Victoria
asked
Jasper Fforde:
I love all your series, they're on my shelf, all pretty like, & I have a paper copy of Eyre Affair to lend out (I don't trust people with my hardbacks). I'd love it if there was a Fforde Fiesta here in Texas soon. I digress, my question: Which of your characters are most strongly based on people in your life?
Jasper Fforde
Oooooh, tricky one. I'm not sure that any are, really - characters are always amalgams of people that I know, characters I have read about - a real pot-pourri. Often, when I write a character who is similar to a real life person - like a friend or a member of my family, I think they might recognise part of themselves - but they never do. We don't see ourselves as others see us. I use this idea in 'Something Rotten' when Hamlet comes to the real world to try and figure out why he has been misinterpreted. To Hamlet, he is a poet, given to worthy thoughtful digression. To us, he talks a lot and can't make up his mind.
More Answered Questions
Roger
asked
Jasper Fforde:
Greetings from Zimbabwe, Jasper! I'm interested to know what drives you move from one series to another. Why, for example, do you decide to go back to the Nursery Crimes series rather than get to the next episode of Shades of Grey, or to write another Dragonslayer rather than a Thursday Next? (That was nothing to do with Shakespeare, I'm afraid!)
A Goodreads user
asked
Jasper Fforde:
In Shades of Grey, is Loganberry Jam a jokey metaphor for the logjam block you talk about when writing? Or have I just read far too much into it?
Brendan
asked
Jasper Fforde:
Half way through The Eyre Affair and must admit to being a late bloomer to the Thursday Next series, I stumbled onto the seventh book at my library and loved the outline. How do you not get confused with the intricate storylines? Is everything planned in advance or do you finish a draft and just think you can push the mythology a little further? Love the series and can't wait to get onto Lost in a Good Book.
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