The Latest News from Joanne
Authors for Peace
21st September is International Peace Day and a 24 hour online reading is being planned, with a number of authors from all over the world reading live. Joanne is taking part during the morning (exact time to be confirmed) when she plans to read from her latest novel, blueeyedboy.
Check www.authorsforpeace.com for more details.
~ September 2010 ~
And suddenly the entire summer seems to have vanished in a puff of (cold, damp) air. Not entirely unproductively, although I’m always vaguely appalled at my own ability to fritter away time. I blame Twitter (another thing I swore I’d never get involved with, and found myself doing anyway). Still, the good news is that I now have a finished first draft of RUNELIGHT, which should be complete with revisions by (shall we say?) Christmas – that is, assuming my publishers are happy…
Other projects: well. I’ve been playing with a new idea, but so far it hasn’t really been very co-operative. I’m also trying to write a screen adaptation of LOLLIPOP SHOES, which I think would work beautifully on screen (with the right director), though everyone who has approached me so far has just wanted to remake CHOCOLAT in a slightly altered form – which I don’t think would do justice to the book at all, or to its readers.
Otherwise, I’ve just come back from the Edinburgh festival (always one of my favourites), where I did a reading for Amnesty International in support of imprisoned writers as well as a reading and Q&A on BLUEEYEDBOY. As always, everyone was terrific – a packed house, and for the first time in ten years, no-one asked the Johnny Depp question…
Before that, I spent two weeks in Alaska with Anouchka, researching a piece for The Times on wilderness holidays – a marvellous experience, to which I hope my piece will do justice. I’ll try to post a date as soon as I know it’s when going to run. Meantime, heartfelt thanks to everyone at Tutka Bay Lodge, Camp Denali, the Copper Whale in Anchorage and the Alyeska hotel in Girdwood for their terrific hospitality.
Next week I’ll be at the Ripon Festival, after which I have a number of trips planned, including a series of events on the Queen Mary II and promotional tours in Portugal and Italy. Hopefully, I’ll also manage to get some time to persuade my current project to come out and play. More of that later, if I succeed. Till then, you can find me on Twitter as Joannechocolat – just give me a nudge if you think I’m wasting too much time…
~ July 2010 ~
Click here to listen to the Yorkshire Post podcast of Joanne talking to
David Behrens at the Harrogate Crime Festival
~ June 2010 ~
Finally, a chance to update after a very hectic couple of months! The launch of blueeyedboy on April 1st meant a month’s touring the UK and Ireland, then a quickie tour of Canada before setting off to Moscow for some readings for the British Council, which basically means that whilst dodging clouds of volcanic ash, I’ve been travelling practically non-stop since then. So, heartfelt, if belated thanks to: Tony from Formby; Gemma from Waterstones; the organisers of the Harbourfront festival in Toronto; the British Council, my translator Marina and everyone who made me so welcome in Moscow; plus, of course, every one of you who took a chance on blueeyedboy, knowing you’d have to work at it.
It’s tricky, launching a different kind of book, especially such a difficult one. Literary Marmite just about covers it; which means that I’ve had about as many rave reviews as rubbishing ones. Not a bad result, as far as I’m concerned; if literature’s role is to incite and to challenge, then clearly I’m doing something right. Thanks for all your feedback! It’s interesting, though, how poisonous some critics manage to be whilst calling themselves “great fans” of mine; and how dismissive some online critics have been - without even having read the book! I guess at this stage in my career a little bitchiness comes with the territory, but I do resent being criticized by folk who can’t be bothered to actually read what they’re objecting to, or who begin a review by quoting some other person’s opinion. Similarly, it’s probably a good idea for would-be readers to look at the jacket and read the blurb before actually buying the book, rather than just assuming that all my books are exactly the same. Don’t judge a book by its cover, so the old saying goes; but actually, isn’t that the point? A lot of hard work goes into jacket design, precisely so that readers will have some idea of what the book is going to be like. The only better way, I guess, is to read the book for oneself, preferably with an open mind and without too many false expectations (*See my new addition to the Nuts & Bolts section: Everyone’s A Critic: an Idiot’s Guide to Reviewing). Just my way of saying, in the nicest possible way: Caveat lector.
Moving on…
Right now I’m finishing the first clean-(ish) draft of RUNELIGHT, which means that soon I’ll be in a position to run it past my publishers to see what they think. I’m also trying to write a screenplay version of THE LOLLIPOP SHOES, which is great fun to do as an exercise, even though I don’t have a producer at this stage. Still, if I write it, backing may come. As always, I live in hope. I’ve also been writing short stories this year, which is quite unusual for me. I don’t write many of these as a rule (I often find them quite difficult to write), but with the launch of BECAUSE I AM A GIRL in February, WRITING ON THE EDGE in May and STORIES* this month, I already have pieces in three anthologies before the year is half over. Good news, I guess, for those who enjoy my short fiction (and the first two are for the benefit of PLAN and MSF, both excellent charities, and well worth supporting). If I go on at this rate, I may have enough for another short story collection of my own sometime in the next twelve months…
~ 31 March 2010: blueyedboy Launch at the Union Club ~
~ Update, March 2010 ~
It was Ian Rankin who gave me my most useful piece of professional advice. Writing’s easy, he told me once. It’s the author s**t that’s hard. Well, this is what happens when you succumb to the author s**t. You run out of time to do anything else, including your own website (not to mention any books you may be committed to writing this year). Nevertheless, it has been an interesting few weeks – and getting more so now that the new book is hitting the shelves, after what seems like a long, long wait. I’ve just got back from the Oxford Literary Festival (my favourite festival in so many ways), where Anouchka interviewed Philip Pullman about His Dark Materials (his first official interview with a teenage reader) and I was kept busy chairing panels, interviewing Penelope Lively and Rose Tremain, discussing Because I am a Girl with Debbie Moggach and Kathy Lette, and, of course, launching Blueeyedboy. So far, the buzz has been very good, if somewhat polarized on gender. Men (who seem to like puzzles and lists) have responded enthusiastically, while some women find it more challenging. Certainly those expecting food, shoes or a sunny, easy beach read may be disappointed. Though it is to some degree a black comedy, some may find it, like Gentlemen and Players, chilling as well as complex. Fortunately, my readers tend to be a smart, resilient lot, and I don’t believe the odd glimpse into the shadows is really likely to traumatize them. Next week (and until the end of the month) I’m touring up and down the country, stopping by at the Essex Literary Festival and the UEA Spring Festival, along with a little jump to Dublin before I embark on my Canadian tour. Given how fast this year has waxed, all this jumping around makes me a little nervous, especially as I still haven’t finished Runelight, or properly started on my new novel. Still, I won’t tell Transworld if you don’t. Okay?
~ New Book Covers ~
Although we all liked Stuart Haygarth's covers for my books, 10 years after Chocolat we felt it was time for a change of design. I am happy to have had the chance to work with Jeff Cottenden who has designed the cover of blueeyedboy and redesigned the covers for some of my other books. I hope that you agree they look fantastic.
Hopefully, by next year, we should have new cover art for all of my books. Start collecting them now!! Click Here to see the first four of the new covers.
~ Joanne's Visit to Lithuania ~
~ Joanne and Kirkwood Hospital ~
After helping to host a chocolate event at the Kirkwood Hospital in Huddersfield a few weeks ago, where she saw for herself how important the hospice is to the community, Joanne has recently become a patron of the charity.
On 20 January 2010 she officially opened Kirkwood's 15th charity shop at Peel Street in Marsden, Huddersfield. Joanne's schedule only allows her to support a handful of charities, but she was very enthusiastic about this one and would urge you to see for yourselves the work they do. (click here for their website).
~ January, 2010 ~
And a happy new 2010 to all of you, with especial thanks to all those who sent me messages of support, fanart, fanfic, letters, cards (and chocolate!) over the past snowy weeks, during which time I made it my mission to (a) seek out and consume every mince pie in the known universe and (b) to get to grips with the last book of Runelight, which I am now at last (thanks to my new, pie-fuelled energy) reasonably close to finishing.
This year sees the launch of two new books. Blueeyedboy (April 1st), at the Oxford Literary Festival and Because I am a Girl (January 18th), published in aid of Plan UK, to which I contributed a story called Road Song, written while I was in Togo with the group. Learn more about Plan here: www.plan-uk.org or read about the trip on my Blog. Better still, buy the book (Pre-order from Amazon or Waterstones) the proceeds of which go to Plan’s many projects, which have inspired such diverse writers as Irvine Welsh, Kathy Lette and Yours Truly to write about their experiences in some of the most underprivileged countries of the world.
It’s going to be a busy year. I can already tell this – and although I’m flattered that so many people are eager to know what I’m planning to work on next, I think I’ll keep it to myself -at least until after the new book comes out. Writing a novel sometimes feels like weaning a vampire baby, and it’s going to take a lot of red wine (my great-grandmother’s cure for thin blood) to bring me back to life again. And, of course, I still have Runelight; the sunny-day story to which I can turn when my rainy-day stories get too bleak.
~ October, 2009 ~
So it’s been a busy couple of months again. Blueeyedboy went to print last week, although it will be next spring before it comes out in the shops. I’ll be launching it first at the Oxford Literary Festival (Click Here for details ), then touring for a month or so – which is why I’m taking it easy now in anticipation of another busy year. Well, I say taking it easy. In fact I’m working hard on Runelight, which I’d love to finish by next spring, although I also have some other things to work on, including a screenplay about the last days of Montségur; a project that has been ongoing in one way or another for several years. I’ve had so many movie let-downs in the past that it has made me wary of pinning any kind of expectation on film projects, but this one has been so much fun that I really hope it gets off the ground.
It was the Frankfurt Book Fair earlier this month. My agent managed to sell Blueeyedboy to a number of foreign publishers (in spite of not having copies of the final draft of the book!), as well as discussing the Runelight graphic novel project, of which we should have more news later.
On the home front, Anouchka is at sixth-form college now, and enjoying it very much. She’s turning into a very good writer (though I rarely get the chance to read her work!) and after a stint in Editorial at Transworld last summer (as part of her Work Experience), is taking an increasing interest in the process of writing, editing and publishing. No surprises there, then. I still can’t get over the fact that she’s sixteen, and still growing. Last time I looked she was only nine…
If you’re looking for something fabulous to read or to buy someone for Christmas, you might consider Perfumes, the Guide by Luca Turin and Claudia Sanchez, now out in paperback with 400 new perfume reviews from the sublime to the gloriously bitchy. I thought the hardback version was astonishing, but this one’s even better. Oh, and you might also try Our Billie by Ian Clayton; the heartbreaking account of a parent’s coming to terms with the accidental death of his nine-year-old daughter, and which has to be the most tender and sincere depiction of parenthood I’ve ever read.
Next month I’m touring in Hungary, and I’m also doing a talk at Sheffield’s Off the Shelf festival (Click Here for dates), so I look forward to meeting some of you there.
Oh, and for all the Runemarks fans still waiting patiently for Runelight – I’m enclosing a little Halloween present here: it’s a chapter of the new book, unedited and in the raw, but which hopefully should give you a taste of things to come…
~ September, 2009 ~
So finally, I have finished all but the final edit and copy-edit of my new novel, Blueeyedboy. It’s scheduled to come out in April 2010, but already the publicity and marketing departments at Transworld are revving up in preparation. I have a new editor, Marianne Velmans, who is working very hard on my behalf, and a new jacket designer, Jeff Cottenden, to replace Stuart Haygarth. Although I’m very fond of Stuart’s iconic jacket designs (remember the nest with the little gold eggs on the cover of Chocolat?) I have to say I love Jeff’s work. He will be working his way through the whole of my backlist, too; so all the people who complained that their book jackets don’t match will have the chance to buy a new set!
Runemarks fans (my daughter included) will be glad to know that I’m now working hard on Runelight again. In fact, as a thank you to everyone for your fan fiction, fan art and notes of support, I’m posting an extra section on runeshapes and fingerings, so that you’ll know how to physically cast the runes as well as simply write them down. And next month, for Hallowe’en, I’ll also be posting up a section from Part 1 of the book as a taster for all those who really can’t wait…
Meanwhile, blueeyedboy now has a MySpace of his own.
As far as I know, this is the first time that one of my characters has come to life to quite this extent, and I'm not sure I'm altogether comfortable with the idea! You'll find him quite unpredictable, and I apologize in advance if he says or does anything to upset you!
On the other hand, if you'd like to visit his blog, feel free to check it out. It's at:
www.myspace.com/blueeyedboyatbadguysrock
~ June 2009 ~
These past couple of months have been curiously busy for me, in spite of the fact that I’m not actually promoting a new book this year. Last month I was particularly sorry to have lost my editor of the past ten years, Francesca Liversidge, to Transworld cutbacks (damn recession), although my new editor, Marianne Velmans, is being incredibly supportive at a time that must be tough for her, too.
On the home front: Anouchka turned sixteen on June 1st, has finally finished her GCSEs and is going to sixth-form college next September. Where the hell did those ten years go?
On the work front: I’m onto the final cleaned-up draft of Blueeyedboy, due out sometime next spring, although I’m now very happy to be back on Runelight again, still a long way from completion, I’m afraid (people keep warning me to keep my books shorter!), but shaping up quite nicely. I’m especially grateful to all those who contributed to my Runemarks fanfic/fanart competition – your entries and comments were just the motivation I needed to get started on the book again. I hope you liked your books and runecharms. I’ve posted some of the best stories and artwork on the site, and I’ll be posting up details of the latest developments as they occur.
Recently there has been interest in a Runemarks graphic novel, or series of novels, and Cinzia di Felice, a very talented Italian artist (check out some of her work here: www.cinziadifelice.it) has been drafting out some pages. I really like what she’s doing – I’ve always wanted to do a graphic novel with someone – and I’d love to see a publisher pick this project up.
So far, this is some of what we have – the character sketches still need some work, especially Loki (Anouchka has very specific ideas about Loki, and refuses to compromise in any way!) but the colour layouts are fantastic, and I can’t wait to see the rest.
I’ve also been playing with lulu.com, mostly to construct a photo-book for Anouchka’s birthday, but I’m beginning to see other possibilities, too. My young (and extremely talented) friend Andrew Losowsky has recently had published a fantastic little book that began as a project on lulu.com (read about it here: www.doorbellsofflorence.com and www.losowsky.com), and his story should give hope to as-yet-unpublished writers everywhere.