Miranda Oh - Chick Lit With Spunk
Author Miranda Oh Is your typical girl: She loves the sunset, loves long walks on the beach, world travels, and When not playing the corporate part she can be found sipping wine and spending all her hard-earned money on shoes. Among her friends and family, Miranda Oh is known to be the storyteller of the group, always recapping crazy life stories and situations. Her personal experiences, emotions, and fantasies are the inspiration for most of her books, so there is a little bit of her in every story. As our Author of the Day, Miranda tells us all about her book, Just Breathe.
Please give us a short introduction to what Just Breathe is about.
Just Breathe is Hadley's third installment of the Chin Up Tits Out journey. Where she picks up herself after a devastating loss. It is a deep dive into self-discovery and self-love after losing everything due to illness, addiction, and abandonment. It's wrapped up sarcasm, a dark sense of humor, and an endlessly positive attitude as she navigates life after losing herself.
What inspired you to write about a recently divorced woman who is approaching her 30th?
Life experience my friend. Everything I write about, I take from personal experiences, then I can really dive deep, remove the scenario, and discuss the feelings. There are so many people that walk the divorce shoes throughout their lives, and what a lonely journey that can be. Chin Up Tits Out talks about heavy stuff, taboo topics trying to bridge that gap of loneliness in tough situations, and making it okay to discuss the hard things with our loved ones and our peers. All in the name to not feel so alone, and to relate to one another.
Tell us more about Hadley. What makes her tick?
Hadley is a reflection of myself, but better, rawer, and more real in essence. She always strives to find positivity in everything, and in the deepest darkest of corners. As I have been taught in my life to always stand up and dust yourself off when you trip and fall in life, she does that over and over again and tries hard to reflect and learn from each bump and bruise.
This series contains a lot of humor. Why did you take this approach?
Life is TOO serious as is, I mean look at 2020 for example, you turn on the news, open the internet and it bleeds with pain, horror, fear and the next worst-case scenario. Chin Up Tits Out is meant to help us all find a little extra humour to help get us by, help keep us human, help keep us afloat during tough times.
Did you plan from the start to make this into a series? Can the books be read as standalones?
I set out to write one book at first, but then quickly realized I had a lot to say. When that happened, I then chose to separate it into three more digestible parts of the story. I always suggest that you get the three and read them in order, because then you get the full circle of how something can start so wonderful, can turn to so horrible, then come full circle and end up being wonderful again. Sometimes when we set out on a path we have an outcome in mind, and it may not happen that way, but the way it ends, is exactly how it's meant to end, so why not try and enjoy the wild ride all the way through!?
Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?
For this series, I would say not really. I can't speak for my next series, as it is a lot more open to the creative process. For Chin Up Tits Out, there was a specific story and a specific message that I wanted to convey. Once I mapped everything out, I just wrote, wrote, and wrote so more, and with some luck and dedication, I stayed on the path.
Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?
I talk a lot! Kidding but not kidding. I somehow make friends pretty easily, and I do that by being open, being positive and being empathic towards their stories. As I grow older and meet more people, the more I love to learn about them, as I see myself learning and growing simultaneously. So I am grateful for that skill.
Why did you title this book "Chin Up, Tits Out"?
You got to stand up tall, hold your head up high, and look confident, even if we don't feel like that on the inside. This world is face-paced and we all have a million things moving in a million directions. This means that insecurities, anxiousness and depression can set in if we aren't keeping up with our internal selves. So instead of calling the books "Fake it till you make it" or "Stand up tall and proud"...Chin Up Tits Out had a nice ring to it, and people who know, immediately see something positive and confidence driven when they read the title verses something racy or provocative. Additionally, this is something my family always used to belt out to one another. My mom and I used to have this saying in my teenage years to make sure I had confidence in anything I was doing. Let's call it an internal mantra or affirmation.
Any amusing story that happened to you as an author?
Being recognized in public. I am by no means a well-known author, and to be recognized in a restaurant randomly felt freakishly amazing. My dinner date was extremely confused, as it was the first date and he didn't know much about my writing background. Although when the 'fan' did walk away, I did notice myself perk up a bit and do a little 'chin up tits out' action internally. Finally, the inside matched the outside for a moment.
If you could choose one character from your book to spend a day with, who would it be? And where would you take them?
I think I would want to take out Dr. David, the psychotherapist from the books. I found him fascinating in real life, I find anyone in that field fascinating to talk to, so that would be my choice. I would want to pick his brain about how my brain works. I would take them to a wonderful little Italian restaurant for wine and tapas, a perfect setting for good deep conversations about life.
Should the books be turned into movies or a TV series, which actress would you imagine in the role of Hadley?
Yes a million times over, simply because we haven't seen a story like this being told yet in any film production. So why not jump on it!? I have thought about who would play Hadley, and have a few options I think would be great, Anna Kendrick or Emma Stone - in my opinion, would capture the quirky personality, endless positivity, and overly driven lifestyle perfectly.
Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?
When I write, I shut everything out, pour myself a glass of wine, put my headphones on to good pump-up tunes, and hammer on the keyboard so loud, I bet my neighbors can hear. I will write for a minimum of two hours up to five or six hours before I need to quit from exhaustion. I lay it all out there on the keyboard and feel great about it when I am complete. Then I need a nap
What are you working on right now?
I am currently researching for my next series called Love My Lady Bits, it will be a three-part series encompassing women from around the world who all have one thing in common, a disease called Endometriosis. I was diagnosed with this in 2019, and suffered from symptoms for a couple of years prior, not knowing, understanding or coping with it well. Once I received the official diagnosis post-surgery, I knew I had to write a story that outlines the crazy stuff we women have to go through with our wonderfully lovely lady bits. 1 in 10 women globally suffer from this disease and the knowledge, awareness, and education on it is minuscule. I am interviewing 100 women from around the world and capturing their stories so I can turn it into a series with fictional characters and timelines that are comprised of all the ladies who have shared their lives with me. It will be powerful, loud, proud, and in true Chin Up Tits Out style - it will be twisted, positive, and filled with dark humor.
Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?
The best place to interact with me is via Instagram: @ohmirandaoh or you can find me on Facebook or Twitter. You can also visit my website: www.mirandaoh.com.
