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Monks and SculptorsOnce again it has been too long since I updated this website. At least this time I can honestly say it's been down to sheer laziness on my part, rather than the home-moving that disrupted things over the summer! My new flat is sparkly and spacious and in a lovely part of the city, with a great view over rooftops that inspires me whenever my ideas start to flag. Incredibly quiet too, though that is probably because the other three flats in my block have all suddenly become empty, by a strange coincidence that I assume has nothing to do with me moving in! It's been a busy old time. Over the last few months I've done a fair few events - in fact, I counted up while updating my accounts and discovered that since February I have done 19 different events - mostly readings or talks in libraries or bookshops. I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed every single one of them, and am looking forward to doing more next year. It seems remarkable to me that Beholden was only published eight months ago, and at that time I was terrified by the prospect of standing up in front of audiences and talking about this weird thing called writing. And it is a weird thing to do - we writers lock ourselves away for months on end, typing and making things up, and then we get to stand up in front of roomfuls of strangers and tell them what we were up to. It's a little like going from being a Trappist monk to a music-hall entertainer overnight - and swapping back to carry on writing the next day. It is the most bizarre occupation - but one I wouldn't give up for anything now I've been lucky enough to get a taste for this life! Events that stand out for me over the last few weeks - well, six local writers took part in a debate tying into the BBC Big Read at Lowdham Methodist Hall in November. We each had to choose one of the books from the top 21 and give a short speech defending it, then the audience got to vote for their favourite. I chose to defend Jane Eyre (having overcome my disappointment that Crime and Punishment didn't make the top 21). I was really pleased to be asked to take part - especially when I found out who else was involved. My old pals Stephan Collishaw and Jon McGregor were taking part, and I always enjoy working with them, along with the historical fiction writer Elizabeth Chadwick, crime writer Stephen Booth, and one of my all time literary heroes, Alan Sillitoe. A very mixed group, but it proved to be a remarkable evening. It was Bonfire Night and as we gave our speeches the fireworks were going off all around us - but despite the alternative entertainment on offer, the event was a sell-out with a crowd of over seventy. The most frightening thing, though, was arriving to discover that the BBC were filming the entire event and might use extracts on the Big Read programme. Giving a speech to a sell-out crowd while one of my literary heroes listened and a TV camera was in my face is certainly one of the more memorable events I've ever taken part in! Despite the nerves, the whole evening was great fun, and I got to talk to all sorts of lovely people, so a good time all round. Oh, and I (by which I mean Jane Eyre, of course) came second in the debate, which makes me think I can't have sounded too nervous when I spoke! The BBC haven't used our event, which I assume means it's been consigned to the cutting room floor, but never mind, it was an interesting experience anyway! The other notable event I've taken part in was the East Midlands Regional Writers Tour, with Rod Duncan and Sally Spedding performing our Hazard Warning event. Working with Rod and Sally has been wonderful - and our event went down very well with audiences. We took it to Nottingham, Northampton and Long Eaton, and I can honestly say that I've never been involved in anything that has had such a huge impact on an audience. We read ('performed' would be more accurate, especially for Rod, who didn't use a script) three interlinked short stories that take the audience on a physical journey across the East Midlands from afternoon into evening, and a metaphorical journey 'into darkness', as the blurb says. It's much closer to theatre than to any other kind of literary event I've been involved with. The audiences certainly seemed to appreciate it - in fact, in Northampton they seemed to flinch away from us as we performed, so strong was the impact. I never thought I'd be so pleased to see people gripping their faces in horror at something I was involved in! Rod, Sally and I are hoping to take Hazard Warning on a wider tour next year - we just have to sort out funding and venues, so watch this space - the event is definitely worth getting to see! Enough about events and performances - the real job of a writer is, of course, to write, and I've been doing plenty of that. Book number three is well under way now and I'm getting very excited by that; I'm gradually being drawn into the lives of the characters, to the point that they are starting to feel like real people who just aren't in the room at the moment. I feel almost guilty for suggesting I've invented the characters - maybe it's something closer to the sculptors who say the shape they carve is already within the grain of the stone or the wood, they're just releasing the shape with their chisel? Characters exist wherever there are stories - and vice versa, I suppose. They are completely intertwined and shape each other's development - writing is a process of uncovering and developing the contours of both. The biggest news, of course, is that Death Duty will be published in hardback on 5 January 2004. I'm very excited by that. Click here for more details about the book, a look at the cover and blurb and a chance to read the first chapter. The official launch of Death Duty may well take place at Made in Nottingham, which is an annual exhibition of Nottinghamshire artists' work held at the Rufford Craft Centre. In 2004 they are including a writer for the first time alongside visual artists, and I'm extremely honoured to have been asked to be that writer. There will be an exhibition of all the artists' work and I hope that people will have the opportunity to get out to Rufford and have a look. I'll post details about the exhibition, the venue and the launch closer to the time. In the meantime, I'm working on book three and nervously anticipating Death Duty hitting the bookshops. I love the cover design - let's just hope a few people out there like the book itself as well! |
