Monday 28 May 2012

Getting the next show on the road

A rat has little conscience. This one's not even going to apologise for his weeks' long silence.

He's just getting on with it, he says.


Elena Bossi and I met in Iowa, at the 2007 International Writers' Programme. We became friends and when it was time to part Elena suggested we work together on a project – a novel – in order to keep our friendship fresh in spite of language difficulties (mine: Elena's English is vastly superior to my Spanish).  We worked apart for a year or two, writing alternate chapters in our own language, having them translated, then putting the whole together to make a novel in each language. In 2009 Creative New Zealand awarded me a grant to visit Elena in Argentina, where we polished up our versions; checked facts, laughed a lot, sang Beatles songs, completed a solid draft of Amigas, then flew off to Tierra del Fuego.

The decision to publish one's own work is not straightforward. I'll say more about that soon. I'll talk with Elena on this blog about our process and who else has been involved. I'll tell you what's brewing in the way of book design and marketing. I'll keep Ratty busy.

4 comments:

Jayne said...

Oh, this reader is mighty intrigued! It sounds like Ratty won't have any spare time in which to find trouble! ;)

Penelope said...

That's right, Jayne. It's not easy to crack the whip at a rat but there is always cheese.

Tim Jones said...

I'm looking forward to reading Amigas! Will it be published in an English edition and a Spanish edition, or in one edition with both languages on the electronic equivalent of facing pages?

Penelope said...

Hi Tim, I'm about to answer your question in a blog. :-)