MAY 2006

NEWSLETTER 20

WORK IN PROGRESS

CECILY'S PORTRAIT is now finished and I've made a start on my fourth Orion novel, which doesn't have a title yet...it's always a bit daunting to think of the words and words that still have to arrive on the screen, but exciting too. This means that the Work in Progress section of my newsletter will be taken up with Novel 4 for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, MADE IN HEAVEN comes out on June 1st and I'm looking forward to that. Several foreign editions of HESTER'S STORY have now appeared and their covers are displayed in Adult novels. ITHAKA is coming out in pbk in August and Alison Jay, the cover artist, has also done a new jacket for TROY which appears at the same time. (See under books for young adults)

EVENTS

On March 2nd, World Book Day, I went to St Helen's library to speak about my work. Jane Rimmer arranged it all and it did go well, in spite of not that many people turning up. Quite often when the numbers are small, it's more than made up for by general friendliness and fun and this was the case here.

The following day I travelled to London to take part in a day devoted to Reading for Pleasure, run by the Guardian in its Newsroom. I'd never been there before and it's an amazingly impressive place, with lovely spaces for both exhibitions and lectures. This event was a sell-out and the other speakers, including Julia Eccleshare and Sue Neale were most impressive. The audience was made up of school librarians for the most part and we discussed various ways of presenting reading as an enjoyable activity to those who thought it difficult or boring. I was speaking about my own work and the Guardian recorded my contribution. You can listen to this podcast by following this link. The whole day was a brilliantly organized and enjoyable and many thanks must go to Lindsay, Margaret and Sarah.

Between March 26th- 29th I was in Brussels. I travelled by Eurostar which was fabulous, and arrived at about 4 o'clock on the Sunday night. I was staying with my friend Di Drymoussis, who started the whole thing off and was the driving force behind getting me to Belgium. She and her husband Iannis invited some of the people I was going to meet to their beautiful flat and we had a very pleasant evening indeed. The food and hospitality throughout this visit was outstanding...I love Greek food and on my last night in the city, we all went out to a wonderful Greek restaurant, but all through my stay I got five star treatment from Di and Iannis who looked after me beautifully and were lovely company throughout.

I worked at two schools. The first day was spent at Ixelles and the second at Uccle. I didn't get to see much of Brussels, but what I did see, I liked a lot. There's an air of quiet respectability about Belgium that seems to have an edge of weirdness, which I like..it's as though there's a surreal element running through the bourgeois solidity of the place. The school campuses were beautiful...lovely buildings and comfortable classrooms and a standard of food and service in the school canteens that I've never seen in this country. Someone comes round and asks if you'd like a glass of wine with your delicious meal! The students were from every nation in the European Union...a concept which seemed much more meaningful as I walked around the corridors and heard the different languages coming at me from all sides...inspiring. I took about five classes a day, which was like being a teacher again, but the children were so enthusiastic and the staff so kind that the time passed quickly and pleasantly. After the first day, I went back to Di's house to put my feet up and have a cup of tea before going on to speak to parents and adults about my work in the evening. The independent English language bookshop, Treasure Trove, provided lots and lots of books for everyone to buy and we had a very lively session with questions from adults and children alike. The next day, I did the same thing again, only at a different school and after that we all went out for a really memorable farewell dinner. I met many wonderful people: Phil, Fran, Wendy, Elaine, Zeba, the ladies from Treasure Trove, and Helen and her gorgeous daughters. Many, many thanks to Di and Iannis and to all the others who worked hard to make my visit so enjoyable, especially Phil and Fran.

Three photos above taken at Ixelles School, Brussels
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Two photos above taken at Uccle School, Brussels
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Photo above taken at Treasure Trove bookshop, Brussels
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On April 27th, there was a memorial service at St. James' Church, Piccadilly for Jan Mark who died in January. The service was organized by Jon Appleton and many people came to remember a wonderful writer and a good friend. Mick Gowar provided a cd with music on it that Jan would have loved: Bach, Klezmer music and to end with, Stubby Kaye singing 'Sit down you're rocking the boat.'

David Fickling, Maurice Lyon and I read out some of Jan's work, and Julia Eccleshare spoke well about her relationship with Jan over many years. There were a great many people there, among them Philippa Pearce, Kevin Crossley-Holland, Patricia Elliott, Dennis Hamley, Anne Harvey, Jan Ormerod, Celia Rees, Mary Hoffman, Katherine Langrish and Shirley Hughes, who is always the best-dressed person at any gathering. Many of the editors who had published Jan's work were there too and I think she would have approved of the occasion. It's also gratifying that her novel TURBULENCE is now on the Carnegie Medal shortlist. She was a terrific writer and will be much missed by very many people.

On May 2nd, I travelled down through the most beautiful countryside to Leominster, where Michele Chapman, the head of Eardisley School, picked me up and took me to meet some of children in her care. It's a delightful place, in a glorious setting and I had fun talking to several different classes. The year 6 class from Brilley School joined us for the afternoon session and altogether it was a good day.

Photo above taken with children from Eardisley and Brilley Schools
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS

On May 18th, I'm going down to Warwick School to talk to the boys. I'm greatly looking forward to that.

On May 24th, I shall be meeting Patricia Nicholson's book group down in East Sheen. They've been reading HESTER'S STORY and I know I'll have fun there. Patricia and I were at school together many years ago, together with Katie who's also coming. We will be an elderly version of Gilbert and Sullivan's Three Little Maids!

On June 7th, I'm doing an event at Simply Books in Bramhall jointly with my daughter, Sophie Hannah, whose first thriller has just appeared. It's called LITTLE FACE and I think it's marvellous. Well, I am biased of course, but others have loved it too and it's optioned for television. That's going to be a super evening I'm sure, as Sue and Andrew have now extended their lovely shop upstairs...can't wait to see how it looks.

On June 26th I'm at Sheffield for a day of creative writing in a museum which promises to be very interesting.

And on June 30th, I'm back at Our Lady's in Oldham, to do some sessions for my favourite school librarian, Susan Ford, who's been asking me back every year for more than a decade.

BOOKS

Having written a Quick Read, I was interested to see what two great thriller writers had done with the format, so I bought CHICKENFEED by Minette Walters and THE THIEF by Ruth Rendell. I liked both of these very much but thought that Minette's had a special flavour of the time and place that made it really memorable. It's based on a real case and would make a good movie. Christopher Eccleston in the lead I think...

Susan Hill is another of my favourite writers and she sent me a proof of the third Simon Serrailler novel, THE RISK OF DARKNESS which is being published in hardback in June. It's very good indeed and clears up one or two things that had worried me about the second in the series, which is called THE PURE IN HEART. If you haven't already tried these three books, do. They're really atmospheric and thoroughly enjoyable. They are also much better written than an awful lot of thrillers.

The best book I've read since March is THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE by Nick Hornby...my daughter brought it back from the USA but it will be published here soon by Penguin. It's a collection of the essays he wrote for a literary magazine called The Believer and it's completely unputdownable and all about Hornby's favourite books and what he's been reading and not reading...marvellous stuff and not to be missed when it appears in this country. Spurred on by this experience I went on to his latest novel, A LONG WAY DOWN which is by no means his best. Still, he has such an engaging narrative voice that you read on, even though the novel in question only gets about five out of ten.

I am a sucker for special offers and the 99p books at Waterstone's really have persuaded me to 'try something new.' The first 'something' was BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST by Barbara Nadel, which I loved. Istanbul comes to life on the page and her Turkish cops are a smashing lot. The plot becomes a little over the top towards the end, but hey, too much of a good thing can be wonderful, as Mae West famously said. I have now gone out and bought another Nadel: DEADLY WEB and I'm looking forward greatly to that. And there are two more 99 p items on my shelf waiting to be read: THE DARK CLUE by James Wilson and THREE DOLLARS by Eliot Perlman, whose SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY was wonderful.

My friend Jean Ure sent me her latest, OVER THE MOON and it's really great...a funny, true and entertaining look at life from the perspective of a teenage girl...she's looking back through her diaries at how little she knew about things only a very short time ago...just the book to give anyone you know who is going through their early teens.

I enjoyed COLD GRANITE by Stuart McBride. Chilly old Aberdeen blew right into my house and I really liked the main cop and his sweetie-munching boss. There was also a leavening of much-needed humour to take the edge off a grim story in which some exceedingly disgusting details abound. Riveting, but not for the squeamish.

I'm now reading THE SIMPLE RULES OF LIFE, which is a sequel by Amanda Brookfield to her novel RELATIVE VALUES. Very entertaining and absorbing if you like stories about big families, which I do.

Also waiting to be read, the new Lionel Shriver called DOUBLE FAULT. That's next because she's an outstanding writer, I think. Then, Candia McWilliams' short stories, WAIT TILL I TELL YOU and a cracking-looking Aussie thriller called THE BROKEN SHORE by Peter Temple which I have in proof.

I have failed to get to the HISTORIAN yet again...is this the curse of Dracula? Too big for a handbag is my excuse and it's the same with Alan Bennett...no excuse at all really...I will get to them before next newsletter, or try to....watch this space.

Winner of the Orange Prize is announced in June...I am keeping my fingers crossed for either Sarah Waters' magnificent NIGHT WATCH or Hilary Mantel's BEYOND BLACK.

More soon...next newsletter due in mid-July.

Adèle Geras

Please email me at: adele @ adelegeras.com