CHARACTER INTERVIEW - LISA ROSS (THE DATING GAME)

It’s my pleasure to welcome back Scottish Chick Lit author, Susan Buchanan, to Books by Banister. Susan recently released her second novel, The Dating Game, a delightful book which I gave a 5-star review to over on Amazon. Without further ado, I give you Susan’s interview with one of the very entertaining supporting characters in TDG:

Lisa, is one of Gill’s three friends whom we encounter in The Dating Game. We meet her just after their return from Barcelona, by which time Gill has already dated four different men.

Interviewer:  Lisa, thanks so much for joining me today. What would you have been doing otherwise?

Lisa: I’d probably have had a long lie. I was out with my sister last night and we didn’t get in until 3am. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word tired.

Interviewer: So , I hear you are quite the party animal. What’s your favourite night out?

Lisa: Well, yes, I am often called the life and soul of the party, but mostly I am just out for dinner or a few drinks with Gill, Debbie and Angela. Gill’s the only one with no ties, but even though she doesn’t have any husband or kids, she’s married to her job. To be honest, apart from having a good gab with the girls, the night out I had last night with my sister is probably my favourite night out.

Interviewer: I see. And what about you, do you have a special someone in your life?

Lisa: Nope and quite happy for it. (she flicks her long, blonde hair over her shoulder, with a hand bearing perfectly manicured fingernails) I’m enjoying myself too much to settle down and whilst having kids and getting married might be the thing for Angela and Debbie, it’s so not my scene. I don’t want a guy telling me what to do. Maybe I’m just selfish, but I want to do what I want when I want.

Interviewer: Fair enough - girl power. But, you’re a very attractive girl - you must get loads of interest?

Lisa: (she laughs) Oh don’t get me wrong, I do. In fact I definitely have more than my fair share and I know I’ve broken a few hearts, but I’m not looking for Mr Right. I’m looking for Mr Right Now. The best bit in a relationship is right at the beginning, isn’t it? So I like to relive those best bits over and over, just with different people. You can’t really have a first kiss twice, can you? And yes, with regards to sex, I like to let them stay around until we both know each other’s bodies well, if you know what I mean. But the minute they start making too many demands on my time, or get at all clingy or want me to meet their friends or family, I usually break it off. I’m not looking for an engagement ring - I want to enjoy myself.

Interviewer: So, have you ever been interested in anyone who hasn’t been interested in  you?

Lisa: (without any hesitation) No. Guys are always interested in me and if there are girls who are equally as attractive as me on the scene, I get around that, because I can talk to guys easily, and I don’t do the whole simpering thing - quite frankly that makes me want to puke. I don’t do the pathetic girly thing either. I prefer to go for the all-out sex siren approach! It hasn’t failed me yet. Oh, nope, I’m wrong there. I forgot about those guys in Barcelona, but how was I to know they were gay?

Interviewer: So how important do you think looks are?

Lisa: Well as a beautician, I think they’re very important, although not the be all and end all. That goes for men and women. Take Gill for example,  she is naturally beautiful, yet she hides herself away mostly in those dark suits she wears for work. She needs a bit of colour, a bit of makeup (apart from her usual foundation and a touch of mascara when she can be bothered) and a bit of zing! She works far too hard, so she needs somehow to give her tired skin a lift. She also needs to make more of an effort with her hair. When she meets guys, she tries to interest them intellectually, but let’s face it, that’s not what they’re interested in. They don’t want to think you’re cleverer than they are.

Interviewer: You’re very frank. You’ve told Gill this straight to her face?

Lisa: Oh yeah, dozens of times. My friends know me well. I tell things as they are  - take it or leave it. OK, maybe I’m not the most tactful, but they know I have their best interests at heart.

Interviewer: And you don’t think guys are interested in how intelligent a woman is?

Lisa: Seriously? No. At least not initially. OK, they want to ensure she’s not a total airhead, but let’s face it, for men and women, you know in the first ten seconds if it’s going anywhere sexually (Lisa coughs) I mean, romantically. If you’re not attracted to each other, what’s the point? If you can’t see yourself getting naked with the guy at any point in the future and if you’re not looking at his lips and thinking ‘I want to snog the face off him, right now’, why bother? You’d be better off faking an emergency and legging it.

Interviewer: An interesting take on dating. So, you’ve seen photos of some of Gill’s dates, is there anyone you like and if he wasn’t one of Gill’s dates you’d happily, dare I say, pounce on?

Lisa: Well, a few of them are good-looking. But the one who stands out for me is Charlie. He has lovely broad shoulders and a sexy, cheeky, smile. Couldn’t tell from the photo, but I just bet he had a cute bum, too. I can just tell - he was so fit-looking.

Interviewer: And last question, do you think Gill has found her Mr Right already?

Lisa: Hah! That would be telling. Let’s just say she wasn’t particularly interested in the Spaniards.

Interviewer: Well thanks Lisa for such a candid interview. I hope Gill finds her Happy Ever After.

Lisa: No problem. Well, if she doesn’t, at least she’s going to have a right good time trying.

AUTHOR BIO

Susan Buchanan lives in Central Scotland with her partner, Tony. The Dating Game is her second novel, released 2nd Nov 2012. Sign of the Times, her first novel, was published in Mar 2012. She will shortly start work on her third novel, due for release Spring 2013.

Here exclusively is Susan Buchanan talking about The Dating Game:

The idea for The Dating Game came from a friend who had joined a dating agency for professional people in Glasgow. Although none of the escapades or experiences Gill has in The Dating Game are those my friend had, the seed was sown! How does a busy, career-oriented woman in her late thirties, find a guy, and not only a guy, but the right guy? I wanted the relationships she had had and the dates she would have, to be as realistic as possible. As I love travelling, I always incorporate at least one foreign country into my books. You’ll have to read The Dating Game to find out where it is!

When I read, I love to read books about foreign parts that I have visited - it immerses me more in the story. I wanted to do the same in my own novels. I love reading, always have - romantic fiction, crime, contemporary drama, pretty much everything.

BOOK BLURB

Workaholic recruitment consultant, Gill McFadden, is sick of her friends trying to match-make for her.  Up until now her love life has been a disaster and she’s going through a drier spell than the Sahara desert. 

She realises she has to act, as work keeps piling up and at this rate she will have retired before she has time for a relationship.

Seeing an ad on a bus one day, she decides to visit Happy Ever After dating agency.  She quickly discovers men are like buses. They all come along at once. Unsure what her type is, Gill decides to keep her options open.  Soon she has problems juggling her social life as well as her work diary. Will she ever strike the right balance?

Before long she is experiencing laughs, lust and… could it be love?  But like everything in Gill’s life, nothing is straightforward and she ends up wondering exactly who she can trust.

PURCHASE THE DATING GAME

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