The fantastic novelist Mr Fforde

Alice Cairns talks to novelist Jasper Fforde about fantasy, flying and the terror of writer’s block

Imagine a world where books are front and centre, and where roving gangs of Baconians contest the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. Imagine a post-apocalyptic dystopia in which your status is determined by the colours you can see. Imagine a policeman who solves nursery crimes, convinced that Humpty Dumpty didn’t fall – he was pushed. You’ve just had a glimpse into the imagination of novelist Jasper Fforde, author of cult favourites like The Eyre Affair, Shades of Grey and The Big Over Easy.

Now Jasper, who visits the Reading Waterstones this month, is about to add another book to the list. It’s been a long time coming: the usually prolific Fforde has endured a hefty four-year gap.

“I wrote 12 books in 12 years, one after the other, and I thought I’d just carry on like that for ever,” he tells me. “Then, for no reason that I could see, I suddenly hit the buffers and the book I was trying to write would not come out.” 

He pauses, contemplating his years of spiraling writer’s block. 

“The thing is, it gets worse the more you don’t do it. That’s when the doubts creep in. Is that it? Maybe 12 books is all I am ever going to do?”

Fortunately not. Jasper has finally finished the book that gave him all that trouble four years ago: Early Riser. In typical Ffordian fashion, it’s set in an outlandish world that has an internal logic all of its own. In this world, 99.9% of humans hibernate. They’ll do anything to conserve energy and survive the winter, bulking up over the course of the summer and taking medication to suppress energy-sapping dreams. 

Which is why it’s so surprising when Charlie Worthing is summoned to a remote corner of Wales to investigate an outbreak of viral dreams with the ability to kill their dreamers.

“I like to give people their money’s worth,” says Jasper, musing on how to classify his latest book. “There’s fantasy, there’s horror, a bit of romance, a bit of skulduggery and a bit of crime going on. The worlds that I describe are very normal to the people within them, even though they seem fantastic to us.” 

World-building, in fact, is where Jasper starts when he sits down to write.

“Most people would begin by asking: ‘Where’s the plot and what’s going to happen to my character?’ And I say: ‘No – let’s work the world out first and let the drama come from that world.’” 

He’s enthused about the possibilities for writers working in the fantasy genre. 

“In the past, it was all fantasy – think of the Greek myths, or Beowulf. And the potential is still as great.There’s all this new, exciting, off-kilter, fun, challenging drama to pull out of a hat.”

Jasper’s own life has been as off-kilter as you’d expect from reading his books. Before settling on writing, he worked for 20 years in the film industry (although he’s clear his books will probably never be filmed.) He also boasts an array of niche hobbies, including vintage cars and planes. 

“And children – I’ve got tons of kids,” he adds (he has six, in fact). 

Aviation is a passion. 

“I’ve always liked planes. Once I went off to an airfield and thought: ‘How hard can it be?’ So I started flying lessons, got a liking for them and, a few years later, bought an aeroplane.”

And then there’s his fan base. Jasper maintains a thorough, up-to-date website full of information, interviews and fun facts. He even lists his personal email address so that readers can get in touch (as I did to set up our interview). 

“I’ve always been keenly aware that I am doing this by the very good grace of the people who pay my wages – to whom I am eternally grateful. Thanks to them, I don’t have a mundane job,” he grins. 

And his fans are clearly devoted to him in return – every May a ‘Fforde Ffiesta’ takes place in Swindon, with fans dressed as characters from Jasper’s books. Jasper himself gives readings and answers questions.

But how do all these quirky, inventive books take shape? More through perspiration than inspiration, he insists. 

“I have to write pretty much all the time. And I have to be very, very strong with myself to make myself sit down – even more so now, after what I call my creative hiatus. It’s all very well to wander about in the hills with the dog, searching for the inspiration. But no, you’ve got to get down to it at the coalface and start writing.” 

The most crucial time, for Jasper, is the first few weeks, spent tentatively filling out a new idea. 

“You have to devote two or three solid weeks to it,” he says. “Tell people you just can’t do anything until you’ve got that first 20,000 words down.”

And the next project is already in gestation. 

“It’s an allegorical story about rabbits moving in next door,” he explains. “Anthropomorphized rabbits that wear clothes and have iPods and stuff. They move into a little village in Middle England.” 

A pause for reflection. 

“It’s great fun,” he smiles.

Jasper Fforde comes to Waterstones in Reading on Aug 4. Tel: 0118 958 1270

Tags

claremont mpu

nvt mpu dec