Remember Remember
A question of genes?
I’m always on the alert for authors and books with something to tell me for my own writing, so when I saw a session at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this week with two authors discussing my sort of themes, I thought: Ahhah, double whammy; this one’s definitely for me.
The two books were Samantha Harvey’s Wilderness (about a man with Alzheimer’s) and Sleeper’s Wake by Alistair Morgan (about a man regaining consciousness after a road accident, to learn that his wife and daughter died in the car he was driving). Both debut novels. Both prize-winners.
First salutary observation: tiny audience. Hmmm. Is it true that in this climate of a global recession the public don’t want to read about depressing subjects in their fiction? I asked the question – minus any tactless reference to the size of the audience, of course.
The answer? Morgan said he didn’t himself want to read about relentless cheeriness and everything going well, because it’d make him feel he was somehow substandard when his own life wasn’t wall-to-wall perfection. Hmmmmm? Harvey said she was always conscious of the potential to be depressing so she worked at introducing levity and humour. I’m with Harvey on that one. With care, though, so as not to mock the seriousness of the reality.
Lessons learned?
- I’ll lose some readers who don’t want ‘dark’.
- I need to stress the positive, upbeat side of the story on the jacket in my next book, Remember Remember (about Alzheimer’s).
- I need to go to more sessions with such authors and really listen to and learn from their answers to questions. Gain without pain.
Interestingly. someone else asked the authors if, having written ‘dark’ books they’d do the same again. Answer: they’d both determined to be ‘jolly and light’ next time round. Me too. But found they couldn’t be; hence more of the same forthcoming. Me too! I gave my ‘happy’ version to two of my preliminary readers and they were emphatic: it just wasn’t me.
Is it something in our genes?
Forthcoming books
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is: What’s the next book about? Now, I’m well aware that might stem from a will-it-be-a-more-cheerful-subject hope-over- experience base. But for those of you who’re genuinely interested in life’s dilemmas, I’ll answer the question from a factual perspective.
There are two more manuscripts already written and with the publisher. Titles might change but for some reason I can’t start writing a book without a working title. Kink in the brain somewhere.
Remember Remember
Would you give up your freedom, the love of your life, your inheritance, to care for your mother who doesn’t even know who you are?
This book tells the story of an incredibly devoted daughter, Jessica Burden, who cares for her mother, Doris, a sparky little lady with Alzheimer’s Disease. It involves a secret … and the gradual unravelling of a life … and lots of love and loyalty … and frustration and anger. I’m hugely in awe of Jessica’s selflessness, although she’s very human too, so I’m delighted to say there’s a happy ending. Triumph of love over adversity, I guess you could say. I can hear the sharp intake of breath here from those of you who’ve read my other novels. But it’s true. I can do ‘happy’ when the story needs it! And we get to see inside Doris’ scrambled thoughts too. As a creative writer I had a fun time with that. But in my real life I spend time with real people with dementia, so rest assured, I’m not mocking the reality of life with this distressing illness in any sense. And the book is a family saga not a medical text.
Saving Sebastian
How far would you go to keep the child you gave birth to?
There are two parallel families in this story. Samuel and Candice Opakanjo are black Nigerians who endure years of infertility. Chapter One begins with the birth of their twins, only … one’s black, the other one’s coffee-coloured. How come? Cue lots of tension. Then there are the Zairs. Gorgeous family. They have a son, Sebastian, who’s just four and he has a terrible illness that’s killing him. They want a baby who’s the same tissue-type to help save his life. Will they be allowed to? Not if the militant demonstrators have their way. Dr Justin Blaydon-Green is the fertility specialist caring for both of these couples and juggling with the ethical balls. He’s got his work cut out, tiptoeing through fragile emotions, finding out what’s gone wrong in his lab, and deflecting the banner-wavers and the press. And he’s grappling with his own issues at home too.
This is the book that’s given me most angst so far. Very difficult science involved, way beyond my comfort zone. I read lots of headache-inducing literature and got bogged down in technical stuff (lots of which I never used). But special thanks go to Dr Sue Pickering, a specialist in this clinical field, who steered me through the complexities with great patience. And I spent many amazed hours in the fertility clinic where she works.
I’ll keep you posted as to progress.
