1--What is the title of your latest release?
JOE NUTHIN'S GUIDE TO LIFE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Joe Nathan is a neurodivergent young man who lives with his mum Janet. She’s done her best to help him become independent and she’s written two books for him: the blue book of advice (the practical stuff) and the yellow book of advice (guidance on stuff like love, friendship and fighting). Joe is surrounded by a small cast of characters who love and look out for him, but Mean Charlie at work calls him Joe-Nuthin and Joe makes it his mission to make Charlie like him.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
When the idea of Joe Nuthin first came to me, Joe’s workplace was going to be a huge factory, but I liked the thought of him being in a bright superstore. I knew the light and the way the store is organized around a mosaic of a compass in the center of the store would appeal to Joe’s OCD. I knew he’d thrive on keeping the shelves tidy and returning the “go-backs” - trolleys full of items that have been put in the wrong place by customers. The house Joe lives in is based on my best friend’s childhood home, where I wished I lived.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I think Joe would let me hang out to watch FRIENDS with him, and I’d love that.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
organized, kind, interesting.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That I can write a book with a cast of characters that emulate everything good and wonderful about people, while I am in the depths of depression.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I like my writing to be clean as I write. I edit afterwards, but it’s mainly a read-through and a tweak, nothing too major.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
potato chips and dips. If I had no willpower I would be eating all the time.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Where I write is the smallest bedroom in my house, with a large desk (our old dining table), which overlooks the side of the pub next door, although there is a tree in the way, which I sometimes watch the birds in. There’s a tall wooden bookcase in here, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a trunk full of clothes I rarely wear. It’s bit messy, but not too bad. My chair is mustard yellow and a bit more beautiful than it is comfortable.
10--Who is an author you admire?
David Nicholls, I loved Sweet Sorrow and his most recent, You Are Here. He writes “ordinary” people and dialogue brilliantly.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
When I was a kid I read The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, by C S Lewis and it stunned me. I had no idea that reading could be so immersive and magical. I have loved many books since, but that book catapulted me into the magic of reading.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Joe Nuthin is part of a 2-book deal and for some reason my original second book didn’t get to the book-store shelves, I don’t really know why. So, I wrote another book and then another. And they didn’t get taken-up either. So, when I wrote Joe Nuthin I’d completely lost my confidence and my joy of writing. I was incredibly depressed and didn’t think the publisher would take it. So, when they did, I was very, very surprised and happy, but probably a bit too depressed to feel much more than intensely relieved.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Uplit, which is what I write – deep issues, examined in an everyday way, ultimately hopeful and uplifting. I also love the retelling of Greek Myths from a feminine perspective, like Circe by Madeliene Miller.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
For years and years, it was Sleepless in Seattle, I still love that film and films like it. My favourite genre is “based-on-a-true-story” especially if there’s a sporting or music element. So, I love Bohemian Rhapsody, the film about Freddie Mercury and Queen.
15--What is your favorite season?
Autumn if the sun is shining. I’m an October baby, maybe that’s why.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Oh, I want presents, cards, loads of messages, I want people to make a fuss, even if it’s in a small way. I would feel special on my birthday, even if nobody said anything, although I can’t quite get my head around why. The last couple of years I’ve had a party on my birthday, and I might do that again this year. It doesn’t have to be a big party, more like a little gathering with my kids and partner, a few friends, plenty of drinks and pizza or a big pot of chili.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I like TV docu-dramas. Recently I watched Baby Reindeer which was the story of a man trying to make it as a stand-up comedian in England, who was stalked. It’s a challenging watch and utterly brilliant. The guy who was stalked wrote it, and he played himself in the lead role. It was brave, and I don’t say that often.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I like Thai, Chinese and Indian. I love takeaway food. I love cooking, but when you’re feeding people every day, it’s more like catering, which isn't quite so much fun.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Read and see friends. I have great friends and I like to meet over coffee and just talk everything through and keep totally up to date with them. I’m not a fan of small talk, so if we’re friends then I’ll know your secrets, and you’ll know most of mine.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
All my stories are completely different to each other, but I always write about the universal emotions of love, grief and hope, the need to connect with people and always, friendship. I try not to upset my readers too much, so they can expect to be left with a sense of hope at the end. On the way they’ll shed a tear or two, I hope, but hopefully they’ll smile and laugh too.
A thoroughly uplifting novel about a neurodivergent young man who unexpectedly builds a community and saves a friend in need by following—in a way only he can—his mother’s words of wisdom.
Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, good at his job, good at making things and at following rules, and he is learning how to do lots of things by himself.
Joe’s mother knows there are a million things he isn’t yet prepared for. While she helps to guide him every day, she is also writing notebooks of advice for Joe, of all the things she hasn’t yet told him about life and things he might forget.
By following her advice, Joe’s life is about to be more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.
Women's Fiction Friendship | Fantasy Magical Realism [Gallery Books, On Sale: May 28, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781982142704 / eISBN: 9781982142728]
Helen Fisher spent her early life in America but grew up mainly in Suffolk, England, where she now lives with her two children. She studied psychology at Westminster University and ergonomics at University College London, and worked as a senior evaluator in research at the Royal National Institute of Blind People. She is now a full-time author.
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