Nick76 Mouler
16 Sep 10 - 09:14
Dear All,
I have finally downloaded (and uploaded) all the remaining pictures I took in Mantova, Italy. You may view them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53877343@N02/
In one of them you can see the Hebrew and Russian covers of the first book of the trilogy.
Now, I'll summarize what he said at the first meeting.
-He talked about his works, said that he tries to create a realistic setting for the stories. In other words, the places he mentions in London are real places, unlike other fantasy books.
-He was asked about translations. He admitting not knowing what the translations of his works are like, the stories might be totally changed. He is in touch with some translators, for example the German ones, who ask for elucidations or inform him that a certain pun cannot be translated or appreciated in German and so they leave it out and compensate with something else, somehow. This is a demanding (but also rewarding) task for a translator, believe me, and a professional is never too thankful when an author shares his/her point of view with a humble translator (very few do).
-I asked a question: "You communicate a lot with your fans, you even have a forum* in which they can ask you questions and you are so kind as to answer (I also put forward a question, maybe you'll see it when you go back home). Do you do so just out of good manners, or do you use your fans' ideas for your works?". He said that mostly it is a matter of personal satisfaction: he spends days and weeks all alone in a small room writing, so having a chance to speak to someone is pleasant. Occasionally, he may consider a good idea put forward by a fan for one of his works.
-He mentioned "Heroes of the Valley", which, ironically, in Italian has been translated as "The Valley of the Heroes". He said he has always been fascinated by Scandinavian sagas, so he tried to write one. He deliberately altered the usual stereotypes, though, since the protagonist is not a tall, handsome viking but a little boy of unusually disgusting aspect.
-In his books there are no references to Nathaniel's parents. He is parent-less, we might say. This was necessary to remove all barriers: Nathaniel is free to do whatever he wants, he meant to investigate this. In "Heroes of the Valley", instead, he tried to describe a protagonist who is a rebel and, in some ways, is like Nathaniel (same age, for instance), but with both parent around. He travels, breaks the rules... But eventually has to go back home to his parents; this comparison between the two teenagers is quite interesting, I had never thought about it.
-They asked him if there will be a film about Bartimaeus. He said the idea was in the air some years ago, but it was too expensive, so it has come to nothing so far. In the future, though, a graphic novel will come out.
-They asked him if he is goint to write some more Bartimaeus stories. He mentioned "The Ring of Solomon", which will come out soon in some countries (he doesn't know when it will be published in Italy, although they already have an agreement). He has no idea whether he'll write any more Barti books, but he doesn't exclude that possibility, if he comes up with a good story.
-Finally, someone asked him why he was wearing a tee-shirt written in Italian, while we often wear tee-shirts written in English. Ironically, the words on his pink tee-shirt meant "Italian rescue team" or something like that. They asked him whether he had been rescued by an Italian team. He said he is simply a trendy person who likes Italian fashion.
If I remember anything else, I'll tell you. In general, I would like to say that Mr. Stroud proved to be a very pleasant chap. This cannot be taken for granted. I have worked for the Festival of Literature for 11 years and met many an author from all the five continents, some of them are nice, some of them do not seem to care about common people. Jonathan just looks like the kind of guy you would like to have a pizza with. And he even enjoyed the pumpkin tortellos, the local speciality.
Have a nice day,
Nick
*Yes! I meant this one!
I have finally downloaded (and uploaded) all the remaining pictures I took in Mantova, Italy. You may view them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53877343@N02/
In one of them you can see the Hebrew and Russian covers of the first book of the trilogy.
Now, I'll summarize what he said at the first meeting.
-He talked about his works, said that he tries to create a realistic setting for the stories. In other words, the places he mentions in London are real places, unlike other fantasy books.
-He was asked about translations. He admitting not knowing what the translations of his works are like, the stories might be totally changed. He is in touch with some translators, for example the German ones, who ask for elucidations or inform him that a certain pun cannot be translated or appreciated in German and so they leave it out and compensate with something else, somehow. This is a demanding (but also rewarding) task for a translator, believe me, and a professional is never too thankful when an author shares his/her point of view with a humble translator (very few do).
-I asked a question: "You communicate a lot with your fans, you even have a forum* in which they can ask you questions and you are so kind as to answer (I also put forward a question, maybe you'll see it when you go back home). Do you do so just out of good manners, or do you use your fans' ideas for your works?". He said that mostly it is a matter of personal satisfaction: he spends days and weeks all alone in a small room writing, so having a chance to speak to someone is pleasant. Occasionally, he may consider a good idea put forward by a fan for one of his works.
-He mentioned "Heroes of the Valley", which, ironically, in Italian has been translated as "The Valley of the Heroes". He said he has always been fascinated by Scandinavian sagas, so he tried to write one. He deliberately altered the usual stereotypes, though, since the protagonist is not a tall, handsome viking but a little boy of unusually disgusting aspect.
-In his books there are no references to Nathaniel's parents. He is parent-less, we might say. This was necessary to remove all barriers: Nathaniel is free to do whatever he wants, he meant to investigate this. In "Heroes of the Valley", instead, he tried to describe a protagonist who is a rebel and, in some ways, is like Nathaniel (same age, for instance), but with both parent around. He travels, breaks the rules... But eventually has to go back home to his parents; this comparison between the two teenagers is quite interesting, I had never thought about it.
-They asked him if there will be a film about Bartimaeus. He said the idea was in the air some years ago, but it was too expensive, so it has come to nothing so far. In the future, though, a graphic novel will come out.
-They asked him if he is goint to write some more Bartimaeus stories. He mentioned "The Ring of Solomon", which will come out soon in some countries (he doesn't know when it will be published in Italy, although they already have an agreement). He has no idea whether he'll write any more Barti books, but he doesn't exclude that possibility, if he comes up with a good story.
-Finally, someone asked him why he was wearing a tee-shirt written in Italian, while we often wear tee-shirts written in English. Ironically, the words on his pink tee-shirt meant "Italian rescue team" or something like that. They asked him whether he had been rescued by an Italian team. He said he is simply a trendy person who likes Italian fashion.
If I remember anything else, I'll tell you. In general, I would like to say that Mr. Stroud proved to be a very pleasant chap. This cannot be taken for granted. I have worked for the Festival of Literature for 11 years and met many an author from all the five continents, some of them are nice, some of them do not seem to care about common people. Jonathan just looks like the kind of guy you would like to have a pizza with. And he even enjoyed the pumpkin tortellos, the local speciality.
Have a nice day,
Nick
*Yes! I meant this one!
Multa non quia difficilia sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus sunt difficilia (Seneca).
