Author Interview: GVR Corcillo

Today I am interviewing GVR Corcillo, author of She Likes It Tough. This book was a great surprise for me, I really enjoyed reading it and it had me laughing out loud. You can read my 5 stars review here. GVR kindly donated an e copy of her book for my 500 followers giveaway and it was such a success: more than 200 entries to win it! Now, this great read is only $0.99 in Amazon until the 25th of June, so what are you waiting for? Go get it now! 


First of all, thanks for stopping by. It is a pleasure to have you here.
Thanks, Alba! I am so excited to be here on Lost In Chick Lit today. It was such fun participating in your 500 Followers Giveaway! And I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that over 200 people entered to win my Chick Lit Novel She Likes It Tough. Congratulations to Holly, the winner. And in honor of the 209 people who did not win a free e-copy of my book, I have put the book on sale on Amazon for $0.99 until June 25. Let the summer reading begin - with all the wonderful books we discover on Lost In Chick Lit!

Tell us a bit about yourself: 
To quote amazing writer John Waters, “I'm big, blonde, and beautiful!” Seriously! I am blonde, and I do heft more weight than the average chick, especially more than the average Los Angeles chick. And I like the way I look when I am just being me- comfy clothes, cozy socks, messy hair, no make-up. I want all women everywhere to love themselves and the way they look, no matter what TV, or magazines, or family and friends try to tell us. 

Did you always want to be a writer? 
No, I remember wanting to be a dentist when I was 6 years old – I think I thought it would be nice to have a clean office with a waiting room and an air of professionalism about me. But those airy goals eventually vanished. By the time I was 11 years old, I wanted to be a writer. But I was afraid. Or maybe I thought that because I wanted it, it wasn't a worthy profession. So, I graduated from college but did not seriously pursue writing. But you know what? I did not seriously pursue anything else either, because my heart belonged to writing. So, I spent 15 years in paycheck to paycheck jobs, making ends meet, until I finally decided to WRITE!!!!! 

How was the publishing process? 
HARD! And I confess, I let it intimidate me for a long time. I submitted to a few places, but I let rejections defeat me and did not stick with it. When self-publishing became viable on the internet, I shied away from all the technical things I was unfamiliar with. But finally, deciding after 15 years of dead end jobs that I had nothing to lose, I took the plunge and self-published my book! With the help of my friend Len who would not let me give up, my cover illustrator Annicka, my cover designer Les Valentine, and my book formatter, Rachelle Ayala, my dream became a reality. It's ironic - “self” publishing allows one to work with so many talented people!!! 

Tell us a bit about your novel She Likes it Tough: 
They say write what you know, and I am afraid of everything! (Except public speaking, oddly enough.) So, I wrote a book of pure fantasy fulfillment on my part: a scaredy-cat takes the bull by the horns and COMMITS to conquering her fears! But my hero Lisa, like all of us, is not perfect, so she doesn't exactly soar through with flying colors. She stumbles, she trips, she makes mistakes – and that's okay. 

Where did you find the inspiration to write this hilarious novel? 
You know, it's interesting you calling my book “hilarious.” So many of my reader reviews also call the book funny, laugh-out-loud, and/or hilarious. The book even won Best Humor Book 2013 from the Rebecca's Reads Choice Awards. The humor seems to shine through as dominant. Here is why I think it is interesting – I had NO IDEA my book was THAT funny! I mean, I tried to make it funny here and there, but I had no idea that the comedy of the book would generate such a positive response! I am thrilled! So where did I get the inspiration? I came up with the story and the wacky character Lisa – who is going all out to change her life. I guess it is just seeing life from the perspective of someone who doesn't feel hemmed in by “proper” rules that makes it so funny. 

In the book, Lisa adopts a LOT of animals, do you have any pets? 
Something pretty cool happened to me this spring that perfectly explains my relationship to the animals in my life: I won the honor of Writing Superhero of the Day from The Masquerade Crew, when they were running an A to Z challenge for “Authors Who are More Than Just Writers.” Someone else had to nominate you, and here is the nomination that my husband Ron wrote that won me Superhero for the letter F: 
“F is for Feral- GVR Corcillo is a writer by day, but by night, she's a hero, roaming the streets of Los Angeles and rescuing her damsels in distress: feral cats. She catches them and whisks them off to the clinic for spaying or neutering. If they're tame she'll find them homes; the ferals she'll release, feeding them and watching over them like Batman guarding Gotham City. 
She's even spent her nights staking out a cat colony to catch a villain who was shooting the cats. She may write about characters who struggle to find courage, but GVR Corcillo has plenty of her own.” 

Are you working on book 2? What can we expect? 
Yes! It is the Chick Lit Queen of the Universe due out December 2014. When a control-freak TV writer gets the chance to run her own show and has to hire her handyman as her leading man to avoid getting cancelled, she discovers that real live people aren't as easy to manipulate as the characters she creates. In this book, the hero Lola Scott's trajectory is the opposite of Lisa Flyte's from She Likes It Tough. Whereas Lisa has to find out who she is and learn to feel good in her own skin, Lola has to learn to loosen up and to deviate from her strict definition of who she is and what she thinks she wants. 

What is the best thing of being an author? And the worst one? 
The BEST thing is reading reader reviews and knowing that I've brought pleasure to someone! Throughout my life, books have been my constant companions, bringing me delight, escape, comfort, and joy. To know that I have done that for someone else sends me over the moon! The worst? Finding readers. With the internet and self-publishing, there are so many writers getting out there and writing and publishing books, so it is hard for all of us to set ourselves apart and get the attention of readers who might like our books. This is why reader reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are so important- to authors and readers – reader reviews let every potential reader know what books are out there just waiting to be enjoyed! That is why I love this site so much. Lost In Chick Lit is a beacon to all readers out there trolling for chick lit - it tells them about exactly the kind of books they might enjoy. 

Which authors inspire you? 
There are certainly many authors whose work I adore – but authors who inspire me? I'll name 2: Julie Powell and Julia Child. Before I published, my friend Len sent me the movie Julie & Julia and he told me that as a writer, I HAD to see it. What an inspiration!! This movie tells the story of two women with writing aspirations who DIDN'T GIVE UP. After decades of effort, Julia Child finally published the book that would become legendary, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And Julie Powell – well, she led a life similar to mine- she had all these hopes and dreams about writing – and then she finally decided to do something about it! She stuck to her goals, didn't quit, and eventually wrote the phenomenally successful Julie & Julia! These two women show us all what we can accomplish if we stick to our guns!! 

And finally, what is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?
A few years ago my husband and I were delivering a kitten we'd rescued to the home of the young woman, Rachel, who adopted her from us. Rachel lived in a ground floor apartment. It was around 9pm when we got there. When we got inside, I noticed that the window screens were not secure. Gaping, in fact. The kitten could easily escape outside, and in that partof L.A., that meant she'd be eaten by a coyote pretty quickly. I said that I did not feel comfortable leaving the kitten there. Rachel was clearly sad, so I asked her if she had a hammer and some nails. She did, so my husband and I went outside, and we went all along her papartment, nailing the screens into place. We were trying to be as quiet as possible, since it was almost 10pm, but still, as we we hammering in the screen to the 5th or 6th window, Rachel's neighbor came out of his apartment and asked us whay we were doing - we were two complete strangers to him, standing there in jeans and T-shirts, at 10pm, wielding a hammer. "It's okay, sir," we said, "we're just securing the screens." We spoke with total authority, as though it were not a strange situation at all. He looked a bit confused. "It's okay sir," we repeated. "We have permission." Still looking befuddled, he went back inside. As soon as his door closed, Rachel poked her head out of her front door and called to us, where we stood at the window we'd just been hammering away at. "Guys," she whisper-called, "that's not my window!" 

Thanks again, Alba, for having me here on Lost In Chick Lit today. I will be checking back in to this site all summer to find the greatest reads to take me away! 


Thanks GVR for answering all my questions, I loved your answers. Very funny story too! hehe I'll keep an eye on your next work because I am sure it will be at least as good as She Likes It Tough. 
                                        Buy She Likes It Tough for $0.99 

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11 comentaris

  1. It is 2:30am in Los Angeles, and I am still awake and so excited to be interviewed on Lost In Chick Lit! Not only have I met the wonderful Alba, but I now frequently explore this site for all the latest awesome reads! Thanks, Alba!

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    1. You are a star, thanks for everything! A pleasure to have you here. xx

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    2. Pleasure is all mine! What a wonderful Monday to officially begin my summer break!!!!!

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  2. Alba and GVR, hi! What a great interview - especially that bit about hammering someone else's windows shut. Um... did he call the police? LOLOL. I totally recommend She Likes It Tough for all you chick lit readers - I read it a couple of months ago and basically left the family to fend for themselves for a couple of days :) A really fun read, and such a steal at 99c.

    BTW I love this site, Alba. It's like a treasure chest for chick lit lovers :D I can't wait to explore it more. Mwah ah ah... (rubs hands with glee) (kindle groans in background - heaving with TBR books already)

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    1. The story is so funny, isn't it? hehe Totally agree with you, Maggie She Likes It Tough is a fab read!
      Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by! So many wonderful books to read and not enough time... My kindle understands yours completely hehe

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    2. Maggie - thanks for stopping by! And Alba I have good news for chick lit lovers everywhere,and even Kindles won't complain about this one - Maggie Le Page's Heat of the Moment Thing is chick lit extraordinaire! Fun, saucy, and the heroine Becky's arc is brilliant. Don't miss it, chick lit lovers!

      http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Moment-Thing-Maggie-Page-ebook/dp/B00BUCJV70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402942591&sr=8-1&keywords=heat+of+the+moment+thing

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  3. Awesome post, GVR & Alba! I always knew that you were a superhero, GVR. When can we expect the costume? :) I still remember how much I laughed when I first read She Likes it Tough. My husband actually started to get annoyed with me - most likely due to the serious amount of snorting that was going on while he was trying to work. (Ha!) I am now waiting with bated breath for Queen of the Universe to come out, since I am very much in need of my fix of GVR Corcillo hilarity. There is absolutely no one else in the world like you, my friend. Be sure to bask in how amazing you are!

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  4. Glynis Astie in the house! As a superhero who rescues animals, my costume is a cloak of invisibility! Funny you mention your husband in your comment, and I do mean FUNNY, since he and your whirlwind courtship with him serve as the inspiration for your hilarious French series: French Twist and French Toast. Take one zany dame, a gorgeous Frenchman who just might be trying to sweep her off her feet, and never discount how wacky the dame is, and you've got the madcap hilarity of the French series!

    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=glynis+Astie

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    1. And by the way, Glynis, as a writer, I live to annoy husbands :) I recently saw on Facebook, a photo of a man wearing a Tshirt that said HABB-Husbands Against Book Boyfriends. And I know from some wonderful reader reviews that Jack Hawkins from She Likes It Tough has become the Book Boyfriend of more than one married reader :)

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    2. You kill me, GVR! Jack Hawkins certainly makes an amazing Book Boyfriend. A little MacGyveresque, don't you think? ;)

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