Ask the Author: Anne Fine
Answered Questions (14)
Anne Fine
Probably only when I am dead! And I'm not joking about that. The foreign publishers are happy to publish these two books (and The Killer Cat's Big Mistake, which is in production); but my British publishers have shown no interest at all. But if you send a request, mentioning this correspondence, to Georgiaglover@davidhigham.co.uk (my agent), she can pass the request on to me, and I can send a copy (without illustrations, of course), on to you for your son just because he likes them so much.
Anne Fine
Hi, Red. Not scary at all because it happened almost by accident. I lived in Edinburgh. There was a blizzard, and because of striking roadmen, the pavements weren't safely gritted. So I couldn't take the baby in the pram up the steep hill to the library and change my books. Desperately bored, I sat down and started to write one. Of course, the ice melted, but I just kept going. And I was extremely lucky in that it came second in a competition for unpublished writers, and a professional agent who had read it offered to try to sell it for me. That was the start of my career. I still spend as much time reading as writing, though. And the question I hate most in schools and at events is, "If you had to give up reading or give up writing, which would you choose?" I almost can't bear it.
Anne Fine
No, never been. But from what I have heard from people who have visited the Philippines, if I did, I would want to go again. They all did!
Anne Fine
Hi, Daniel, I've had hundreds and hundreds of letters over the years about the Killer Cat books. People tell me about their own cats - whether loved or unloved - and I must say that I have had plenty of ideas for further Killer Cat books because of them. There are now six of the series in English, and all those and a further two: The Killer Cat Falls in Love, and The Killer Cat's Funeral (don't worry - he's not dead) in lots of other languages. Usually, reading about something that mirrors your own experience can give you a clue about how to deal with things. I'm not sure that's true about the way Tuffy goes through life!
Anne Fine
It didn't win nearly as many awards as Goggle Eyes or Flour Babies or Bill's New Frock. But it was certainly seen as pioneering as regards the discussion of divorce from the child's point of view. I was well known as an author to teachers, librarians and readers before this book. But there is no doubt that a film of that level of success does introduce any author's name to a wider audience than simply the committed and informed readers that they had before.
Anne Fine
Joe Queenan wrote a really interesting book about the film industry called, If You're Talking to Me, Your Career Must be in Trouble. In it somewhere he makes the point that good books tend to make bad films, and vice versa, because films are about what happens next, and good books tend to be more about why it happened and how people feel about it. And, as he said, "You just can't film that stuff." So I expected the film to be massively different from the book, and indeed it is. The characters, too. But I didn't expect anything else. My characters have a darker edge to them than the sorts of characters that either Sally Field or Robin Williams chose to portray at that time (though both actors did widen their range considerably a few years later.) And, I do have to say, seeing films where the producer has stayed very closely indeed to the original text, I have often thought that a mistake, because JQ is right.
But, essentially, Daniel, the author is the LAST person to ask about the film. Just take my word for it. Very best wishes, Anne
But, essentially, Daniel, the author is the LAST person to ask about the film. Just take my word for it. Very best wishes, Anne
Anne Fine
I have a huge sympathy for Tulip. I think there are so many imaginative and energetic children who don't have a secure enough family background to keep them from letting all their energies spray out in the wrong direction, causing trouble all round. I might have written the book in Natalie's voice, but I feel for Tulip, yes I do.
Anne Fine
You can't ask an author which is their best book. It's like asking which child they love best! And, like children, you love them for different reasons. One of the books for children I'm proudest of is The Book of The Banshee because it was technically hard to keep the comedy while bringing in one character's war experiences. But if you liked The Tulip Touch so much, why not try Blood Family? Another damaged child.
Anne Fine
‘Blood Family’ was one of my most recent books. A couple of years before, I'd written an historical novel for children called ‘The Devil Walks’, and was keen to explore similar ideas around the subject of child welfare in the modern day. How one approaches a topic is changed entirely by the life experiences of the reading audience. My novel for adults, ‘Fly in the Ointment’, deals with the very same themes, but in a very different way.
Anne Fine
If there's nothing I truly want to write, then I don't. But I think I'm extraordinarily lucky in that I can write for all ages. So while I might take well over a year to finish a book for adults, during that time I'm almost certain to have come across a fine idea for a book for children or young people. After a short break, I'll start on that. And what with one thing and another, I do find that I'm usually working.
Anne Fine
I'm working on a novel for adults, a black comedy that looks at the thorny issues of wills and inheritances and their effects within families.
Anne Fine
Read, read, read. Only if you are a reader will you know whether what you've written is working, and, if not, how to fix it. And Alan Ahlberg made a good point when he said that the secret to writing is to get your bum on a seat.
Anne Fine
The silence. And, since I'm a bit of a control freak by nature, being able to do things entirely in my own time and in my own way.
Anne Fine
I rather relish 'getting stuck'. I use the time to sort the house out, and to read.
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