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DECEMBER
2006
NEWSLETTER 23
STOP PRESS!
Click
here to read a brand new review of FACING
THE LIGHT at the DoveGreyReader Blog
WORK IN PROGRESS
Here, as promised is the cover of LILY:
a ghost story which I think is exactly right. This
book is one of eight to be published on World Book
Day costing only £1.99. They will all be on sale
in supermarkets and other non-traditional outlets and I hope
very much that they go down well, because the QUICK
READS initiative (www.quickreads.co.uk)
is a very good idea indeed and ought to have everyone’s support.
While I’m on the subject of cover images, here’s my second
Historical House book, CECILY’S PORTRAIT,
which comes out in March next year.
And as promised, I have been working very hard on A
HIDDEN LIFE and it’s coming along…I think I’m on course
to finish by my deadline but will try to make sure it’s a
certainty by getting as much as I can done before Christmas.
I will put up the cover image when I’ve written it. It seems
foolhardy and hubristic to do so before that.
EVENTS
The forthcoming events from the last newsletter have now
come and gone and a few of them were cancelled. Roedean
called off the Creative Writing masterclass,
Bay Tree Books in Glossop is delayed to another
time, as is my event with Erica James. I
hope I’ll be doing those in the spring.
The Rose Counties Literary Events dinner,
organized by Joan Laprell with her usual
energy and pizzazz, was a big success. The hotel we were in,
the Rendezvous in Skipton,
was delightful, the food was delicious and Malcolm
and Karen Weaving the kindest of hosts. Best of all,
it was good to meet the other speakers: Ned Sherrin
and Amanda Brookfield. The dinner was followed
next day by a lunch…I can’t imagine how Joan manages to fill
a big hotel dining - room twice over but she does and lots
of books get sold too. My elder daughter, who lives in that
part of the world, came in to have a swim in the hotel pool
before the lunch, so the whole experience was most enjoyable.
October saw me back in Brussels
and this time speaking at the British School which
for many years has put on a Book Week in
the school, every other year. Diane Drymoussis
met me when I arrived on Eurostar and she and her husband
took me off at once for an unforgettable meal at their favourite
Greek restaurant. I stayed at their lovely flat once more
and Di was my driver on both mornings when I had to be at
the school. We were a little early on the first day, so we
stopped off at the Royal Museum of Africa (Musée
royale d’Afrique) which was eerily silent and most
beautiful in the well-tended park that surrounds it. I would
have loved to go in and see what they had in there, but it
must be fascinating, given Belgium’s colonial history. At
the school, both children and staff were most welcoming and
many thanks to Karen, Barry
and and the others. It was good to meet up with Tim
Bowler who was also there. We took part in a quiz
one lunchtime which Tim’s team won but only just! John
Hegley arrived as I was leaving. I missed the evening
presentation in the theatre which I was sorry to do…it must
have been terrific fun. As usual, I was struck by the amazing
facilities enjoyed by the children who come to all the schools
in Brussels which I’ve visited in the last few months.
The Question Time event at the Portico
Library was a big success. It took place on November
30th and not October 30th as I said in the last newsletter
and I wrote about it for the Guardian Books blog. Read all
about it here
The last event of the year was on December 6th.
I went to Holy Saviour R.C Primary School
in Nelson, Lancashire on a bus which was
named after one of the Pendle Witches. The
route between Manchester and Burnley, which I took to get
there, is known as the Witch Way and has pictures of ladies
on broomsticks along the sides of the buses.
This was part of an arts festival called Kicking
Leaves. They put writers into different schools and
at the end, a book of the children’s work is produced. The
teachers were very welcoming at this school and I approved
of the lovely biscuits which were lying about in several plastic
bags for everyone to enjoy. The children were very interested
and full of questions and I signed Kicking Leaves bookmarks
for all of them, which was a very good idea, I think. Many
thanks to David Smith, Hannah Kidd
and all at Holy Saviour.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
There’s nothing much coming up in January but February
sees the Costa Book Awards dinner at Grosvenor
House. A trip to the January sales for some new glad
rags may be required. March is the launch
of LILY and the other Quick
Reads…there’s a big party in London, so perhaps another
chance to wear the Costa dress. Also, Ann Turnbull,
Linda Newbery and I are doing a series of
events around the publication of the second lot of Historical
House books. Oxford Festival on
March 14th, and a bookshop called The
Golden Treasury in London on March
15th. We’re also speaking to the Federation
of Children’s Book Groups on the evening of March
13th.
BOOKS
As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’ve been judging the
Costa Book Awards Children’s books category
and now that our shortlist is out I’m going on to judge the
Costa Book of the Year Award which is a contest
between the winners in each of the five categories. So I’ll
be reading four other Costa books over Christmas but can’t
tell you what they are!
Other memorable books this time:
ROAD OF BONES (Doubleday) by Anne
Fine is a marvellous book. It’s not what you’d expect
from Anne who is well known for her acerbic, humane and intelligent
books about families and what makes them tick. This is quite
different. It’s set in a Soviet-type country in the grip of
a tyrannical regime. The bleak, uncompromising narrative is
gripping, depressing and sometimes hard to read, but there’s
a vein of grim humour running through the book as well. It’s
a very chilly book to read, so wrap up warm. You’ll need a
hot toddy after this one!
Next year, Puffin are publishing a book called KING
DORK by Frank Portman. It’s fantastic!
I was sent a copy by the author who’s American. The story
is hilarious and touching and just the thing for those who
reckon the days of the teenage novel are numbered. It’s one
to try on boys, especially, but girls and adults will also
love it. It’s going to be a movie so read the book first.
FRIENDS LOVERS CHOCOLATE by Alexander
McColl Smith is a good addition to the Isabel Dalhousie
canon. Am I the only person in the world who prefers his Scottish
books to his African ones?
ECHO PARK by Michael Connelly
is also very good, even if not quite as enjoyable as THE
LINCOLN LAWYER. Still, one for lovers of US crime
and Harry Bosch in particular. He’s Connelly’s detective and
a very likeable one too.
Finally, two good, exciting thrillers. One is Scandinavian
PUNISHMENT by Anne Holt.
Time Warner) and one American THE VIRGIN OF SMALL
PLAINS by Nancy Pickard (Hodder).
Both are very good page-turners and just the thing for train
journeys, which is how I read them both.
The curse of THE HISTORIAN continues… I
still haven’t read it. Oh dear..maybe next time. Check in
to see in a couple of months.
The next newsletter will be posted in March.
Adèle Geras
Please email me at: adele
@ adelegeras.com
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