20/09/07 - Christina Jones
We were delighted to welcome Christina Jones to Sandhurst Library on Thursday 20 September 2007. The format of the evening was a Q&A with Branch Supervisor, Helen Snow asking questions.
Christina described her working class upbringing by teacher mother, and circus clown father as a “cosy, happy childhood” which has very much influenced her writing. Her books, which she calls “bucolic frolics” are safe reads which end happily.
From an early age Christina loved writing and wrote as a hobby. She didn’t have aspirations to be a novelist, indeed she didn’t think that a working class person could be a professional writer. Christina’s first break came at age fourteen when a magazine published one of her stories and paid her 13 guineas! She continued to get stories published in magazines and this led to Christina being approached by a literary agent.
Christina told us that she has never had any formal training in writing, she “writes as she speaks”. Before she can start a new book, she has to have the title. Whilst she doesn’t know the ending in advance, she knows it will be happy. All her heroines have a bit of her in them, though she realises that she can’t make them all animal loving vegetarians! Of her own books, her favourite is ‘Stealing the show’.
As well as writing, Christina is a big reader of crime and thriller novels. Her favourite author is Peter Robinson.
Christina’s new book, “Heaven Sent’ was published on 23 August.
- Jo Middleton
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