Now and then I am asked to review books, either by my publishing house or by other authors. To be quite honest, sometimes I will read the book and then decline to write a review.

 

The truth is that I don’t like the book and I don’t want to recommend that someone else go out and spend money on a book that I don’t think they’ll like.  Also, it’s my reputation. I recommend a poor book, that reflects poorly on me.

 

I was asked to review Anita Hughes’ book, Market Street, by an editor at St. Martin’s and this is what I wrote:

 

MARKET STREET is the captivating story of a reluctant heiress meeting her own dream and running with it…Loved it. Read it in one sitting, coffee and chocolate in hand.

 

And now I’m lucky enough to be able to interview Anita and again I’m drinking coffee…

 

1) Anita, thanks for being here.  One day I’m coming down to California to run on the beach with you but for now…can you summarize Market Street for us?

 

MARKET STREET is about the young wife of a philandering UC Berkeley Ethics Professor who must choose between her crumbling marriage and opening a food emporium in Fenton’s, her mother’s exclusive Union Square department store.

 

2) That was so ironic. The husband is an ethics professor. What a jerk. I hated him.  I enjoyed hating him. Good job on creating a character that is so fun to hate. I will say I loved all the food images, as I do so love to eat. 

 

Can you tell us where you got the idea for your book? For example, with my book, Julia’s Chocolates, I had a vision of a wedding dress being thrown into a dead street on a deserted street in North Dakota. Any weird visions like that?

 

No visions, but a clear picture of San Francisco in my mind. I write very visually – I can see the places and people and I wanted to write a book set in San Francisco, filled with delicious local foods and fashion. I lived in the Bay Area for years and was a big fan of GUMPS – the historic department store just off Union Square. Fenton’s is a cross between GUMPS and Neiman Marcus and I thought it would be a great setting for a novel.

 

3) It was an excellent setting. I could almost feel the San Francisco fog when I read it and I pictured myself on the wharf reading your book many times. I loved visiting SF in my mind…especially the bakeries.

 

Which character do you most relate to?

 

I love both Cassie, the main character, and Alexis, her best friend. Cassie, like many of us, is used to putting others before herself. Alexis is more unconventional – wealthy, beautiful but quite insecure. I love how they support each other and would do anything for each other.

 

4) I loved how different they are from one another. Sometimes I think people like that make the best friendships. You learn and grow from the other person – even if they say and do things that you would never say or do. It makes the friendship lively and intriguing.

 

Are there different parts of your personality in each of the main characters?

 

I think I definitely have parts of Cassie in me – I would imagine most mothers do. I love Alexis’s sense of humor and I’ve been told I can be funny but she is much wittier than I am.

 

5) Have you gone through anything your characters go through?

 

You get to a certain age and have weathered disappointments and times when life changes course unexpectedly. I think I blended a variety of things that have happened in my life and the lives of my friends and put them in the story.

 

6) There were so many, many elements in your story that I thought women could connect with from their heart and soul. I certainly did.

 

What would you say is the theme of Market Street and why did you choose that theme?

 

The main theme of Market Street is the value of female friendship. I still have great friends from high school that I call on a weekly basis, and we help each other get through life’s challenges. In every stage in life I think a great best friend is so important – if you have one you can get through anything.

 

7) You’re right. I love all my girlfriends.

 

Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you write a certain amount of words or pages a day?

 

I try to write 1,000 words a day – I find that keeps the story humming along and the characters breathing. I write mainly in the morning and then revise at night.

 

8) What do you like best about writing and what part of it is not, as I shall say, quite as pleasant?

 

I really enjoy the actual writing – especially dialogue. I also enjoy revising, it is very satisfying to work on a sentence or paragraph and make it as good as can be. I don’t think there is a part of the writing process that I don’t enjoy.

 

9) That’s good. When I’m on my eighth edit I want to pound my head through the keyboard.

 

Always wanted to be a writer or were there other career choices? What did you want to be when you were a kid?

 

When I was eight I won a national writing award in THE AUSTRALIAN, Australia’s national newspaper. I definitely wanted to be a writer and even sent off a novel at the age of fourteen to a senior editor at Harper & Row. She sent me back a revision letter but I became a cheerleader instead!

 

10) Cheerleading over writing? You must be kidding. I can’t make fun of you, though. I was a cheerleader, too. I was a terrible cheerleader. Couldn’t remember the cheers or kick right. I bet you knew how to kick right, you’re that kind of gal. 

 

Rumor has it you live in a hotel. What’s that like? I’m going to move in with you. 

 

My family lives in a villa on the grounds of The St. Regis, Monarch Beach. It’s pretty fabulous. What I love most is that I am surrounded by beauty – both natural beauty (the beach, the gardens) and the architecture and interior design of the hotel. I also love the people – the employees have been there for ever and they are like family.

 

11) Where do you see yourself in ten years? Twenty years?

 

Hopefully sitting right here, watching the rabbits in my garden and writing!

 

12) I’ll come watch the rabbits with you. I’m good at sitting down. We’ll name them together.

 

What are some of your personal goals? Professional goals?

 

My personal goals are to have happy, well-rounded children who grow into confident adults. Professionally, I would like to just continue to write my books – I have a few more already written and a stack of ideas and characters waiting to be transcribed. I love to write and I love hearing readers’ feedback on my stories.

 

13) Three places you most want to travel to and why.

 

Obviously Lake Como, which is where my next book is set. I went as a child and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I also have a soft spot for Capri – I love a place where there are no cars. It’s a gorgeous island with history, great food and shops.

I love Switzerland, especially Montreux, and would love to go there in the summer and take a paddle boat on Lake Geneva.

 

I’ve been to Montreaux, as you mentioned above, and loved it. I remember the boardwalk vividly. I was a broke college student so I didn’t shop, but my sister and I did manage to find money for coffee, of course, and it was delicious.  I just looked up Lake Como and I definitely have to go there, too, and have lunch with George Clooney. I am sure he’d invite me over if he knew I was there….

 

Thank you for hosting me on your wonderful blog, Cathy! And thank you for being an inspiration to women writers!

 

Aw….you’re welcome, Anita. Thanks for your time and the best of luck with all your new books.