5 Minute Interview: Marian Keyes

Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe 

And what did you read it on?

A paper copy. I’m one of the lucky people who got a proof – it’s wonderful.

What’s next on your reading list?

A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard

What is your favourite book to screen adaptation?

Gone With the Wind

What TV series are you obsessing over right now?

Series 5 of Scandal, Thicker Than Water (Swedish thing) and Ray Donovan.

Go on, let us know your musical guilty pleasure….

George Michael, ALWAYS George! Except I don’t feel guilty about it.

 …and one from the world of fiction?

Weeeeeelll, I don’t really hold with people feeling guilty about books that give them pleasure. Who gets to say which books are worthy and which books we should feel guilty about?

Who would play you in the film of your life? 

Danny de Vito

What was your first job?

Washing dishes in a pizza restaurant.

Who has been your greatest inspiration, and why?

Mammy Keyes. Knows how to tell a great story – the importance of capturing an entire person in 3 or 4 adjectives; withholding vital plot points until the right moment and dropping moments of intrigue just when interest is flagging. I learnt from a master.

Making It Up As I Go Along is available in hardback now.