be back with Sophie and Louis and the girls again and to find out what happens next in their lives—you’ll have to read it if you want to find out what happens!
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1. Natalie Curzon is a vibrant, unpredictable heroine. Why were you drawn to writing a novel about such an impulsive woman?
I have often written about women who hesitate to grab on to life and make the most of it, like Catherine in Another Mother’s Life or Sophie in The Accidental Mother. I thought it would be fun to have a heroine who came from the opposite extreme—and it was. I had a great time creating Natalie.
2. Have you ever belonged to a baby group?
Not a formal one. Like Natalie I wasn’t keen on the idea of a structured group of women thrown together with nothing in common but a baby—but I did develop a group of friends through my little girl who became a crucial support network.
3. Did becoming a mother change the way you write?
It’s hard to say really. I’ve only written one book before my daughter was born and I was pregnant throughout writing it. It is true that motherhood and how it defines and influences both your own life and those of your children is a constant source of inspiration and interest to me, and that is evident in my books.
4. You write from a number of different perspectives in Mommy By Mistake. Was there a character you particularly identified with or enjoyed voicing?
I thought that I would love Natalie the most and the other supporting characters would be great to write but not be so exciting. I was wrong. All of the characters became my friends and I enjoyed them all—my very own imaginary baby group!
5. You depict a complex and difficult mother/daughter relationship in Mommy By Mistake. How do you manage to inject such emotional realism and poignancy into your writing?
I think that mother/daughter relationships are so fascinating—so fiercely loyal and loving and yet so potentially destructive and painful. I put a little of my own experience into this book, but I also talked to a lot of other mothers and daughters to create that story line.
6. How do the themes in Mommy By Mistake relate to those you addressed in your earlier novels Another Mother’s Life and The Accidental Mother?
Modern motherhood is a difficult path to follow. The role is much less clearly defined than it used to be half a century ago. In all three of these books I’m exploring what it’s like to be a mother in the twenty-first century and how to reconcile the demands of being a single, teen, or adoptive mother with the common goal—which is to do the best for your children.
7. Have you finished writing the sequel to The Accidental Mother, which became a bestseller in the United States and the United Kingdom? When can readers expect a new Sophie Mills novel?
Just this afternoon I have dotted the last “i” and crossed the final “t” on the new Sophie Mills book The Accidental Family. It was wonderful to be back with Sophie and Louis and the girls again and to find out what happens next in their lives—you’ll have to read it if you want to find out what happens!
