Author Spotlight no.150 – Jenny Worstall

Complementing my daily blog interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the one hundred and fiftieth, is of novelist and short story author Jenny Worstall.

Jenny Worstall is a teacher, musician and writer. Born in Portsmouth, she spent her childhood years in Dartmouth, Bath, Shaftesbury and Naples, and is now settled in London with her husband and two teenage children.

Singing in choirs has always been a passion and Jenny has performed most of the standard choral works with various choral societies (including the London Choral Society when Simon Rattle was Chief Conductor and the BBC Symphony Chorus where she met her husband).

Jenny’s first teaching post was in an East London comprehensive; she moved on to a grammar school in Surrey and then became Head of Music at a girls’ school in Kent. Starting a family meant giving up full time work in schools, giving her the chance to build up her piano teaching and at last find the time to do some writing.

Her first novel, Make a Joyful Noise, is the sparkling and sharply observed tale of a choir preparing for a Christmas performance of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast in which we follow the adventures of a host of characters who are mercilessly sent up by the author: Tristan the lecherous anti-hero, Lucy the staggeringly trusting young music teacher, Claire the shameless and scheming temptress, Miss Greymitt the elderly, slightly confused and arthritic choir accompanist and a host of singers with nothing but resonance between their ears.

And now from the author herself:

The idea for Make a Joyful Noise came from my involvement in the world of classical music, a rich source of inspiration as it tends to nurture mighty egos.  I decided to take a performance of one of my favourite choral works, “Belshazzar’s Feast” by William Walton, make it the backdrop for a pair of love stories and then inject it with comedy. “Make a Joyful Noise” is a line from the libretto of Belshazzar’s Feast (selected and arranged from the bible by Osbert Sitwell – a terrifically dramatic and colourful libretto), and it is true to say that just as all does not smoothly for King Belshazzar and the inhabitants of Babylon in Walton’s score, so the characters in the novel suffer from hopeless yearnings, romantic misunderstandings and the unfortunate consequences of their own misguided actions.

I started the first draft of Make a Joyful Noise when my children were very young; the main thinking and planning went on in my head, then when I could find the time, I scribbled it down. I played the piano a lot before I had children but once they were around I found that when they were awake, they wanted to join in with the music and I always had an extra pair of hands “helping “me play, but if I played when they were asleep the music woke them up. In a strange sort of way, I think writing took the place of the piano for me for a while.

The novel falls into both a musical and choral genre but is also unashamedly a romcom. I love reading Barbara Pym, Katie Fforde and Jilly Cooper, and these writers have certainly influenced me to write about affairs of the heart in a light and humourous way. The musical influence comes from the score of Belshazzar which I always had beside me when writing. The chapter headings in my book are taken from the libretto: “The Idols and the Devils”, “Yea, we wept”, and so on.

Many readers have told me that they recognise characters in the novel as various musical types and have certainly met people just like them (good, so it seems realistic). Others have told me they know exactly who the characters are (for example Tristan is apparently “definitely” Simon Rattle – he isn’t by the way! Nothing like). Make a Joyful Noise is a work of fiction. That means it is all made up.

If my novel was made into a play for radio then I can suggest a voice that would be perfect for Tristan – Bill Nighy. His voice is just the right combination of honey-strewn gravel with a hint of depravity. I wonder if he is free?

At the end of Belshazzar’s Feast, poor King Belshazzar is slain in a mysterious manner after yet another evening of debauchery involving praising false gods, music and feasting. At the end of my novel Make a Joyful Noise, Tristan…well, you will just have to read it to find out.

You can find more about Jenny and her writing via…

• Link to Make a Joyful Noise: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Joyful-Noise-Jenny-Worstall/dp/1478325542
• Jenny Worstall website
• Jenny Worstall UK Author Page
• Jenny Worstall USA Author Page

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The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with multi-genre author Cyra McFadden – the six hundred and first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

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Author interview no.600 with short story writer, novelist & tutor Della Galton

Welcome to the six hundredth (woo hoo!) of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with prolific short story author, novelist and tutor Della Galton. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Della. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Della: Way back in the mists of time when I was in my early twenties I bought a house with a guy – we did it as a business project but later we became romantically linked. He decided we didn’t have enough interests in common so he asked me if I fancied joining a writing class with him.  He lasted a term, I carried on. I still go to that class. It’s run by Ian Burton and is at Kinson Community Centre, Bournemouth. My erstwhile boyfriend actually said to me one day that I would never sell anything, so it’s been quite good fun proving him wrong. I did bump into him a couple of years ago and he said he’d read a couple of my restaurant reviews!

Morgen: I started by going to writing classes (lead by crime writer Sally Spedding) in 2005 and was hooked. You’re best known for your women’s magazine short stories, do you have a favourite genre and do you write any genres that they wouldn’t take, so submit elsewhere?

Della: I try to write what sells – but I think if I had to choose a favourite it would be either light hearted or very emotional. I know that’s two different ones, but it’s hard to say which I like best. Depends what mood I’m in. I also write fantasy – as in odd other worldly stories occasionally. I also write erotica, but under a pseudonym.

Morgen: I didn’t know that (about your pseudonym… maybe I should interview her another time ). Your short stories have been published in Bella, Best, Candis, Grace Magazine, My Weekly, People’s Friend, Take A Break, That’s Life, The Lady, The Weekly News, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Writers Forum, and Yours – some of whom no longer take fiction, why do you think this is? Is there anything you think that might make them change their minds?

Della: I hope it’s nothing to do with my stories. Seriously I think it’s because not enough readers want fiction in their mag. It’s usually supply and demand with magazine editors. I doubt they’d take away something lots of people want. I have lots of students who join my writing classes wanting to write short stories for mags, but they admit they don’t actually read any.

Morgen: What a shame, and of course every writer should read, maybe they stick with novels (most people do). I have just over 100 of your short stories – I’m a nerd, having your 100+, and nearly 3,300 others, listed on an Excel spreadsheet… all in the name of research – I’d love to have been Ali or Tina in ‘The Banoffee Pie Survey’!

Della: Blimey, I’m stunned!! Tee hee, The Banoffee Pie Survey was real – well, in as much as that I did a Banoffee pie survey, it was great fun. Tasty!

Morgen: Research can be tough, can’t it. You’ve also had short stories in charity anthologies (including the gorgeous ‘Waiting’ from Sexy Shorts for Summer, I loved that Lisa and Mark were writers, and found it such a powerful story – yes, I was sniffing at the end – I also have Sexy Shorts for Christmas… Chefs… and The Beach. ). It must have been thrilling to be involved.

Della: Thank you Morgen, I’m touched that you liked Waiting. One of my favourites. No truth in that one I’m afraid.

Morgen: Two of your novels were published by Accent Press, who also publish Jane Wenham-Jones, did you find them or did they find you?