Here's the start of our blog, a way to keep in contact with you all and let you know what we're up to!
Both me and Jennifer are currently loving Cornelia Funke's Inheart Trilogy - last week I went to Bath to see her talk at the Children's Literature Festival.
I caught the train to Bath on Saturday morning. It was a cold morning and the city was hidden in mist. The queue to see Cornelia Funke was out the door when I arrived and snaking up the stairs. It moved quickly though, and it wasn't long before I was in my seat in front of the stage. I had a few moments before the talk started, so I snuck out to buy a copy of Inkdeath, the last book of the trilogy. I love the covers for all the books, especially the hard back editions. This one has a skull made of pictures on the front. It's a beauitful book with red fly papers and fine white pages.
It was a very laid back interview, Cornelia came across as very friendly and her answers were interesting and honest. She spoke about the upcoming film (due out in December), and how she had gone on set in Italy. She felt like one of her characters, Fenoglio, when he sees his creations for the first time. Jim Broadbent, who plays Fenoglio, apparently found him an easy character to play - he just copied all Cornelia's expressions whenever she met one of her characters, seemingly brought to life.
Cornelia has an obvious love of stories and words, but it was her complete belief in her characters that really interested me. Characters are so important, they make your story; if you don't care about them, you don't care about the story they're telling. She talked about how stories often seem to write themselves, and that her characters argue with her about what she wants to happen. The characters win, because after all, it is their story.
We all got chance to ask questions at the end and Cornelia answered them all with a smile. She spoke about 'feeling' stories when you arrive somewhere and gave an example of how she 'felt' a story when she first walked into Salisbury Cathedral, and the first time she visited Venice. I wanted to ask if she had felt any stories in Bath that morning, as it had looked so mysterious, but sadly there were too many other questions so mine never got asked. I'd like to think that she did catch some stories in the mist that day, I would love to think of Bath being written into her books.
I left feeling very pleased to have had the opportunity to hear her talk about her work, it both uplifted and inspired me. That's the great thing about listening to other writers, they can support and encourage you just by sharing their ideas.
I have finished Inkdeath, and as I felt when I read the last Harry Potter book, I was sad it had ended, but very happy to have shared the adventure all the way. Jennifer has now greedily snatched the book from my clutches and I can't wait to hear whether she enjoyed it!
Have you been reading her books? Let us know what you think of them!
Happy writing!
Rosie.
