Seven things I learned from Joanne Harris' Sleepers in the Snow book event
What do haunted pylons, perfumes, and the power of endings have in common? An evening with the bestselling author provides the answer.
Hello there!
Last night I had the absolute pleasure of seeing bestselling author and all-round legend Joanne Harris interviewed about her new book, Sleepers in the Snow. It's a folk horror-inspired ghost story about loss, set on the snowy Yorkshire moors, where an electricity pylon has started whispering strange things.
Frankly, if you're looking for a way to hook me in, haunted pylons are a pretty good place to start.
Full disclosure, our copy is actually my wife's, but I'm going to nab it when she's finished, squirrelling it away for chilly Christmas evenings.
Here are seven things I learned over the course of the evening...
01. Joanne's theory on why folklore and fairy tales are often so dark
It's one that had me nodding along: folklore exists to make the things that scare us feel as safe as possible.
What better way than putting them in a story?
Stories make sense in a way real life never does. They help us understand what we're living through by giving seemingly random events structure, meaning, and – most importantly – endings.
02. Sunny and rainy day books
Joanne is the very definition of prolific, with over thirty novels to her name. Some are happy and some are sad – what she calls sunny and rainy day books. The category usually depends on the time and the season in which they were written.
Sleepers in the Snow was written after the death of her father, who had profound dementia in the last years of his life. Is it any wonder it's a ghost story?
03. Genre
When asked why she delights in shifting from one genre to another, she questioned whether genre even matters: "I don't think genre has any boundaries, not any more. I don't think it ever did."
As for those who advise writers to choose a genre and stick with it: "People who think genre should stay in its lane should probably read more. Stories migrate from one thing to another. It's a natural thing for stories to do."
It's also why she's always happy to see her stories get adapted into new media. "I don't think stories like to stay on the page. We've always done it, moving stories from books to the stage, or even audiobooks these days. If a book wants to be something else, it shouldn't be stopped."
04. Advice from Joanna Trollope
Queen of the Aga saga, Joanna Trollope once told Joanne that writers were lucky if they had twelve good years. "I've had considerably more than twelve," Joanne told us with a wry smile.
05. Reading aloud forms an essential part of her writing day
Joanne starts every morning by reading the previous day's work aloud, a practice that helps her tweak and clean up the prose as she goes.
06. Social media has changed her writing
"My sentences have got shorter," Joanne told us when asked how her writing has changed since her early days as a storyteller. She puts it down to social media, especially the early days of Twitter, where there were strict word limits. She started thinking of sentences as smaller units, like LEGO bricks you can stack on top of each other. "It's been really quite good for me."
07. The scent of a story
Joanne chooses a specific perfume for every story. It's a ritual she picked up from An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski, in which the founder of the Moscow Art Theatre advises actors to find a distinct scent for each role they play: a sensory shortcut back into character. Scent is one of the most powerful triggers of memory, capable of transporting us somewhere else in an instant.
For Sleepers in the Snow, it was The Lion Cupboard by 4160 Tuesdays, which put her in mind of haunted Victorian wardrobes... extremely appropriate for a story about a man who buys a remote house full of the possessions of the previous owners!
👉 BUY THE BOOK: Toppings & Company still has signed copies of the novel available to buy online. Of course, it is also available from all good bookshops!
👉 CATCH THE BOOK TOUR: Last night was only the first stop of Joanne's book tour. Check out her event page here.
👉 READ MORE FROM JOANNE: The author reveals more about the inspiration for the book on her website, answering frequently asked questions.
MORE BOOKLIFE
Go down a bookish rabbit hole with me!
Cavan Scott
Cavan Scott
Cavan Scott
WHAT I'M WORKING ON
Thanks to pesky NDAs, I can’t reveal many details about what I’m writing at the moment, so I’ve come up with a sneaky list of project names. Keep an eye on future editions. I'll update everything as the work progresses!
Project: Avarice
- A novelisation for a fantasy franchise, soon to be announced.
Project: Passer
- A graphic novel adaptation of a top romantasy novel. Currently scripting.
Project: Soldier
- A newly commissioned fantasy novel. The outline has now been approved, so it's full speed ahead on the writing!
Konflikt ‘47
- Working with Warlord Games on the lore and creative direction for the weird World War II tabletop game.
EVENTS
28th OCTOBER: GODFATHER OF HELL LAUNCH LIVESTREAM
Cavan Scott
05th NOVEMBER: FREE UNEARTHED EVENT IN BRISTOL
Cavan Scott
COMING SOON
Godfather of Hell
My new creator-owned graphic novel for mature readers. Think Goodfellas meets The Exorcist. On sale 27th October.
Star Wars: Scoundrels and Smugglers - Race for Jabba’s Bounty
An all-age graphic novel starring Han Solo, Chewbacca, Jaxxon and a host of scum and villainy. On sale 17th November.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE GENESIS #4
The beginning of a new arc featuring Man-At-Arms unravelling a dark mystery with his friend, Prince Randor. On sale 16th December.