While away from HIS DAY JOB as Creative Director of an advertising agency, ANDY JONES is writes romantic fiction and kid’s books. Here he tells SOPHIE GRENHAM about writing for his daughters, his love of the west of Ireland and RISQUÉ HUMOUR …
Andy Jones has always employed his creativity, from dreaming up material for advertising campaigns to placing characters on a page. Last year Jones charmed readers with his debut novel The Two Of Us. It quickly became a bestseller held by many in the same esteem as David Nicholls’s One Day. His new book, The Trouble With Henry And Zoe, has already gained an enormous following. It is Andy’s realism and infectious humour that has breathed some new life into the romantic fiction genre. In a niche often lacking in stories from a male perspective, it is an approach he has tackled with aplomb.
Andy also writes children’s books, such as George Was Bored and As Something As An Aardvark, each published in 2014. Both stories are woven with the same wit and heart as his adult prose. His work has been enjoyed all over the world, including America, Brazil, Germany, Israel and Serbia.
Andy lives in London with his wife and two daughters.
On home
I live in Wimbledon. It’s the last postcode in the south west before you leave London, so the area has something of a suburban feel whilst still being really close to the city centre. There are two great pubs up the hill from my house, The Hand in Hand and The Crooked Billet. They overlook Wimbledon Common, and in the summer the Billet provides deck chairs and we spill out onto the wide lawn out front. Good burgers too!
On creating
I have a nice little office at home with a desk I bought using money from my first book sale. I have a kettle, coffee and powdered milk. There are 3 cork boards on the walls – two for work and one for cards and pictures from my wife and little girls. I had six fish a year ago, but on last count I’m down to two – they’re survivors. There’s a framed Anne Lamott quote on my desk that my mother gave me: “Small Assignments” – and I should heed the advice more often. I have a lava lamp from my brother that I turn on at the start of every writing session, like a little Pavlovian nudge. I have a couple of bookcases where I keep my favourite novels in the hope something will charge the air. When the house is empty, I occasionally decamp to the kitchen where there is better light and better coffee. And if I’m working early – while there rest of the family sleeps – I have a little desk in the loft where I won’t disturb anyone. I’m a nomad in my own home.
On bookshops
I buy most of my books online now. That said, I’ll walk into just about any bookshop I happen to be passing. Picking one: Daunts in Marylebone is a wonderful space – high, bright and well stocked.
On literature
My favourite books include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Princess Bride, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Book of Illusions, The Stand and Great Expectations. But I don’t wish I’d written them, I’d have ruined them. I guess that only leaves lucre – so put my name against anything that sold a few million copies.
On escapes
I love Cornwall, the west coast of Ireland, the Austrian Alps. And the pub up the hill.
On humour
I’m all for a bit of near-the-knuckle in the right context, but a lot of ‘risqué’ banter is simply clichéd and lazy. The restrains of polite society can work for us, though. They force you to find alternative and frequently better – more precise, more evocative – ways of expressing yourself. That said, some people take pleasure in taking offence and should learn to lighten up.
On growing stories
I’m quite proud of George Was Bored, and my girls love it, which is all I ever wanted from it. It started out as something else – a book about a boy who couldn’t draw – then mutated into a story about a little boy bored, rather than frustrated. So why was he bored? Because the TV was broken – and suddenly it’s a story about making your own entertainment. A great message, but not at all what I had in mind. That discovery is one of the biggest joys of writing; letting a story find itself and following behind taking notes. Although I only do this with short stories; with something novel sized, I like the safety net of an outline. But it is wonderful how a story can and will emerge if you just discipline yourself to sit down and write something.
On inspiration
In short: write a lot. If you only write occasionally, you will become too attached to the work to be objective and set it aside when the writing isn’t working. Write flash fiction, short stories, descriptions, snippets of dialogue, thoughts and observations. Experiment; try different points of view, tonalities and subjects. If you shy away from violence, write some. If you swerve romance, write a love scene. Struggle with dialogue? Write a dinner party. Ultimately, you will find your voice and settle on a style that works for and rewards you; but if you build a balanced body of creative muscles, your writing will be stronger for it. Also – and this is a big also – when you nurture the discipline of writing a lot, you will find ideas and inspiration come to you more readily. Or rather, you are more open to them when they cross your path. And read. Read outside your genre or taste or pattern. Take it all in.
On what’s next
My second novel, The Trouble With Henry And Zoe, has just hit the shelves – it’s a romantic comedy about a guy who left his fiancée at the altar and a wonderful girl with a whole load of heavy emotional baggage. And I recently completed the final draft of a novel called Girl 99, coming out in February 2017. It’s about a guy who (talking of political incorrectness) is on a mission to sleep with 100 women. Aside from that, I’m completing the outline of a novel about fatherhood and all the wonderful and difficult stuff that entails. Beyond that – maybe some sleep.
The Two of Us (€10.50) and The Trouble With Henry And Zoe (€10.50) are published by Simon & Schuster and available nationwide. George Was Bored and As Something As An Aardvark (both €5.77) can be purchased from www.amazon.co.uk.
Sophie Grenham
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