Friday 22 June 2012

The Housemaid's Daughter in Vancouver



I have just returned from Canada, where I spent some time in Vancouver with a charming group of ladies who will be involved in the promotion, marketing and selling of The Housemaid's Daughter in that part of the world.

I still find it quite a shock to meet people for the first time and hear then talking about the characters in my book as if they are old friends! As an author, you spend so much time alone with your characters that you feel you're the only one who really knows them. They belong to you! Then suddenly they're out and about in the world, connecting with readers independently, making them laugh or cry without asking your permission. It's rather like learning to let a child go. That baby you have nurtured, that toddler you have protected, is now taking his first steps away from you. Exciting, certainly. Also a little disconcerting, because invariably someone will express an opinion about a character's actions or personality which is totally different from what you intended. Ah, well. It's no bad thing. Imagine how boring life would be if we all responded in the same way...

To my delight, the booksellers I met are looking forward to promoting The Housemaid's Daughter. One lady had in fact spent time in South Africa, and had travelled through the Karoo. I looked on my globe when I returned to the UK. Vancouver and the Karoo are virtually on opposite sides of the world, some 9 time zones apart. Who would have guessed that I would meet someone who knew Cradock? It's not such a vast world after all.

Next time... more foreign translations. Stay tuned.

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