The Dating Detox – Gemma Burgess

(Note to reader: I’ve a copy of ‘The Dating Detox’ to giveaway and all details can be found at the end of this long (but very interesting) post)

If you can’t date anyone nice, don’t date anyone at all…

Dating is a dangerous sport. So after her sixth successive failed relationship, romantically-challenged 20-something Sass decides she’s had enough. The Dating Detox is born. No men, no break-ups, no problem.

The result? Her life — usually joyfully/traumatically occupied with dates, clothes and vodka — is finally easy. Chastity rocks. No wonder nuns are always singing. Everything falls at her feet. Especially men.

Will Sass break the rules? Why does fate keep throwing her in the path of the irritatingly amusing — and gorgeous — Jake? Will she ever roll the dice and play again? Or is a love-free life too good to risk losing?

Quirky, funny and real. ‘The Dating Detox’ offers a new and refreshing voice, taking ‘chick-lit’ past Carrie Bradshaw and giving Bridget Jones a wink on the way. Sass is a strong character. She has flaws, she has strength, she has personality, she’s straight talking, likeable and the kind of woman that I’d want as a friend. (That’s important, isn’t it?). I think that’s why I’m so choosy about what I read from this genre (now that I’m in my 30s, sob). I don’t want to feel old, past it and out of touch with the modern woman. I want a main character that I ‘get’ and one that has life experiences that I can understand.

Gemma Burgess connects reader to character, by creating Sass, an open-hearted and honest lead. And as Sass talks about her dating disasters and the ‘types’ of men that she’s ‘experienced’, I found myself laughing out loud and nodding my head. (I’ve been there, oh yes I have)

‘The Dating Detox’ is a book about female friendships, about solidarity and about personal growth. The writing feels effortless and has a warmth that will appeal to any lover of this genre, even more so to those who are slightly tired by repetitive rom-com stories. This anti-romantic comedy is refreshing and it’s one that I’ve already recommended to several single girl friends.

Asking Gemma:

What inspired you to write ‘The Dating Detox’? My sister and I talked about how we wanted to read more chicklit books that were warm and funny and easy to read, but not stupid or about girls that we’d probably think were a bit wet if we met them… you know, the lovelorn loser books. Those things can make you feel really bad if you’re going through a rocky period. I spent my twenties in a near-permanent state of confusion and worried about just about everything, but I always laughed about just about everything, and we wanted to read about someone with the same attitude. Plus, I’d hurt my back, which meant I was forced to entertain myself for a few weeks. So I started writing.

How long did it take to write? I wrote it over about 10 months, but I didn’t write anywhere near full time. My ideal writing situation is that I write intensely for a month, then go and copywrite or do something else for a week or so, then come back to it. A little time and perspective makes a great difference to when you’re reviewing and editing.

Who do you feel would be your ideal reader? Anyone both silly and smart is my ideal reader. And friend, actually

I love hearing about publishing journeys, so tell me, please, how did you come to be published? Well, I wrote a few chapters to entertain my sister Anika, but didn’t imagine that it’d ever be a real book. I just thought it was fun. Then after five months, when I’d written a chapter every four or five weeks, my boyfriend and mother encouraged (nagged) me to send the first three chapters to agents, and I chose the agents out of a list I found on the internet, based on their postcode. (It really was that haphazard. I figured anyone based in Central London was probably pretty damn good. It all seemed imaginary at that point anyway.) Then MBA got in touch about six weeks later and asked to read the rest of the book and then I squealed, dropped everything and typed furiously… after another draft, MBA signed me, and about four months later, Harper Collins offered a book deal. It all happened fast, though at the time the endless waiting felt like torture… If you’re interested, I go into blow-by-blow detail on my blog – this links to the exact entry.

Is writing your full-time occupation? Would you like it to be? I’m a freelance copywriter, which means I write advertising copy when I’m not working on book stuff… I’d love to be a fulltime writer, but then again I’ve got a juicy freelance gig booked next week that I’m quite excited about, so perhaps I’d miss copywriting if I stopped freelancing… Copywriting flexes different writing muscles. It’s much faster and more furious (what a great name for a film, huh?), and every idea and line has to work as hard as it can to make a connection with the reader – which is probably good training for novel writing. I just like writing in any way, shape or form, really.

What do you plan to write next? I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my second book – frustratingly untitled at the moment, but potentially called The Dating Virgin or The Late Starter – another anti-romantic comedy. This is about a girl who leaves her boyfriend of seven years and has to learn to be single from scratch… it’s funny. I hope.

Can you offer any tips for people wanting to be published? Review and edit with fresh eyes (ie, eyes that have been reading/looking at something else entirely) as much as you can – and make sure that your first three chapters, cover letter and synopsis are as strong and perfect as they can possibly be. The first page is particularly important – if you don’t grab the reader immediately, they won’t bother to continue. Also, get on Twitter. There’s a hugely supportive writer community, I wish I’d joined a long time ago. It’s also very funny.

Are you ever likely to appear on a reality TV show and if yes, which one? Deeply unlikely. I don’t even watch them, except sometimes the talent shows when I feel like a good cry. I can only watch the singing bit, though: the titles and music remind me of Running Man, and it freaks me out.

An aside: I was on the premiere of a children’s TV game show called MEGAQUIZ (all caps) in Hong Kong when I was 12. It was the first-ever English-language children’s TV game show in Hong Kong (which isn’t that surprising, really) and I was famous at school for a very short time afterwards. Then every single other kid in my school and every other expat school appeared on it, and then I think they must have run out of kids as they cancelled it.

And, finally, (with the skilful smoothness of the finest of interviewers) do you in any way know Simon Cowell? No. Alas. I don’t think we run in the same circles.

You can buy a copy of ‘The Dating Detox’ HERE.

And, Avon have agreed that I can give away a copy of  ‘The Dating Detox’. All you have to do is leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) February 5, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Gemma Burgess’s first book, The Dating Detox, came out in December 2009. She started writing the book on a whim to entertain her sister. She lives in London and is currently working on her second book. Gemma’s website can be found HERE and she blogs HERE.