Spotlight: Gillian McAllister

Imagine how exciting it would be to be just a few weeks away from the release of your own debut novel – that is the amazing position which Gillian McAllister currently finds herself in. When I learned that she was from just down the M6 in Birmingham I had to get in touch to see how she was feeling, and just how her journey had lead her here.

Is it correct that you're a lawyer? That sounds like an intense job to write around, how do you manage that?

I guess that leads quite nicely into one of the big questions of writers - how do you write? What is your process?

What is / was the journey like, for you personally from writing, to submitting to being published? And what about the book's journey, what happens to that? - who sees it, who has input into decisions etc.

What has changed for you since your book deal?

Again, from the podcast. How many 'false starts' did you encounter before Everything but The Truth - could you tell me about some of them?

The podcast, by the way, is brilliant - I was sat listening to it in my classroom while writing these questions. It feels and comes across as a really down to earth, friendly insight into what can seem a really daunting industry, particularly for unpublished writers. How did the idea for it come about?

Finally, what happens from release day on? - I've been keeping an eye on your event at Waterstones Birmingham, but is there a book tour; signing and readings?

Gilly will be appearing at Waterstones, Birmingham today from 19:00. You can purchase Everything But The Truth here and listen to the brilliant, The Honest Authors podcast on ITunes.