We celebrate the upcoming
release of Charlotte Grimshaw's new novel Soon by asking her Five Easy Questions about
the book, its characters and what she's working on next.
1. If you could choose five words to describe Soon what would they be?
How about six
words: Pillar of the community or criminal?
2. The title Soon hints at something impending, or that’s brewing on the
horizon. Is this a strong thread in the novel?
The Prime Minister and his
guests are rich, the weather is beautiful, David Hallwright is popular and
successful, but trouble is on its way. Soon.
3. Is there a particular character from the novel that kept
you on your toes while you were writing him/her?
All the characters kept me on
my toes. This is actually a book of quite complicated ideas, not only to do
with politics, but also about morality, art and the role of the artist vis a
vis art and politics. I’m fond of a line from a Woody Allen film: ‘The artist
makes his own moral universe.’ Simon Lampton is trying to enjoy his
holiday but there’s scandal brewing, he’s being forced to listen to a child’s
story about an obnoxious dwarf and a conscientious starfish, and there’s a
writer sniffing about who could prove to be a nuisance.
4. What are you working on now?
For my next project, I’m
writing a novel about a man who’s been acquitted of a serious crime. But is he
really innocent?
5. What’s on your bedside table?
On my bedside table are short stories by Philip O'Ceallaigh, The Pleasant Light of Day, powerful stories set in Egypt, Georgia and Chechnya. I’ve got A.N. Wilson’s biography of Hitler, called Hitler; I’ve got the new Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth, which I haven’t started yet, and Machiavelli’s The Prince.
On my bedside table are short stories by Philip O'Ceallaigh, The Pleasant Light of Day, powerful stories set in Egypt, Georgia and Chechnya. I’ve got A.N. Wilson’s biography of Hitler, called Hitler; I’ve got the new Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth, which I haven’t started yet, and Machiavelli’s The Prince.
Aotearoa New Zealand is the 2012 Guest of Honour at the
Frankfurt Book Fair (10–14 October 2012) and more than 60 New Zealand authors
are on their way to Frankfurt to join in the celebrations.
Numerous events and activities
are planned throughout the fair and we'll keep you up-to-date about the
goings-on on Twitter
and Facebook. Our new Chief Executive Catriona Ferguson will be
posting regularly from Frankfurt on our books blog Open Book.
She will also post audio soundbites with authors and publishers on the ground
during the book fair.
For more information
about New Zealand at Frankfurt visit the NZ at Frankfurt website.
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