Meet J M Joseph
Fabulously funny, ‘Fireboy’ and the sequel, ‘Pants on Fire’ have been hugely popular at school and I had the great pleasure of meeting Jay when I organised some visits for him where the children were very engaged and excited. The ‘flaming finale’ of the series, Fire Power’ came out in August and is sure to be every bit as popular! These books are fast-moving, hilarious - and full of friendship.
I am delighted to welcome Jay to the Bookshelf today and ask him a few questions.
1. An idea comes to you for a book. Do you:
a) Jump for joy and rush to your notebook/laptop to instantly capture it?
b) Run around shouting ‘Hallelujah’ until you realise you have forgotten what it was?
c) Throw yourself on the floor, gnash your teeth and sob, ‘Why me?’ because you know you now have to write the thing?
(This is the only ‘Fire Boy’ style quiz question, I promise!)
When ideas comes (which isn’t often), I spend weeks writing neat Three-Act plans in new notebooks or drawing narrative arcs in heroic colours. And then ignore them all as soon as I start writing.
I hate plotting.
Characters, however, get me excited – their voices, their reactions, what motivates them or makes them angry. Inserting characters into scenes and watching what they do – that’s what I enjoy most about writing.
2. ‘Fire Boy’ is Aiden’s alter-ego. What superpowers would you choose to have- and what would your super-name be?
As a writer of a super-hero series, I get asked this question a lot.
My choice would be to control time. Travelling forwards and back through time or making it stop when deadlines near is my ideal super power. The opportunity to play practical jokes on people is endless. And the things I’d do at press conferences at No. 10! If only! Such mayhem would require secrecy, so no name allowed. But it would be a small price to pay.
3. Is Lemon, cat-that-can-turn-into-a-tiger, based on a cat that you know?
I have two dogs (Winnie, a golden retriever, and Rose, a spaniel-mix) who my children adore. They spent a good part of the Fire Boy series at my feet while I wrote it – the dogs, not my children. Lemon, you might say, is “channelled” through Winnie and Rose. For comedy purposes, I needed a pet who would occasionally walk away from Aidan with her bum in the air so a cat seemed a better fit.
4. I am fascinated by teaching teachers who are authors. When do you find the time to write and do you think teaching helps shape your writing?
I spent 30 years as a class teacher, a nursery teacher and lecturer before I began a part-time MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. I dropped a day a week to attend classes and complete that. When I got an agent (the wonderful Becky Bagnall of the Lindsay Literacy Agency), I dropped another session. I am currently down to .5, but still teach four days a week.
I had my first break from teaching/writing in five years this summer when I was between books. Previously, if I wasn’t teaching, I was writing. Every school holiday was spent behind a laptop.
I’m not sure if teaching shapes my writing, but the children I teach certainly do. I currently teach English to children aged 10-13 so we talk about stories, poems and plays most days. It’s why I carry on teaching, really. I just enjoy it.
5. I read the opening of ‘Fire Boy’ as part of an assembly on reading and the children were instantly hooked by the original, and very engaging, idea of starting the book with a quiz. What made you think of this idea?
Flann O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It was written in 1939 and opens with a narrator addressing his reader about possible ways to open a novel. It contains parodies of extracts, a medieval Irish poem, “biographical reminiscences” and characters who imprison their author because they resent what he forces them to do.
I wanted to write a book in a style similar to At Swim, but for children. That’s where the idea of a quiz originated.
6. What can we expect from you next?
I have two projects on the go at the moment. One is about a little white dog that wants to be a wolf. It’s aimed at 6-9 year-olds and owes a lot to three girls I teach who insisted that my next book should contain a wolf at all costs. The other is a thriller set in the future which I am struggling to plot (See answer to Q1 above).
7. And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?
My favourite cake is my mother-in-law’s Chocolate Biscuit Cake. For any Irish readers out there, that name alone might suffice. For the rest of you, Chocolate Biscuit Cake is a little like Tiffin but without the cherries or raisins and it is absolutely scrumptious.
Many thanks to Jay for agreeing to take part in this Q and A session. I’m really looking forward to reading both of your up-coming projects!
I will be sharing my review of ‘Fire Power’ tomorrow- it’s one not to be missed.