Martyn Bedford - Writer

I like virtual book-tours. From the comfort of my own home – and wearing pyjamas, if I feel like it – I can promote my new novel all over the country and around the world. And so it has come to pass that the virtual leg of the UK launch tour for Twenty Questions for Gloria saw two Q&A-style interviews appear online this week.

Here’s a taster from the one on the school section of Reading Zone, an excellent website which provides reviews and other resources for teachers and librarians:

Q: Gloria is restless and bored before she gets together with Uman. Are you exploring that sense of anticipation in a teenager’s life, when they are moving towards a future but still have to live with the present?

A: Yes. My recollection of being that age is of wishing to leave childhood behind and be more independent but feeling frustrated by all of the restrictions you face as an adolescent. Teachers and parents rule your lives to a large extent, at a time when you want to push the boundaries and discover your own capabilities and limitations. There’s a whole world – a whole future – out there, just beyond your grasp.

To read the rest of the Q&A please follow this link to www.readingzone.com .

And, below, is an extract from ‘Twenty Questions for Martyn Bedford’ (see what they did, there?), the Q&A which appeared on the arts, culture and politics site, The State of the Arts. This one followed a very nice chat over a coffee with one of the website’s contributing critics, Mike Farren, (and did involve me getting dressed and leaving the house.)

TSOTA: In literary fiction, you can paper over a weak narrative, but in younger people’s fiction, there’s nowhere to hide. Do you agree?

MB: The writing process for me is very similar now to when I was writing for adults, but one difference is that you need strong narrative drive. In literary fiction, the plot isn’t necessarily in the foreground. You can spend three pages inside a character’s head, but you wouldn’t get away with it in a teenage novel. I use more devices like end of chapter twists or cliff-hangers, where the reader thinks, “I was going to go to bed, but I’ll read the next chapter because I want to find out what happens.” Now, when I read a lot of adult literary novels, I think, “For crying out loud, just get on with it!”

To read the rest of the Q&A please follow this link to www.thestateofthearts.co.uk .