Monocle Radio Podcast

Here's a link to a Monocle Radio Podcast

On this Weekend Edition special, Georgina Godwin meets two talented authors and hears about the redesigned family bookshop that is stocking their work. Nick Harkaway talks about his new book ‘Tigerman’ – all about ex-colonies, superheroes and paternal love. He's followed by Carys Bray, who tells us how it was only after leaving the Mormon faith that she could write her debut novel, ‘A Song for Issy Bradley’. Finally, Foyles, the Uk’s most iconic bookshop, has been redesigned for a new century. Georgina takes a tour of the new premises with architect Alex Lifschutz – and meets writers Caitlin Moran and David Nicholls.

Author interview

Want to know more about A Song for Issy Bradley? Have a listen to this interview.

Newspaper reviews and other fun stuff

I was (metaphorically) biting my nails as I awaited press reviews of A Song for Issy Bradley. They have been trickling in and so far I've been very lucky - people have said some lovely things about the novel. 

Grace McCleen's Guardian review described it as ‘A skilful and empathetic dramatisation. The fact that it deals with such distressing subject matter without falling prey to sentimentality makes it all the more admirable.’

'Bray demonstrates the comforts of faith - the magic, hope and imagination - as well as its restrictions. This is an impressive debut from a compassionate, wise and original new voice,' wrote Suzi Feay in The Independent.

The Times reviewer, Carol Midgley said, 'I couldn't leave it alone. Bray writes with such clarity, intelligence and authenticity that it feels as if an old friend is telling you the story, that the characters are people you know.'

Christie Hickman in The Sunday Express said there was 'An astonishing lightness of touch and real humour woven into the sadness... A stunning, unmissable debut.’  

The Sunday Mirror described it as 'funny and vividly written,' while the Sun picked it as 'an early contender for book of the year.'

As if all that wasn't lovely enough, I've been out and about this week. First to Plackitt and Booth in Lytham where I did a reading and answered questions about the book. 

And then to Radio Lancashire, where I spoke to John Gilmore about writing.

Finally, this arrived. 

I'm not sure whether there's a wall in the house that's big enough or whether (if I find a wall) the children will ever speak to me again... but I'm planning to find out.

Book Launch

We had a lovely night at Broadhursts bookshop in Southport. Thank you so much to all my lovely friends and family who came to wish me well. Here's a few photos.

And here's a link to Robert Sheppard's account of the evening. 

The most fortunate creature

Remember that bit in Pride and Prejudice where Jane says, 'I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed... How shall I bear such happiness' ? Well that was me today, wandering around London with the lovely Charlotte Bush, spotting tube posters of my novel and listening to my phone ping as wonderful book bloggers Tweeted about my novel. 

I'm afraid I lack Jane Bennet's goodness, so I'm pretty convinced I don't deserve this happiness, and, unlike Jane, I shan't be asking whether I can bear it, as I'm sure I can. 

Here I am in Fubar Radio on the Mark Dolan Show. Having watched some of Mark's comedy work, I was quite nervous about talking to him. Although A Song for Issy Bradley is (I hope) quite funny in places, I'm not very spontaneously funny (writing funny scenes can take me *days*). However, Mark was very charming (and extremely tall) and I had a great time. 

After lunch it was off to Front Row for an interview with Samira Ahmed. We talked about all sorts of things, including polygamy, Islam, women's roles in Mormonism and how to write prose that is both funny and sad. 

Here I am with Jo Good from BBC Radio London. This interview unexpectedly opened with an audio clip from HBO's Big Love. That was a surprise! We chatted about football, children and grief. 

Then it was back to Random House where there's a lovely display made of quotes about the novel and cut-out birds.

Today, I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed. 

Things I'm up to

Over the next couple of days I'll be really busy. This evening I'm going to London and while I'm there I'm hoping to see one of the Issy Bradley posters that are up at various underground stations. 

Here's a picture from a friend. How fantastic is that?!

Tomorrow I'll be on Fubar Radio from 11 o'clock with comedian Mark Dolan. Afterwards I'll be recording an interview with Front Row's Samira Ahmed and then I'll be on BBC London with Jo Good, just after 4 o'clock.

On Friday I'll be recording an interview with Cathy Macdonald of BBC Radio Scotland and an interview with Monocle FM. Then at 2:30 I'll be on LBC Radio with Julia Hartley-Brewer. 

Afterwards I'll be hurrying home to make cakes for my book launch which will be on Saturday from 5:30. 

I'm quite excited, but I'm also tremendously nervous. Off to pack my suitcase...

Heart in Boots

I discussed being nervous about press coverage in a recent post: 

I'm nervous about reviews and nervous about interviews on live radio, but most of all, I'm nervous about the features that various journalists are writing about me - features that will, inevitably, concentrate on my Mormon upbringing. As a writer I choose my words carefully. On the few occasions I have written about Mormonism I have edited and revised my words, attempting to take a nuanced position that is, at times, both critical and conciliatory. It is absolutely terrifying to know that, on this occasion, my words will be chopped up and reassembled by people who understand nothing of those nuances; that when I'm asked about the good and bad things about growing up Mormon, or parenting as a Mormon, or the role of Mormon women, the good things may be omitted from the final piece, and that a sub editor, not the journalist who interviewed me, will write the headline, making it as melodramatic as possible. Just rereading this paragraph makes me feel nauseous. 

My heart sank into my boots when I saw the headline of an interview in the Guardian yesterday. The interview itself took the form of a very long, informal chat with my lovely friend Sarah Franklin in which I talked about my expectations of motherhood and the numerous ways in which I failed to live up to them (including once baking a perfect Thomas the Tank cake for a party and then refusing to let any of the children eat it). 

If you ignore the headline - please ignore the headline - you'll see that I talk about my decision to prioritise motherhood over education, based on what I understood to be right as a teenager, 20 years ago. Did I get it wrong? Perhaps. I certainly don't think there's such a thing as Mormon Motherhood; I don't think that there's one, homogeneous, prescribed way for Mormon women to do things. Some texts may imply that there is, but there are always counter-examples. 

The very last thing I wanted was to enter the Mormon version of the Mommy Wars. And I certainly don't condone or agree with the really unpleasant, trollish comments that have appeared at the bottom of some reprints of the interview.

I find it very difficult to talk about the church in interviews because there is tremendous nuance in how Mormons approach so many issues, and that nuance isn't going to be picked up by non-Mormons (or by sub-editors at newspapers who write melodramatic headlines). Ultimately, I can only talk about my own experiences, which haven't always been positive -  but I know lots of fantastic women, including my own mother, who have found fulfilment and enjoyment in the church. 

Broadhursts Window

Today's happy thought - this is the window of my local bookshop, Broadhursts J

Some Early Reviews

I'd like to say a massive  THANK YOU  to all the kind readers who've written early reviews of A Song for Issy Bradley. If I could make a cake for each of you, I would! 

No matter what you thought of the novel - whether you loved it, whether it left you cold, or you felt somewhere in between - I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to sit down and write about it. 

Here are a few quotes from some of the reviews (if you click on each reviewer's name you'll be transported to their brilliant blog/website):

I loved A Song for Issy Bradley. It's wry, smart, human, and, rather miraculously avoids mawkishness. And, ultimately, it's moving and comforting in a way that makes sense even to the agnostic.
- Nick Hornby in The Believer magazine.  

This is a book about family, any family, who has to conjecture enough faith to miraculously resurrect itself from the abyss after having lost one of its own.
- Rana Asfour.

This book is not about a death. It may make you cry, but it is just as likely to make you laugh in recognition or in sheer delight. 
- Jeanette Greaves.

This is a gorgeous book, fully deserving of the place it's had on all sorts of 'best book' lists over the last few months. Read it.
- Sarah Jasmon.

It's a wonderfully written book. Beautifully observed. But the emotional impact was extreme, and I didn't like the ending, it felt like it was missing the last page almost.
- Jax Blunt. 

It is a book that shows how hearts can be shattered by loss and how only family can put things back together. It is a brave, sometimes funny and often deeply moving novel that deserves every success. 
- Dan Powell.

Bray handles the content sensitively and truthfully, but most of all I'm stunned that this is only her first novel. I'm sure this won't be the last we hear of her.
- Bex Dawkins.

An impressive debut delves into the life of a family of Mormons after their youngest child dies. Wonderful characters and excellent writing. Recommended.
- TheBookBag.

This isn’t a book about death. Nor is it a book about organised religion, although it gives an interesting and clever insight into both of those things.  It’s a book about family, and about love, and about what that really truly means. It’s beautiful.
- Jo Wilkinson

There are some more reviews here, written by a group of Lovereading members. 

One week to go and other nervous things

It's one week to publication day. Yikes! I can't believe it's almost here. All sorts of exciting things are happening and appearing - like the little character quotes (below) that are being Tweeted by Windmill Books. Twitter users can retweet them to win a signed copy of the book.

Of course, while it's an exciting time, it's also really, really scary. I'm nervous about reviews and nervous about interviews on live radio, but most of all, I'm nervous about the features that various journalists are writing about me - features that will, inevitably, concentrate on my Mormon upbringing. As a writer I choose my words carefully. On the few occasions I have written about Mormonism I have edited and revised my words, attempting to take a nuanced position that is, at times, both critical and conciliatory. It is absolutely terrifying to know that, on this occasion, my words will be chopped up and reassembled by people who understand nothing of those nuances; that when I'm asked about the good and bad things about growing up Mormon, or parenting as a Mormon, or the role of Mormon women, the good things may be omitted from the final piece, and that a sub editor, not the journalist who interviewed me, will write the headline, making it as melodramatic as possible. Just rereading this paragraph makes me feel nauseous. 

Yesterday I found an 'interview' online that quoted me, despite the fact that I'd never spoken to the journalist concerned. I suppose it wasn't a big deal - he hadn't put any particularly objectionable words into my mouth (just jumbly, rubbish-sounding ones) - but the fact that he'd felt entitled to put any there at all niggled at me all day. Worried that it was a foretaste of things to come, I wrote a Facebook message to my Mormon friends, alerting them to the fact that they may see me being interviewed about growing up as a Mormon in the coming weeks. I asked them to give me the benefit of the doubt, knowing that some of the words may not be my own. My friends outdid themselves with supportive, kind messages.

I was reading these lovely messages from Mormon friends last night when the New York Times broke the news of the likely excommunication of Kate Kelly, founder of Ordain Women and of my friend John Dehlin, founder of Mormon Stories and Stay LDS. It was such a strange experience to be faced with the generous, inclusive messages of Mormon friends on one hand and the absolutist, authoritarian dictates of the institutional church on the other. It reminded me yet again, that although I have very little use or respect for the institutional church, some of my favourite people in the world are, and always will be Mormons.

Book Covers

Glenn O'Neill who designed my book cover discusses the process in a piece at WeLoveThisBook. He talks about taking pieces of text and searching for matching images and ideas. I really enjoyed reading about the process and especially seeing some of the other versions of the cover (see below). 

This week the American cover has been finalised. It's very different from the English cover - brighter and funnier too, somehow, perhaps hinting that it's not a sad book. I really like it.