This week I paid a fleeting visit to the London Book Fair and had a rather overwhelming reminder of the vast and vibrant world of publishing.
Amidst the acres of stands, the thousands of attendees and exhibitors, and the intense programme of workshops, talks and seminars, I stumbled across an author whose comments have kept me thinking all week.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the creator of a number of bestselling novels and has a not insubstantial social media following.
I was going to attend her session out of curiosity and located the venue in good time, intending to rock up at the last minute (if I didn't find something better to do!). However, a good hour before she was due to speak, the queue stretched far into the distance, so I joined it, though felt a little out of place among all the glamorous young women clutching their phones.
Taylor has written eight novels including 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' and, most recently, 'Carrie Soto is Back' - which I have read, though initially struggled to remember the plot.
Well, I will now be reading all her books - what a phenomenal speaker. So engaging, humble, personable, relatable and articulate. She was amazing. But my point is...
She explained why she had played with format in her books. (I haven't read 'Daisy Jones and the Six' so I can't list what she does but I think it's things like emails, news clippings, including real people and events, etc.) She said that she wanted readers to lose themselves completely in her books so mixes historical facts and familiar incidents and individuals with her make-believe world and characters, leaving the two indistinguishable.
I've never been sure of this melding of fact in fiction but hearing this young (I've just looked her up and she's 40...), dynamic and thoughtful novelist explaining why she takes this approach, made me want to revisit the idea, at least objectively (as a writer as much as a reader)!
And I didn't have long to explore it, either. The book we were discussing in our Framlingham Book Group this month was 'The Romantic' by William Boyd which begins with the author saying he had discovered some letters and diaries of the adventurer Cashel Greville Ross and had turned this life into a novel.
So we learn how Ross experienced momentous historic events such as the Battle of Waterloo and met notable figures such as Byron and Shelley.
But it's not true. The whole book, the whole story is invented. There were no diaries or letters.
Readers only know it's all made up if they discover interviews with the author describing the writing of the book. So when we've trusted the author and believed his letter to the reader only to find that he's been playing a trick on us - how does that make us feel?
You needed to be at the book group on Wednesday to hear the different responses and emotions it engendered.
On that note - the Woodbridge Book Group is meeting a week tomorrow... And for the first time we're discussing a graphic novel (scroll down for details). How will we respond to that form of storytelling? If you'd like to come along to participate or to listen in, please email to let me know and I'll send you the details.
Thank you for reading.