Lisa Lim has written a book that definitely strikes a chord with me. It's about a girl who works in a call center & as someone who used to work in an outsourced "call before you dig" call center (Indiana Underground, how can I help you?), I can commiserate with the craziness that abounds in this profession. (Spraypainted dogs, people yelling at me to turn their utilities back on... it was crazy.) This is a profession that's actually ingenious to cast a heroine in- there's a lot of potential for humor, drama, & for one call to take you in some of the most wild directions!
What inspired you to write Confessions of a Call Center Gal?
I’m a chick lit junkie and I've read countless of chick lit novels. The women usually have fancy jobs, and they fancy men who hold fancy jobs. And I wanted to read about a woman I could relate to. A protagonist who is regular chick with a very ordinary job, who falls for a guy with an ordinary job. Although, the guy is anything but ordinary (I like to think).
And I know this sounds cliched, but my English teacher in college prefaced every writing assignment with this advice – “Write what you know.” And I know too much about call centers. One only need to hear the word "call center" and everyone’s blood pressure skyrockets through the roofs. Callers go ballistic and become verbally abusive over the phone, and often feel entitled to unload their personal demons on us. I've seen many of my co-workers on the verge of tears... and I wanted to tell our story.
And I know this sounds cliched, but my English teacher in college prefaced every writing assignment with this advice – “Write what you know.” And I know too much about call centers. One only need to hear the word "call center" and everyone’s blood pressure skyrockets through the roofs. Callers go ballistic and become verbally abusive over the phone, and often feel entitled to unload their personal demons on us. I've seen many of my co-workers on the verge of tears... and I wanted to tell our story.
What do you do in your spare time when you're not writing?
I have three pooches that I adore to bits. They're shelter dogs and my motto is ~ Don't shop! Adopt!
I enjoy walking my furry companions but I find it mildly annoying when people ask, “Oh are you walking the dogs or are the dogs walking you?” Me: *Dry laugh*
Oh, I also love scarfing down bean burritos. Mexican food. *Nom* *Nom*
By the way, I want to marry a bean burrito.
And he will have Mexican Monterey cheese hair.
I enjoy walking my furry companions but I find it mildly annoying when people ask, “Oh are you walking the dogs or are the dogs walking you?” Me: *Dry laugh*
Oh, I also love scarfing down bean burritos. Mexican food. *Nom* *Nom*
By the way, I want to marry a bean burrito.
And he will have Mexican Monterey cheese hair.
What’s your typical celebration ritual when you sell a new book or get exciting news about an existing one? Anything strange or quirky we should know about?
Um, did I mention I love bean burritos? I blast the Mariachi music and gobble up bean burritos.
If you could choose one dessert or snack food that you could eat as much as you want of (and never gain an ounce!) what would it be?
Bwarhahahaha. I think you already know the answer to that one.
What was your favorite book growing up and why?
Anne of Green Gables, Sweet Valley High, oh and of course Peter Pan. That book is chock full of memorable sayings that I cherish. *COUGH* If I may? Here goes ~
“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”
“To love would be an awfully big adventure.”
“To live will be a great adventure.”
“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!”
“Wendy,’ Peter Pan continued in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, ‘Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys.”
~ by the great J.M Barrie
“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”
“To love would be an awfully big adventure.”
“To live will be a great adventure.”
“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!”
“Wendy,’ Peter Pan continued in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, ‘Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys.”
~ by the great J.M Barrie
If your book were to be turned into a movie, would your dream cast be?
Ohhh this is fab fun. The lead protagonist Maddy would be played by Zooey Deschannel (500 Days of Summer) and Zac Efron or Zac Levi would be cast as Mika—the Belgian stud.
Rex Lee (flamboyantly gay Asian on Entourage) or Jo Koy as Truong Nguyen.
Rex Lee (flamboyantly gay Asian on Entourage) or Jo Koy as Truong Nguyen.
What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?
No other emotion quite compares to laughter, and I hope my readers get plenty of laughs.
A fun chick lit that will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes. Bridget Jones meets The Office. Madison Lee is a fresh college grad, ready to take on the world of print media. But she has zero luck landing a job. Unemployment is at ten percent and on the rise. Desperate and left with no other options, she accepts a position as a service rep at a call center in Pocatello, Idaho. At the Lightning Speed call center in Spudsville, Maddy plunges into the wild and dysfunctional world of customer service where Sales is prided over Service and an eight hour shift is equivalent to eight hours of callers bashing her over the phone. Oh sure, the calls are bad. But Maddy manages to find humor on the phone and off the phone. And with all the salacious drama behind the calls, there is never a dull moment at the Lightning Speed call center.
Lately . . . Maddy has been pining for her smolderingly gorgeous co-worker Mika Harket. Now things are heating up on the phone--and elsewhere. Don't hang up on this novel. Working at a call center has never been this garish . . . or this delightful.
Lately . . . Maddy has been pining for her smolderingly gorgeous co-worker Mika Harket. Now things are heating up on the phone--and elsewhere. Don't hang up on this novel. Working at a call center has never been this garish . . . or this delightful.
Confessions of a Call Center Gal: a novel is available on Amazon for Kindle and on Barnes and Noble for Nook for $2.99. The paperback edition is available on Amazon for $12.95.
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