The Latest News from Joanne

~ April 2008 ~

So now we’re in April, the cruellest month, breeding – well pick any of the following; snow; lilacs; earthquakes; continuing Super Ex-Agent troubles; GCSE coursework at Anouchka’s school; book launches; literary lunches; festivals; reviews; colds, headaches, stories and, of course, deadlines out of the dead land. Actually it has been even busier than usual these past few weeks, culminating in a series of events that have taken me to such places as: Windsor Castle for a State banquet with the Queen and President Sarkozy; Christ Church, Oxford for the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival; Glasgow for their literary festival and back home (though not for long) before The Book Known In The UK as Lollipop Shoes comes out in the US under the title: THE GIRL WITH NO SHADOW.

In fact, it launches today (hooray!), and it looks as if my publishers are all set to send me on a really excellent US tour, starting on the 21 st and taking me – well, almost everywhere. The only problem is, of course, the perennial one – when do I get time to write?

Hm. Good question. In fact, I have refined the skill of writing on the move, although I don’t like having to do it this way. It feels too much like work to me, and, as we all know, I do not do the W-word. Well, in fact I do rather a lot of it, though you probably wouldn’t guess. Trivia tends to get in the way of work – what Ian Rankin calls “the author sh*t.” The latest piece of what shall now be known as A.S. came from Private Eye last week, where one of the organizers of the Huddersfield Literary Festival – my home LitFest, of which I am a patron – was quoted as having revealed to the Bradford Telegraph & Argus that last year’s guest of honour, the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion (who did a terrific reading, both interesting and very well-received - I know because I was there), had been a “total waste of money” and had bored him to tears. Hm. Yeah. Well, thanks for that. I do what I can - both to interest potential speakers in our local LitFest, and to persuade them that there is a literary scene up North - and this, among all the information on offer, is what our local press chooses to print. All I can say is that this was merely the opinion of one individual (a fellow-poet, as it happens), unwisely given “off the record” to a journalist who claimed to be a friend. Some friend, huh? So – I guess there are two lessons to be learnt from this. One, never trust a journalist. Two, never trust a journalist. I know that technically, that only counts as one, but –

On a different and less tetchy note, I have recently become involved with an organization called the White Ribbon Alliance, drawing attention to a long-running problem that until now has been disgracefully neglected. I’m not good at statistics, but dig this.

One in nine women worldwide die in childbirth.

99% of these deaths are in under-developed countries

Most of these are preventable, in some cases for as little as the price of a few inches of suturing-thread or a couple of injections.

And although progress has been made in other fields, and although promises have been made by various organizations to help, year after year, that one in nine statistic always seems to stay the same.

And yes, we’re always being hammered over Africa and the developing world; over famine and poverty and AIDs and malaria, so that sometimes we in the West are simply tempted to think – oh, no, not another bloody cause - But the loss of a mother is not just the loss of a single individual. It’s the breakdown of a family; kids who won’t be looked after; young girls who might have gone to school married off to old men. Families are what holds a society together – and if we care about global poverty, if we want a structured society in these places, then we should all be paying attention to this.

Imagine your kids – imagine yourself – growing up without a mother. And then, before that Western apathy of ours kicks in again, go to the White Ribbon websiteand read some of the stories there. It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Even just being aware of it helps. Please take a moment to be aware. The website is: www.whiteribbonalliance.org

Thank you.

~ February 2008 ~

BBC Mastermind: One of the contestants on BBC's Mastermind answered questions on Joanne's books on Monday 18th February (episode 26). For a short time (about 7 days) the programme can be viewed via the BBC website. The relevant part is about 4 minutes into the programme.

Check out Joanne's new story ('Harry Stone and the 24-hour Church of Elvis') in Mums: A Celebration of Motherhood which is published by Random House on 7 February 2008. There will also be a piece by Joanne in Dads: A Celebration of Fatherhood again published by Random House and due out in time for Fathers' Day in June.

And one to keep you guessing in In Bed With........... which is published by Little Brown towards the end of 2008. You will have to guess which of these stories is Joanne's though, as the contributors will be listed by their real names on the cover but all the stories will be attributed to the writers' made-up "nom de plume".

~ December 2007 ~

…And once again, time seems to have slipped, swallowing up two whole months and bringing us into December. Ouch. I have to keep an eye on these time holes. Still, the SAD lamp is on, the fire is lit, the wasps in the roof space have gone to sleep, I’m wearing my Dickensian fingerless gloves and, with Christmas just around the corner, I’m far, far better off in here working than facing the late-shopping crowds at the mall (these always remind me of the zombies in Day of the Dead, the only horror movie that has ever really frightened me). Today, Kevin is on a mission to find the only unsold Christmas tree in Huddersfield (I know, we always leave it too late!), the builders are out of the house at last, Anouchka breaks up tomorrow and I’m nearly on top of my shopping.

As far as work goes, this year has been a strange one. Various – shall we say – professional disturbances – have made it hard for me to concentrate on writing in my normal way. Real Life, that annoying distraction from the world of fiction, has a habit of throwing these curve-balls occasionally, and if we add two new book releases (with accompanying touring) to the mix, the result isn’t always a happy one. After finishing The Lollipop Shoes (at a somewhat breakneck speed) I wasn’t able to write much for six months, although now I seem to be back on track. Blueeyedboy is at crisis point, that 150-page mark at which I always doubt my ability to finish the story and make it make sense. However, given that this always happens, whichever book I’m writing, I’ve learnt to simply get on with it and allow the threads to hang loose. Runelight, too, is progressing, though not as quickly as Anouchka would like. In January, she’ll be accompanying me to Lapland for a few days, where we’re researching a piece for the The Times travel section. After that, I’ll be promoting Runemarks in the US, which, given the level of enthusiasm I encountered on my last trip, should be a terrific trip. And finally, for the avid readers who pushed and pushed for The Evil Seed to be republished – I never thought this would happen, but Transworld are bringing it out in autumn, with a little light editing, a new introduction and a lovely new cover by Graham Ovenden, (who did the jacket for Sleep, Pale Sister). This way, the good, the brave and the downright masochistic can satisfy their curiosity about my first book for a reasonable price…

So all in all, 2008 looks good. And thank you to everyone, on here and on MySpace, for all your good wishes and kind comments – I do try to comment back, but if I didn’t, please accept my apologies. Heartfelt thanks and good wishes to all of you this Christmas and for the New Year. Eat, drink and be merry. And as always, I’m posting a short story – this time, for all the Faith and Hope fans who keep asking me for more … (click here to read the story)

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