On the Shelf with Tilly Bagshawe

Tilly Bagshawe's debut novel,Adored,was one of the books I took a chance on while browsing amongst the booths at last June's BookExpo America and it paid off rather well. Adored is modeled after such old school beach books like Lace,A Woman of Substance and Valley of the Dolls with the glamour,glitz and heartaches of strong yet vulnerable independant women. Siena McMahon is the heart of Adored,the granddaughter of Hollywood legend,Duke McMahon,who defies her family to obtain her dreams of stardom.

Tilly has nothing against chick lit-her sister,Louise,has several succesful novels in that field-but wishes to recapture the type of books she grew up with for a new generation. She knows quite a bit about being a early success-at age 26,Tilly was the youngest partner in a major headhunting firm. She's also been a freelance journalist for many well known British publications and will be releasing her new novel this summer. Enough from me,let's let the lady speak for herself:

1)Adored's plot centers around the McMahons,a
legendary Hollywood family. Did you base them on a particular
celebrity family,past or present?


No, I didn't, although a lot of people have asked me if they were based
on the Douglases, so make what you will of that. I like to think of them
as the most extreme sides of various different celebrity families rolled
into one.

2)Adored is meant to be a traditional Beach Read;would
you say you're more in tune with Jackie Collins or
Barbara Taylor Bradford's style?

I'm tempted to say Jackie Collins, but
that may simply be because I have read more of her stuff so am more
familiar with the style. However I hope Adored has its own voice,
even though I would be flattered to be viewed as a disciple of the
Collins/BTB/Krantz school.


3)What books inspired you to become a writer?

Lucky and Chances by Jackie Collins, Riders and Rivals by Jilly Cooper,
all my sister Louise's novels, especially Career Girls, and everything by
Sidney Sheldon.

4)Are there any plans to write a sequel to Adored?

Not exactly 'plans', no. I have toyed with the idea of a prequel,
about Duke's young life. But I'll never say never.


5)What is your next book about and when will it be released?

It's called Showdown, its about a young girl's struggle to
make it as an international horse racing star, with a lot of sexy cowboys
thrown in for good measure, and its out this coming June

6)Your sister Louise is a chick lit author-would
either of you consider swapping genres,just to see
what the other would come up with?

Louise has written bonkbusters in the past, too. She is such a
terrific writer and she could turn her hand to anything. As for chick lit, it
really isn't for me. I'm more of a glamour girl I'm afraid.


7)Which do you prefer-Desparate Housewives or Footballer's Wives?

I've never seen Footballer's wives although everyone
tells me I would love it and I keep meaning to get the first series
on DVD. However I do adore Desperate Housewives, and I particularly
love Lynette. The chaos of her life is spookily familiar...

Adored is coming in paperback this May,which gives you plenty of time to dive into the splendor of Tilly's writing before getting ahold of Sundown for your vacation reading. Check out her website in the title link above for more info and my thanks to Tilly for giving me this interview. If books could have theme songs,"It's My Life" by No Doubt would fit Adored like a glove and now with Sundown to look forward to, I hope my inner IPod will come up with the right tune to read it by.