--- description: TIME talks to the bestselling author of the Shopaholic series about kids, writing and recession shopping title: Sophie Kinsella image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) # Sophie Kinsella by [Andrea Sachs](/author/andrea-sachs/) Sep 27, 2010 4:00 AM CUT by [Andrea Sachs](/author/andrea-sachs/) Sep 27, 2010 4:00 AM CUT With 20 million books already in print, British author Madeleine Wickham — better known by her pen name, Sophie Kinsella — is back with _Mini Shopaholic_ , her sixth book featuring thrift-challenged heroine Becky Bloomwood. TIME senior reporter Andrea Sachs reached the prolific novelist at her home in London. **Is it tough writing about a world-class shopper during a recession?** Shopping doesn’t go away during a recession. People still hanker after things. They just do it in a different way. **How would you describe Becky Bloomwood?** An eternal optimist. She has the best of intentions, but sometimes — no, always — her plans go awry. But the great thing is that she’s ingenious and she never gives up. And she always finds a solution. So, flawed, but I hope loveable. **In your new book, Becky has a 2-year-old daughter, Minnie, who is kind of a holy terror. You have four sons yourself. Why write about a girl?** I felt that Becky just had to have a daughter. It made sense. If I gave Becky a son, my poor sons would be under scrutiny — you know, which one is it? [ (See what kids need to know about money.) ](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2018865%5F2018867,00.html "undefined") **Does your business-reporter background give you insight into the psychology of shopping?** I certainly realized when I was a financial journalist how much the world is driven by money and credit, especially easy credit. Becky ends up becoming a shopaholic in the first place, really, from the banks encouraging her to take out credit. **What’s the allure of shopping?** I think it’s the feeling that your life will be transformed with this one purchase. It’s not even so much about the thing itself. It’s true \[about\] everything: cars, computers, gadgets. It’s all about who we are. [ (See the 20 best back-to-school gadgets.) ](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2014567%5F2015110,00.html "undefined") **How would you characterize your shopping habits? Are you a bargain hunter, or is it luxury goods all the way?** Both. I’ll buy the grownup investment piece that they tell you is going to last forever. Then I’ll find some really cheap bangle on discount, and I’ll pick that up too. **You started writing novels under your real name, Madeline Wickham. How did you decide to morph into Sophie Kinsella?** I didn’t want to confuse my existing readers. I felt instinctively that this was a new, fresh voice and it should be under a different name. It was like I was starting again. So Sophie is my middle name, Kinsella is my mother’s maiden name, and when I put them together, they just seemed to fit perfectly. **Your books are sometimes described as chick-lit. Is that what you would call them?** I describe them as comedies. I don’t really define them by gender. I’m not deliberately writing for women. I’m writing to make people laugh. **What’s it like writing with a five-month-old son?** \[Kinsella also has three other sons, ages 5, 12 and 14.\] In some ways it’s easier to sit writing around a baby than it is older children, who require your attention and your thoughts. You can’t get away \[with older kids\] going la-dee-la-dee-la-dee-la, I’m thinking through that little plot twist that isn’t working. You actually have to say, “OK, \[do\] your homework.” **How long does it take you to write a book typically?** About 9 months, give or take. Bit like a baby. **What’s your writing routine like?** If I’m planning a book, then I like to go out to a coffee shop and sit down and make notes longhand. Because I think the most scary thing in the world is to sit down at a blank computer, type Chapter One and see what happens. That would freak me out. Then when I’m writing, I have to start first thing in the morning. I make my coffee, I turn on my music and I sit there until I’ve done 1,000 words, that’s my target. And then either I’m on a roll and I carry on or I’m like, I’m done! I’m done! Depends. **Are you a tortured writer or does it come easily?** Fits and starts. Sometimes \[it comes\] really easily. And sometimes it just grinds to a halt. Then that’s when I walk away and I go out. I talk everything through my husband who is great, because he has the same sense of humor as me and he knows the way I write. We go out and we order cocktails and we drink them, and talk. And drink and talk, and drink and talk. Until the solution presents itself. Because I find that alcohol sort of helps the creative process. There’s a little window where I feel like, “Yes! All the answers are coming to me!” Then you have to capture that moment, because very soon, you’re not making much sense at all. **How do you research your books? Do you head for the mall?** I hit the stores, yes. It’s tough. What can I say? Someone’s got to do it. [ See the 100 best books of all time. ](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1951793,00.html "undefined") [ See the best books of the decade. ](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1949837%5F1948739,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6597639/sophie-kinsella/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6597639/sophie-kinsella/"},"headline":"Sophie Kinsella","datePublished":"2010-09-27T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T03:08:16.311Z","description":"TIME talks to the bestselling author of the Shopaholic series about kids, writing and recession shopping","url":"https://time.com/archive/6597639/sophie-kinsella/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrea Sachs","url":"https://time.com/author/andrea-sachs/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6597639/sophie-kinsella/","name":"Sophie Kinsella"}}]}] ```