Review and Author Interview: Cutting Loose by Nadine Dajani

A friend of mine had sent me Nadine Dajani's website thinking that I would be interested in not only her fiction, but her shift from accountant to author. Imagine my surprise and excitement when Nadine contacted me directly to review her second novel Cutting Loose.

From the back cover: Meet three women who are as different as could be - at least that's what they think - and the men who've turned their lives upside down as their paths collide in sizzling sexy Miami ...

Ranya is a modern-day-princess brought up behind the gilded walls of Saudi Arabian high society and winner of the dream husband sweepstakes ... until said husband turns out to be more interested in Paolo, the interior-decorator-cum-underwear-model, than his virginal new bride.

Smart, independent, but painfully shy Zahra has managed to escape her impoverished Palestinian roots to carve out a life of comfort. But she can't reveal her secrets to the man she adores or shake off the fear that she doesn't deserve any of it. Neither can she stop worrying that if she holds on to anything - or anyone - too dearly, they will be taken away in the blink of a kohl-lined eye.

Rio has risen above the slums of her native Honduras—not to mention the jeers of her none too supportive family—to become editor in chief of Suéltate magazine, the hottest Latina-targeted glossy in town, and this in spite of Georges Mallouk, her clueless boss, and in spite of Rio’s affair with Georges’ delicious but despicable younger brother, Joe.

In this city of fast cars, sleek clubs, and unapologetic superficiality, Ranya, Zahra, and Rio wrestle with the ties that bind them to their difficult pasts, each wondering if she will ever manage to cut loose.

I really enjoyed reading Cutting Loose. While romance is often a key ingredient to successful women's fiction, I appreciated that the romance quotient in Cutting Loose wasn't the over the top, only true in fairy tales, cliche Prince Charming happy ending format for each of the women. What the book really focused on was the main characters as they fought to establish themselves professionally, personally and culturally. The struggles the ladies faced were engaging and covered a wide range of fresh topics in a fairly quick read. The book is current and makes some humorous popular culture references.

Nadine's writing successfully captures three very different women who eventually come together to support each other not as best friends but through more meaningful circumstances and situations. I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for a great new summer read.

Nadine also agreed to be my first official author interview. Her own background is fascinating, and I suggest you check out her bio on her website. You should also sign up to receive her newsletter while you're over there.

1. It seems in the last few years, I've read a number of books that have more than one main character. If I was writing a University English review I'd drop a big phrase like 'multiple protagonists'. What I thought you were very successful with was writing Rio, Ranya and Zahra through different voices and styles. I would assume this can be challenging at times. I'm curious about your method for writing the book. Did you write one women's story at a time to really get into the specific character, or do you write chapter by chapter flipping between the women?

Thank you! Writing in multiple POV could be challenging if the writer doesn't take the time to really find out who her characters are, what events and forces from the past shaped their present lives and continue to influence them. I'm a huge backstory buff - I spend a lot of time coming up with backstories for my characters - but only the aspects that would be relevant the the present story. Zahra, for example, has survived serious trauma. This turns her into a very different kind of person than Ranya, who's has only a very abstract notion of hardship and sacrifice. Contrast these two women - who have a very strong sense of familial bonds - with Rio, herself coming from a disadvantaged background but having to tough it out on her own. You have three very different women, and the things they think about and the language they use to express themselves make their voices very distinct.

Another great thing about multiple POV is that you get to present the way the characters see themselves, and contrast it with how others see them. What was especially fun about writing Cutting Loose is that these three women absolutely hated each other from the get-go, and were merciless in their assessments of each other.

I wrote the chapters mostly in chronological order (with the exception of the first couple of chapters that take place in Miami and show us Rio and Zahra before Ranya came into their lives) because every character's action had an immediate reaction on the other characters' behaviours. Also, I like find writing chapters this way keeps the pace quick and eventful, since the writer wants to find out what happens next just as much as the reader does.

2. I felt a bit like a celebrity author stalker when I emailed you that I had a friend of a friend who knew you. In our discussions you mentioned you were using the last name of this friend for a character in your upcoming book. Knowing this friend, I can speculate how fabulous all your other friends are. How much do they influence your characters, and do they ever call you out for characters being a little too close to home or do they just demand a share of the fame and royalties?

Ha ha! I'm sure that "fabulous" friend would love to know she's being called that! My friends are very fabulous indeed and certainly do influence my characters but since this is "fiction", I take full advantage of my ability to play with the few observable facts I collect from them (and others) and shape them into completely different characters. The great thing with girlfriends is that they help remind you of the issues women care about and that keep them up at night. Many times that becomes a basis of a general theme or issue I'd like to cover. Then we get into the more tangible, detailed aspects, and if there is something particular about a friend that would really illustrate the point I'm trying to make (like the one you mentioned - she has a very evocative last name), then I may just pull it. The interesting thing about that though is that the novelist tries to adopt an 'ant's eye view' as opposed to a bird's eye view. The details we like to pull aren't the observable ones, like eye colour, or how many siblings that person has. It's usually something more essential than that, so unless you knew that person really, really well, you would never know - especially not when we take that element and combine it with all the other elements we made up, or perhaps pulled from other people we've come across. So the character becomes a completely different person than the real-life inspirations. Fiction is all about trying to make sense out of life, so I think it's completely logical that everyone a writer comes into contact with or is interested in becomes fair game - otherwise readers would never see themselves in the characters and be pulled in by the book.

3. If a movie was going to be made of Cutting Loose, who would you like to play Rio, Ranya, Zahra? And while I've never acted before and I might need to hit the tanning bed (a lot), I do think I'd make a fabulous Rio if Michelle Rodriguez turns it down. Sorry, I just started answering my own question there.

Michelle Rodriguez would make a FABULOUS Rio! Kudos for the suggestion! She's definitely got that hard edge and the grit Rio needs. Other picks might include Rosario Dawson, or maybe Eva Mendes if she were willing to get a pixie cut or a short bob : )

I'd love Freida Pinto or a younger Catherine Zeta-Jones for Ranya. Whoever plays her has to be both a looker, and have an odd mix of ingenue and worldliness about her. Aishwayra Rai - the stunning Bollywood actress - would also be a great fit.

As for Zahra - Toni Colette does a great job in those roles where she needs to come off as dowdy, though I don't think she is at all. I adored her in Muriel's Wedding and In her Shoes. She needs to channel some of that geekiness to play Zahra. (Post Note: I think Toni Colette is fantastic as well, Loved In her Shoes, and that is just a great answer for Zahra)

4. Now if I'm going to be playing Rio in this amazing blockbuster, who would be my Joe? I first thought Vin Diesel, but it is clear I've just watched a re-run of the Fast and Furious.

Vin Diesel? Really? A cleaned-up Vin Diesel might just make a decent Georges - the older, more protective, responsible brother. As for Joe, that's an easy one for me - he was always a Jude Law type in my mind - a blond, carefree, playboy with a someone-else-will-clean-up-the-mess attitude. His real-life dalliance with his nanny just convinced me more of how much he'd make the perfect Joe. (Post Note: Jude Law might work for Joe, but I think in my head he was a physically big, powerful, and overshadowing guy)

5. Any hints about your upcoming book?

My third book is turning out to be a blast to write - three women again, slightly older, much more confident and secure with themselves, but this time the problems come out of left field and are completely out of their control (recessions, lay-offs, cheating husbands, and having to move back in with the folks...). Unlike Cutting Loose, the ladies of The Upside of Down were once great friends, but then life sort of got in the way. This is really a book about growing up for the second time, and realizing that you can't just overcome one challenge in life and be done with it - it's about how nothing stays still, how everything is always changing, including friendships.

If that's made anyone curious, I've made the first chapter available to subscribers to my newsletter!

Thanks for answering my questions Nadine. I picked up Fashionably Late the other day. My sister has already told me it was great. We are both looking forward to your third book.

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