OMI: Jasper Fforde Friday, 30 January 2009

Posted by The Lost Book in One minute interviews.
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The utterly genius novelist Jasper Fforde is the guest writer for The Lost Book’s microstory competition. We’re challenging you to help him write The Lost Book – the book that has been stolen. It’s the journal of a 2004 expedition to Arthur Conan Doyle’s lost world.

Jasper has written two intriguing articles about explorer Sally Challenger’s expedition to Southern Venezuela. His cast of characters seem to have had an eventful time, but it’s now up to the rest of us to carry on the story and write the expedition’s journals. To join in, head over to the microstory competition page.

Jasper Fforde is loved by readers everywhere for his bestselling Thursday Next and Nursery Crime books. The Thursday Next series is a ‘book phenomenon’ which started in 2001 with the publication of The Eyre Affair. The fifth in the series, First Among Sequels, came out in 2007. There have been two books in the Nursery Crime series so far – the second, The Fourth Bear, was published in 2006. Fortunately, we don’t have long to wait for his next book, Shades of Grey, which is due out in summer 2009.

Jasper’s answered our One Minute interview questions, plus a couple of others of his own choosing, so read on…!

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One minute interview: Jasper Morel-Deville Jehosophat Carstairs Fforde

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Occupation:
Father, Husband, Author, Aviator, Photographer.

Where were you born?
London

Where do you live now?
Wales

How many books are there on your shelves?
At least two thousand, possibly more. I’ve certainly read eight of them.

What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Lots of people will be able to contribute towards writing a book

Do you think that constraints are creative?
Always; if you can’t find a way of doing something, it promotes ingenuity

Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
Burglar Bill, with help from Raffles.

Which book would you most hate to lose?
My address book.

Do you often add questions of your own to interviews?
Now and again

Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Columbo (TV counts, right?)

Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
Montmorency, from Three Men in a Boat

Which book has affected you the most?
Tiger, Tiger by Alfred Bester. No, wait, Alice Wonderland. No, Slaughterhouse 5. No, hang on…

When and where do you read the most?
Before going to sleep

Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
My large armchair in the corner of the room, next to the fire.

What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
That it represents the spirit of mankind, and the limitless breadth of our creative imagination

For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Nothing; it’s whole and complete and needs no footling.

Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
All three, but never at the same time.

Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
Never. A book, like a painting, is physically lifeless and dead – a bunch of atoms scooped into a heap. They only have value and relevance by the meaning we clothe them with. When congratulating a painter or an author, you should reserve as much praise for yourself – after all, you’re the one doing the work!

Do you ever lie about what your middle names are?
Always.

Jasper Fforde,
January 2009