El Pais interview

For those of you who speak Spanish, one of Spain’s biggest newspapers, El Pais, ran a long interview with me today which can be read here. The interview took place at my home in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and I discuss the success of THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS in that country, along with the forthcoming publication of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY in late September.

Library Voices

Another reading last night, this time in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin’s coastline as part of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council’s programme entitled ‘Library Voices’. I’d never been inside County Hall (left) before although I’ve walked past it a thousand times in my life. A magnificent building and a beautiful room to read in. I read two sections from MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and despite the fact that I could feel my voice going halfway through the second one (don’t know why) it seemed to go well. A terrific and very responsive audience, full of questions. My favourite part of any reading is always the Q&A with the audience afterwards, it’s the most spontaneous and fun element of these events. Many thanks to Bert Wright for running the show in his typically lively and warm fashion and for conducting the on-stage questions too and to all the librarians who have worked so hard to ensure that the programme of readings are successful.

Most of the readings in this series have already happened (Jodi Picoult, Joe O’Connor, Hugo Hamilton) but there’s another one coming up next week (Cathy Kelly) The website is here if you’re interested in getting some tickets.

Mutiny signed copies

If you’re looking for a signed copy of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, I spent yesterday in London signing copies in various bookshops - namely Borders Islington, Waterstone’s Trafalgar Square, Goldsboro Books off Leicester Square, Waterstone’s Piccadilly, Hatchards, Borders Oxford Street and Waterstone’s Gower Street. Signed copies only last a little while, however, so get there quick if you want one!

Hay-on-Wye: Day 2

Day 2 at Hay… still pouring rain. Somehow, despite the weather, it’s enormous fun being here. Everyone is soaked together and rather than complaining, everyone is just getting on with things. Very sensible. The best place to be, however, is the special tent reserved for authors and editors etc, where one can sit around on comfortable sofas, drinking tea and chatting to friends. All the writers pass through at different times and I was fortunate to meet and chat with one of my favourite writers, Tim Winton, as well as briefly say hello to Lloyd Jones, who was on his way to Dublin for the writers festival here in June, where we’ll be reading together.

Monday afternoon I read from MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY to a very friendly audience and engaged in a discussion about the book on stage with Paul Blezard. Having spent 2 years reading passaged from PYJAMAS, it’s refreshing to read from this new novel, although I must still improve on catching the rhythms and tone of the piece as I read it. Afterwards, I made the signing tent (this time) and it was great to meet many readers who wanted their books signed.

Then that was it! Out of Hay for another year. And despite the weather it was a terrific few days. I’ll look forward to returning another time.

Publishing Mutiny

Publishing a new novel is always a strange experience. For months, there’s a real excitement building as you look forward to presenting a new work to readers. Then, as the date approaches, that excitement turns to anxiety, hoping that the book is received positively. I never worried about a book as much as I did THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS. By the time it was published in the UK in January 2006 I didn’t know whether it was going to be embraced or slammed and it was a great relief to see the book take off.

So it’s been very encouraging this last week as the reviews have started to come in for MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY to see that the book seems to be receiving a positive response. I wanted the book to be a good old-fashioned ripping adventure story, the type that isn’t written so much anymore, but with perhaps a few darker themes running through the story and reviewers seem to be feeling that that works.

I loved writing the book. There was something very freeing about writing through the voice of an uneducated 14 year old at the end of the 18th century. It allowed me to say anything, write anything, even make up words if I wanted to. Sometimes one writes a novel as a contrast to what came before; so MUTINY is a wild adventure while the novel I’m working on at the moment is a very controlled story with a quiet, thoughtful narrator. What’s it about? Well, it opens up with - 

Mutiny On The Bounty Out Now

I’ve been having a very busy 10 days or so and haven’t had a chance to update things here. I spent the Bank Holiday weekend moving house and the rest of the week trying to sort everything out inside that house, while at the same time my new novel MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY was published, which meant the start of promotion and publicity. It’s quite refreshing to be talking about a new book after 2 years of talking about STRIPED PYJAMAS, although there does seem to be a tendency for questions about that one still being asked. I’ll write more about all of this when I get my desk sorted out in the new place! (The priority right now is bookshelves… lots of them.)

But I must mention a magnificent novel I’ve somehow managed to read over the last day or two during all of this. BREATH by Australian writer Tim Winton, a beautiful coming-of-age story about a young surfer in 1970s Australia. I’ll write more about it when I do my May reading update at the end of the month but I highly recommend it. I read Winton’s CLOUDSTREET while on a tour of Oz/NZ last summer and was blown away by the sweltering passion of the story as well as the dialects used. I must read more of him.