Having survived an earthquake, house fire and being bombed all before the age of 11, Leila Rasheed moved from Libya back to the UK. Leila has an MA in Children's Literature and Creative Writing. She started working at Reading Is Fundamental, a children's literacy charity, before moving to Belgium, and now works as the children's bookseller for Waterstone's in Brussels. Chips Beans and Limousines is her first novel for children. 

Synopsis:  Bathsheba Clarice de Trop thinks she’s a star. Well, her mum is a world-famous novelist whose books are all about the amazing adventures of her fabulous daughter, and of course the stories must be true. But when Bathsheba is confronted by her down-and-out father, and discovers that her role in the fantastic new Bathsheba film will be played by hot US actress Avocado Dieppe, she has to face reality. She might not be as famous as she liked to think, but maybe she can still be a star in her own right

 Download this interview in PDF format

Leila and Luisa conducted this interview on Skype, an instant-messaging service. They say:‘We have tidied it up slightly, but we wanted to keep the feel of an on-line conversation, so we haven’t corrected all the mistakes. Sometimes it looks as if we’ve completely ignored each other’s questions in order to blather on about ourselves, but it’s just that our messages have crossed with each other!’

Leila Rasheed says: Hello!

Luisa Plaja says: Hello!

Leila Rasheed says: Luisa, tell me about Split by a Kiss - for the benefit of our readers :)

Luisa Plaja says: Sure! Split by a Kiss is the story of a British girl who moves to the USA and suddenly finds herself in with the popular crowd at school. But a kiss with the hottest/coolest boy in town works out unexpectedly, and she splits into two people. One of her (Josie the Cool) is still basking in popularity and the other (Jo the Nerd) isn't. And then the real fun starts...

Luisa Plaja says: A teenage reader has described it as a mixture of Sliding Doors and Mean Girls, which is pretty accurate! Er, except that it's a book. :)

Leila Rasheed says: It's a really interesting format, because half the book is written in one font (Jo) and the other in another (Josie). Also, a very brave choice, because I've always heard that editors shy away from dual narrations, (except it isn't a dual narration really, as it's the same person). What gave you the idea for the format?

Luisa Plaja says: If you mean the 'split' itself - having parallel lives for Jo and Josie - it was something that happened while I was writing the first draft. I reached the closet scene with Jake and thought, "Now what?" There were two answers to that question, so I wrote both of them. Then I realised that this was the story I wanted to write - how making a decision can send you off in a different direction, but there's not necessarily any 'right' or 'wrong' decision - it's how you deal with the aftermath that counts.

 Luisa Plaja says: If you mean the use of two different fonts - I did that for simplicity when editing. I actually edited each story separately, then put them back together.

Leila Rasheed says: I meant the split, yes. I really like that even-handed, non-judgemental aspect to Split by a Kiss - although you do get the feeling that Jo the Nerd is kind of 'in the right' from the author's point of view, it's not as if Josie the Cool is then portrayed as an awful person - Jo/sie is just an ordinary, nice girl facing difficult pressures and doing the best she can.

Luisa Plaja says: And, Leila, can you tell us more about Chips, Beans and Limousines: The Fantastic Diary of Bathsheba Clarice de Trop?

Leila Rasheed says: Chips, Beans and Limousines is a story about a girl who seems to have everything - a glamorous life, plenty of great friends; she's popular, beautiful and so perfect that she's really annoying. But as you read between the pages of her diary, you start to realise that actually she's pretending, and the truth is that she has a very different, much less happy life. And then the story is about her finding out how to be herself and be happy with who she is.

Luisa Plaja says: I loved Chips, Beans and Limousines. I actually think we have some similar themes in our books - themes of identity, and pretending to be someone you're not.

Leila Rasheed says: Yes, I agree totally that we have the same themes! I loved Split by a Kiss too. Group hug! LOL

 Luisa Plaja says: LOL.

Leila Rasheed says: Two thoughts:

1) Where do you draw the ' happy medium' line, between feminism and self-respect versus enjoying things like make-up, attention from boys, etc? Because that is a very relevant question for teenagers nowadays, IMO.

2) About the themes of identity and pretending to be someone else - it strikes me that we are both British but you come from Italy originally (correct me if I'm wrong!) and I'm half Bangladeshi and brought up in Libya. Do you think that might have been an influence on the kind of themes we chose to write about? That also seems very relevant to British children today, as Britain becomes a more and more multi-cultural place (hooray!) and kids have to face more and more dilemmas about identity.

Luisa Plaja says: Well, there were moments when writing Split by a Kiss that I got worried. Josie was having a lot more fun than Jo, and obviously her initial decision wasn't one I'd want to encourage in any way. On the other hand, I did want to reflect the fact that you can make 'wrong' decisions in life but still pull things back, if you see what I mean.

Luisa Plaja says: I think Bathsheba does that too, as she starts to learn how to be a good friend.

Leila Rasheed says: Bathsheba does learn to be a good friend, yes, among other things. She has to re-think her whole life, essentially, which is quite tough for an 11 year old - but I think children of that age sometimes are forced to face huge life-changing shifts in their sense of self. I moved from Libya to the UK at that age (11), and that involved a huge re-configuration of who I was, who I should be, etc. That is probably why that age is the one I mostly like to write about.

Leila Rasheed says: Just re-read how I phrased point 1). What I mean is that nowadays girls tend to see old-school 70s feminism as irrelevant to their lives; they feel they can be free and strong while also being sexy and pretty. But then there is another point of view; that they are not as free as they think they are and are controlled too much by body-image, for example. I wondered how you see this theme relating to Split with a Kiss and what your own POV is, basically. Sorry, Skype does not lend itself to careful plotting of intellectual arguments :)

 Leila Rasheed says: or to good spelling.

Luisa Plaja says: LOL. Very interesting questions. I think the important thing is to be true to yourself, to feel comfortable with your decisions. Self-respect is essential, but I think it can be tough when you want to fit in, and fitting in can often mean doing things that conflict with your idea of yourself. I hope that makes sense!

Luisa Plaja says: In answer to the second question above - that's very interesting, too! Yes, I grew up with two cultures - although I mostly only went to school in Britain, I often spoke Italian at home and I spent all my summers in Italy. I think that sense of not quite belonging anywhere - of being the Italian girl in England and the English girl in Italy - definitely gets carried into my writing. Also, I think there's something about living with two cultures that always makes you feel a bit divided - you want to hold onto the familiarity of your home culture, but also throw yourself into the ways of the world around you and assimilate as quickly as possible. In Jo's case, she has to decide whether to be the person she's always believed herself to be, or whether to try on a new persona.

Luisa Plaja says: I'd like to ask you what your inspiration was for Bathsheba's character?

Leila Rasheed says: Um, well partly Bathsheba is the repressed part of my character, I'm afraid :) I have always been quite timid with strangers, for a long time I was chronically shy. It's part of the reason I used to read so much as a teenager - I would much rather have been talking to the other girls and so on, but I didn't dare so I would use a book as a shield. But part of me has always wanted to be like Bathsheba – able to bound into a room and announce 'It's okay, everyone!!!! I'M here now!!!' You know, like that Pink song, 'Get the Party Started' (she cuts and pastes)

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Get-The-Party-Started-lyrics-Pink/1CA0450C1E59BC8748256B0300290FE0

Luisa Plaja says: It's interesting that you should mention feminism. I have heard many young women say, "I'm not a feminist!" as if feminism is a bad thing. And yet if you asked them, "Should men and women be equal?" I'm fairly certain they would say, "Yes." I also take your point about body image - I certainly think we're bombarded with images and shown how we're supposed to look, act and be. I suppose that fits with Split by a Kiss in that Josie tries desperately to cultivate the same image as her friends, and she stifles her own tastes.

 Luisa Plaja says: Jo's mum is a dedicated feminist, of course.

Leila Rasheed says: Yes, Jo’s mum is a great character. Really, really likeable.

Luisa Plaja says: But even Jo's mum starts to lose her way a little - she has her confidence knocked by events from her past.

Luisa Plaja says: I love your description of Bathsheba in relation to the Pink song. I can just imagine that!

Leila Rasheed says: :) I love that song.

Leila Rasheed says: We mentioned films a bit back. The start, in particular, of Split By a Kiss really sounds like a narrative voice-over to a film - you mentioned Mean Girls and Sliding Doors, I'm thinking of Heathers (my favourite film) and Pretty in Pink and those old films. How influenced are you by films and how influenced is the genre (we can get onto the chick lit question here! :)) as a whole by films, do you think?

Luisa Plaja says: Yes, I'm probably influenced slightly, in that I love films and watch as many as I can! And it's interesting that you're comparing the start to a voiceover, because originally I included film directions in this part: "rewind", "fast forward", etc. It was something I later edited out, but I suppose when I write I do see events unfolding film-like in my head!

Luisa Plaja says: I think light-hearted fiction aimed at girls (see, I'm deliberately not calling it 'chick lit' - yet!) has quite different genre conventions from teen movies, though. Maybe one way to illustrate it is to compare The Princess Diaries books with the films. The Princess Diaries books are strongly feminist, in my opinion, and examine a multitude of teen issues. The film was entertaining, but contained few of the issues raised in the books. Admittedly, it was a Disney film so perhaps not entirely representative of teen comedy in general.

Luisa Plaja says: Another question: I loved Bathsheba's writing style. She has such energy, and she's very funny. Did you find it difficult to get into character when you were writing her?

Leila Rasheed says: No. She just turned up. She bounced right into my head and started talking!

 Luisa Plaja says: Great! By the way, I don't feel like I'm managing to get to the heart of your excellent questions... argh!

 Leila Rasheed says: Sorry, feel like some kind of university examiner now! :) Readers, just to point out, both our books are FUN!!!! :)

Luisa Plaja says: LOL, yes. FUN! Luisa Plaja says: I hear you're writing a sequel to Bathsheba, is that right? I'm dying to hear what Bathsheba makes of life now that she's changed her perceptions slightly. Can you give us any clues to her future, without spoilers?!

Leila Rasheed says: There are to be two sequels, which is wonderful but terrifying. In Book 2, Bath is living with her jobless father on a council estate, and going to a normal school. It's about how her character develops when she's faced with this totally new situation - she's never been to school before, and always had more than enough money. Her view of the world broadens, she has to become more mature, but she keeps her irrepressible sense of hope and drama. And she solves a crime by mistake! It also has more of the identity theme, as she tries to work out what she really wants. I find it is generally harder than people think to 'just be yourself'.

Luisa Plaja says: I completely agree with that last statement! And I think the sequels sound fascinating - I can't wait to read them!

 Luisa Plaja says: Have you had much response from readers yet?

Leila Rasheed says: Actually, there's a page of lovely quotes from readers in the book, at the back (9-11 year old girls), saying they loved it; etc.

Luisa Plaja says: Great!

Leila Rasheed says: I get the feeling it is a children's book that children enjoy, as opposed to a children's book that adults enjoy. I hope! :)

Luisa Plaja says: I love the way Bathsheba is such a drama queen, and so charming too!

Leila Rasheed says: Charming is a word that gets used a lot about her! I think she is, she's basically kind and well-meaning and that comes over. I love her hope. She gets down in the dumps but also up to the heights of joy!

Luisa Plaja says: Yes, I noticed that about her!

Leila Rasheed says: You know one thing that really made me laugh in Split by a Kiss was the constant US/ UK language confusions, like when Jo asks 'Are you mad??' and people think she means 'are you angry?' My boyfriend speaks American English and we've been together so long that we've picked up each other's words, like now he says 'loo' and I say things like 'a bunch of’ instead of 'a lot of', and ‘I guess’ and ‘likely we’ll run out of gas’. So that was all very believable & funny for me! Why did you set it between U.S. and UK? Do you know America? Do you have any contacts in Hollywood I can go and visit as research for the 3rd Bathsheba book? :)

Luisa Plaja says: LOL! I have no contacts in Hollywood! :)

Leila Rasheed says: bah! :( Leila Rasheed says: :)

Luisa Plaja says: But I do love the sound of the third Bathsheba book and I think you should get to Hollywood right now! I have been there - to Hollywood, and to the USA in general.

Luisa Plaja says: I also specialise in US/UK language differences in my work.

Leila Rasheed says: oh, of course - you are an EFL teacher, is that right?

 Luisa Plaja says: I'm a Linguist, working in computer software. I used to be a dictionary editor, and I've also been a subtitler. Lots of wordy jobs! :)

Leila Rasheed says: ah. I knew there was something to do with language.

Luisa Plaja says: I think it's an odd kind of culture shock you feel when you visit the USA from the UK. Things are very familiar, and yet different.

Leila Rasheed says: You describe that culture shock so well - it is very believable.

Luisa Plaja says: I should mention that I lived in the Boston suburbs too! But not as a teenager. In fact, I moved into an unfurnished house with nothing at all, so that definitely influenced Jo's mum's experiences at the start of Split by a Kiss. There was also a local charity shop that was enormous and stocked everything I needed - including forks!

Luisa Plaja says: Oh, and I have travelled on a yellow school bus!

Leila Rasheed says: Wow - a real American adventure! It sounds brilliant. I want to do a road trip on route 66 one day - but don't drive, so will have to find a willing volunteer :)

Leila Rasheed says: Have you always wanted to write? In fact, is Split by a Kiss the first book you've written or do you have a 'Bottom Drawer of Doom' full of rejected manuscripts? :)

Luisa Plaja says: Split by a Kiss is the first novel I've written. I have tried bits of writing on and off, in different genres, but I never got very far. When I started to write for teenagers, I realised this was what I really wanted to write.

Luisa Plaja says: How about you? Do you write in different genres?

Leila Rasheed says: Yes. Actually if you search for me on Amazon you'll find Chips but also a pamphlet of contemporary poetry which I have poems in. I write now and then for adults and one day I do want to write an adult novel. One day! But I love, love, love writing for children and teens and that is my main thing. In terms of writing for children, Chips, Beans and Limousines is in fact unrepresentative of the kind of thing I had previously written - before Bathsheba, I had mostly written fantasy or magic realism (a bit like David Almond), or historical. Sometimes it's funny too. But not always. But it is good to discover I can do contemporary realism for children too!

Luisa Plaja says: OK, it's interesting that you say 'contemporary realism'. It's time for that question... How do you see the 'chick lit' genre, and do you think your book fits into it? Or do you think that term is dead?!

Leila Rasheed says: Well, it is really interesting. Basically, I don't think Chips, Beans is Chick Lit for one simple reason, Bathsheba is too young to be a chick, and there is no romantic plot.

 Leila Rasheed says: dead - I don't know. I have to confess I have not read many books that are generally called Chick Lit, and some that are called Chick Lit that I've read, I haven't considered to be chick lit so much as, well, drama.

Luisa Plaja says: I see. I'll explain how I see it! I think the term 'chick lit' - though obviously initially intended to be derogatory ("oh, it's just for the girls!") has come to mean fiction aimed at girls and women, with a light-hearted tone. I also see it as 'coming of age' books.

Leila Rasheed says: I mean, like The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart - I wouldn't have called it Chick List. Coming of age, yes. But that could describe most books.

Luisa Plaja says: See, I think a lot of chick lit carries interesting and relevant messages, feminist messages, if you will, couched in a light-hearted, readable tone. And I would definitely call The Boyfriend List chick lit! And also Split by a Kiss, of course.

Leila Rasheed says: agree w. the feminist message comment.

Luisa Plaja says: Adult chick lit is certainly 'coming of age' in the sense of making life-changing realisations about self. Luisa Plaja says: Anyway, who needs labels?!!

Leila Rasheed says: (Readers, links to definitions/ discussions of Chick Lit http://www.authorsontheweb.com/features/0402-chicklit/chicklit-q01.asp  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit)

Leila Rasheed says: Those definitions links are interesting - I know you saw the authors on the web thing because I think you directed me to it on writewords. The wikipedia defintion seems pretty much unlike what I have always considered Chick Lit. I don't know what the OED defintion is.

Luisa Plaja says: Watch out for dictionary definitions - they're written by people like me. ;) No, seriously, I think those definitions are interesting, and reflect the different ways of interpreting the same term.

Luisa Plaja says: Perhaps it's a fluid thing.

Leila Rasheed says: Yes, I agree - very fluid.

Leila Rasheed says: I am interested that the Wikipedia called Adrian Mole chick lit - now I'd have totally disqualified it because Adrian is a boy!! But it is true - Adrian Mole has all the elements of a classic chick lit.

Luisa Plaja says: Putting labels aside, what do you think of writing for the light-hearted end of the market? Do you think it's important for encouraging children to read alone at home?

 Luisa Plaja says: In my experience, and memories of childhood, a lot of children read anything and everything, across all genres.

Leila Rasheed says: I think it's great to write light-hearted! Books that make you laugh are the best-loved books in many cases.

Luisa Plaja says: One of the things I love about YA fiction - and children's too, really - is the way it's all shelved together in bookshops, etc, so it's easy to mix things up and pick up a bit of everything!

Leila Rasheed says: Yes. I love that there is so much range available now for children and teenagers. So many different kinds of books.

Luisa Plaja says: For the benefit of readers here: you work for a bookseller, don't you? Does the exposure to unlimited books in all genres influence your writing, do you think? Or maybe that's a silly question! :)

Leila Rasheed says: Well, I read widely, and that helps me get ideas for plots - like, I read a history book and think 'Wow, the story of the Trojans who survived the war, fleeing their home for a strange country - that would make an amazing children's story.'

Leila Rasheed says: I think I have very broad tastes in both reading and writing.

Luisa Plaja says: Changing the subject slightly – Leila, what was your path to publication like?

Leila Rasheed says: well, 'twas bumpy. :)

 Leila Rasheed says: Seriously, I took a while to realise that I could actually try and do this – being a writer - for real.

Luisa Plaja says: I know what you mean. I was certain that being published was an impossible dream.

Leila Rasheed says: Absolutely! It just didn't seem 'for the likes of us'.

Luisa Plaja says: Yep, I'm nodding here.

Leila Rasheed says: also, even when I was at uni there were no creative writing BAs and fewer MAs than there are now, so less of a clearly defined path than there is nowadays (not to imply that you need a qualification to write, but it can help convince parents that it is a valid life choice if you can get a degree in it!)

Luisa Plaja says: I see what you mean.

Leila Rasheed says: Anyway, once I decided to go for it, I dropped my job, which was in London; and moved over to Brussels with the idea of living cheaply (there were other issues too but this was a big one). Here I could afford to work only 4 days a week which left essential time for writing, time that, when you are working 5 days a week in London is almost impossible to find. I wrote a book which was not much good, but I finished it, which was a huge hurdle for me - I had always been great at writing beginnings but never finished them.

Luisa Plaja: That's really interesting. I also had a problem with never finishing anything I started.

Leila Rasheed says: I think it is a kind of developmental stage, not finishing things.

Luisa Plaja says: For me, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, held every November, worldwide) was the first time I ever managed to write "The End" on a novel, and it gave me the confidence to finish Split by a Kiss.

Leila Rasheed says: NaNoWriMo is an excellent idea.

Luisa Plaja: So then what happened?

Leila Rasheed says: Then I did an MA in Writing at Warwick which was great because it gave me time to write and a sense of commitment, somehow.

Leila Rasheed says: I got an agent while I was on the MA, for a children's book, but it didn't work out with her, and we split up :)

Leila Rasheed says: Then I just wrote a lot, basically, and eventually sent off Chips, Beans, to Usborne; Usborne were always my first choice for a publisher: I loved their non-fiction and I loved the idea of being in at the start of a new fiction list with masses of potential and the Usborne clout behind it. And they took it! Hooray! Thus was an author born :)

Luisa Plaja says: That's a fascinating story, Leila!

Leila Rasheed says: Thanks :) How about you? What was your route to publication? What did you do when you finished Split after WriMo?

Luisa Plaja says: I had an unusually smooth path, and I do realise how lucky I am! I finished the book, sent email queries to two agents, the first of which asked me to send a full manuscript. She phoned two weeks later and asked to meet me, and I signed with her then. She sold my book relatively quickly - I think it was about three weeks from submission. It was a wonderful time - I couldn't believe it was really happening!

Leila Rasheed says: Wow, that is fantastic! And promises well for the future.

Leila Rasheed says: What is your next book, in fact?

Luisa Plaja says: It's a completely different story. It's about best friends who go on a random journey around London to distract themselves from their problems - and secrets.

Leila Rasheed says: Is it also funny - come to think of it; is it also 'chick lit' ?

Luisa Plaja says: Of course - it's written by me! ;)

Leila Rasheed says: excellent! :)

 Luisa Plaja says: Well, I hope it has some funny moments, anyway!

Luisa Plaja says: OK, thanks very much – I've really enjoyed this chat! Bye and good luck with your books!