CHESTERFIELD LIBRARY + CROSSING THE GENERATIONS

A quick post about a recent visit. I partly want to mention it because it was a model visit in terms of organisation by the librarian in charge - Ruth Kaye. A nice overnight stay for me, a decent fee - thank you! - and a lovely reason for the event: it was a special project involving an adult book group getting together with a teenage book group. Everyone knew why I was there and there felt like a real point to the trip. I know that funding for things like this is difficult and I'm just very grateful to everyone involved.

They all asked some great questions. I also mentioned some other authors whose books I admire - Gillian Philip and Keren David, were your ears burning?

Cheterfield Library, Intergenerational Book Group, Oct 8th

Here we all are. I'm the Woman in Black, third from the left. Ruth is to the far right, with blonde hair. 

I was amazed to discover that I was the author chosen to do this. I had assumed that it was an ongoing project with several authors, but it was a one-off and just with ONE author. It's the first time they've done it and they picked me when they could have picked a load of other people.I asked Ruth why they'd picked me and she said, "Because you're a cross-over author, and because your website said all the right things."

I think getting adults and teenagers together to read and talk about books is a wonderful idea. Which is why it's rather sad and frustrating to hear that when Ruth had asked all the adult book groups which one would like to do this project, the others weren't interested. Seems they thought teenage books were beneath them. I wonder if they've read any. The number of times I have told someone I'm a teenage author and they say, "Oh, what, like Jacqueline Wilson / the Harry Potter books." No, no, no. Open your eyes to what's out there, people. There's a world of teenage books and some of them will make you think more deeply and more interestingly than many adult ones.

Someone recently said to me, "I wish you'd written Wasted for adults." Thing is, I did, because I don't care how old you are. If you like Wasted, then I wrote it for you and I am blind to your age.

Thank you to the Chesterfield adult and teenage readers. It was lovely to meet you and I loved your questions and your enthusiasm. And the hat...