Interview with Suzanne Carroll

In six weeks Zoe Harper will marry Dan Costi in an over-the-top Sydney society wedding, complete with fire-eaters and belly dancers. But when she receives an unexpected gift from her future mother-in-law, Zoe realises she’s making a huge mistake. In a blazing sidewalk argument, she breaks up with her fiance, and his mother--who has joined the fight via conference call.

Following the advice of friends and co-workers, along with some inspiration from late-night-television self-help guru Dr. Pam, Zoe sets out to find the life she thinks she should be living. Always a planner, she makes a list of goals: travel, career, tattoos, and no relationships. It’s all carefully laid out, until she meets Angus Creed.

In six weeks Angus is supposed to lead the opening waltz at a charity ball in New York City. Only problem is, the handsome billionaire construction magnate with the tabloid past can’t dance. Not one step.

Tainted by gossip and with a well-publicised failed engagement behind him, Angus has become a master at keeping an emotional distance. Until he meets Zoe.

What starts as dancing lessons, slowly becomes something more. Angus begins to let down his guard and open his heart, even when his past makes an unexpected and unwelcome return. As Zoe discovers the real man behind the headlines, she questions where her new choices are taking her. Her goals look good on paper, but are they what she really wants? And by the time she realises where her heart lies, will it be too late?

Thank you very much Ms. Carroll because you shared your thoughts with us today!

1) How and why have you started to write? Were there something or someone that gave you an impulse?

 I wrote my first story when I was 7 years old. A story just popped into my head about a rabbit decorating his burrow. I wrote it down and loved the thought of creating a whole new character and world. And I was hooked! I've been writing, on and off, ever since, but Over the Edge is my first full novel.

2) Tell me something about your book Over the Edge.

 Over the Edge is a light romantic comedy about a girl trying to plan her life and find her way, and what happens when those plans come undone. As plans often do.

3) While youre writing, have you discovered a character that you where developing feelings of love for? And was there a character that gave you headaches?

 Mm, I did fall in love with Angus a little bit. And considering he's the romantic hero I guess that's a good thing. But he's also the character who gave me headaches. Sometimes he seemed such a mystery to me and it would take me a while to coax him out, but it was always worth the wait. I also enjoyed writing Zoe's mother very much - she's a fun character.

4) How have you done your research for this novel?

 There wasn't a lot of research to do because it's mostly based in my home city of Sydney so most things in it are already familiar to me. But Kathmandu does feature a bit and a friend-of-a-friend had travelled there so I rang him up and spoke to him about his experiences. And I discovered a brilliant website about international taxi fares that told me how much a cab would cost to go from JFK Airport to Central Park in New York! The internet also helped when I needed some information about antiques and engineering.
5) Is there a book that inspired your writings?

 It wasn't a book that inspired Over the Edge. A friend's daughter was getting married and she was telling me about the drama of organising the wedding and I had this image in my mind of a girl running away from her wedding planner and that was the inspiration for the story.
6) In the end, would you like say some words to your fans from Romania?

 I'm excited to know that my story is reaching from Australia to Romania! And I really hope Romanian readers will like Zoe and Angus. My brother-in-law is Romanian and I've asked him to help me out with this next part: Vă Mulțumesc, si sper că vă plăce Over The Edge.