Although JB can still be persuaded to spin
a yarn, her focus in recent times has been writing and publishing. Her first
success was Whisper My Secret but there is -
BREAKING NEWS: ... The sequel
to Whisper My Secret, Mother of Ten, is now available.
Your
first book published in 2007 Whisper my
Secret is a family memoir. Here you tell the story of discovering the
existence of three step siblings. This was initially in hard copy and now
available electronically. The book was very successful the first time round -
what has happened to it now it’s gone e?
I have been absolutely bowled over by the
increased sales of Whisper My Secret
as an ebook. Thousands of people all over the world, but mostly in the USA,
have downloaded a copy. I get lots of emails from people who have read the book
and I really enjoy that interaction with readers.
What
are the advantages and disadvantages of ebooks in your view?
Because I am in love with ebooks and with
my Kindle, I cannot think of any disadvantages. The biggest advantage is
probably being able to carry around hundreds of books with virtually no weight
- just the light weight of my Kindle. Another huge advantage is the benefit to the
environment because ebooks rescue trees. In an age when up to 6 billion trees
per year are cut down for paper production ebooks make sense. Another advantage
is the buying experience. When you see an ebook you want you can have it bought
and ready to read in less than a minute and you can do this at any time of the
day. So if you wake up in the middle of the night and need a good read to relax
you, you can have it within minutes. Also
ebooks are cheaper to buy and there are no additional costs for packaging and
posting. Reading an ebook has the advantages of being able to adjust font size, to
change the font and to press gently on a word to bring up a dictionary entry of
that word. I love the fact that I can read my ebook on my Kindle in bed without
having to have a lamp on (the Kindle Paperwhite has an inbuilt reading light).
What
is the relationship between JB the storyteller and JB the writer?
They are certainly linked. I think the
connection that stands out most for me is the fact that many readers of Whisper My Secret and Mother of Ten have commented on how they
can see the pictures when they read what I have written. I believe that comes
from my storytelling experience. As storytellers we become proficient at
transferring pictures to the minds of our listeners.
In
the first book, you have clearly put in hours of research to unravel the family
secret. Was Mother of Ten as
intensive to research? Yes. In fact, I had to do a
lot more research for Mother of Ten.
That is an aspect on non-fiction writing that is a two edged sword for me.
While I love the research and find myself being taken down fascinating side
tracks, extensive research slows down the writing process. It is the writing of
the story that appeals to me most and I hate that it is being slowed down.
Of course, there is still research required
for fiction writing but it is not so ‘heavy duty’. Actually, researching the
background to stories is another area where storytelling crosses over with
story writing. It was through storytelling that I first came to appreciate the
importance of researching the background to stories to give my storytelling
authenticity, even though I did not use all of the knowledge I had gained
through research in the telling of the story.
You
are publishing a series of books for junior readers called Trapped in Gondwana. I can see clearly how you have mined your knowledge
of folktales with science to create something that is both enjoyable and
educational. How do you describe these stories?
I have planned Trapped in Gondwana as a series of seven with Book 1 and Book 2
already available on Amazon. The stories are fantasy adventure. I have written
them purely to entertain but because the tales combine facts they have, as you
say, an educational element. While enjoying the stories children will absorb
scientific knowledge such as information about the ancient fauna of Australia
and New Zealand and the super continent of Gondwana. For instance, most
children would not be aware (until they read Trapped in Gondwana) that 15 million years ago a flightless bird
known as the Demon Duck of Doom existed in the natural world.
Learn more about JB Rowley HERE
