my interview with author jojo moyes, plus a book giveaway!

Jojo Moyes

JoJo Moyes wrote a guest post for me years ago, when her novel, The Last Letter From Your Lover, was published. I became an immediate fan and when Me Before You came out, it became one of my all-time favorite books.

I recently got to see her speak about her latest novel, One Plus One, at a luncheon at the Del Mar Country Club, which I covered for the Del Mar Times. It was a great event, and you can read my article about it here. You can win an autographed copy of her book just by leaving a comment below.

I got to spend time alone with Jojo afterwards, and she is so down to earth and so funny, it was like hanging out with a long-time friend. Here’s what our conversation sounded like (minus the parts I promised I wouldn’t write about!):

You know Iā€™ve been a fan for so long now.

Thank you! I remember writing that post for you.

And Iā€™m so happy to discover that there are books of yours I havenā€™t read yet. I didnā€™t know youā€™ve written 11 books!

Well, a couple of them are novellas.

Those count! How are you so prolific?

I think everyone has a natural speed that they write at, and once I start, Iā€™m pretty fast. The biggest problem for me is picturing the book in my head and working out where Iā€™m going to go with it. The one Iā€™m doing now is the slowest, and itā€™s the longest itā€™s taken me. I think itā€™s partly because thereā€™s so much other stuff going on. And, yeah, Iā€™m slowing down. I am slowing down. I can feel it. But I just donā€™t think anyone can carry on working at this rate. And Iā€™d kind of like a bit of time to enjoy the fruits of my success!

Yes, you should be celebrating!

Yes, this year Iā€™m going to take a bit better care of myself and maybe take a few more holidays. I had one week off last year.

Wow. And did you write every day other than that one week?

Not on weekends but often I was working on other stuff on weekends. One week off was not enough. It nearly killed me.

Jojo Moyes and Lois

Thatā€™s an exhausting schedule. It seems like it would be harder, too, because your books are all so different from each other. You donā€™t have one style or one time period you focus on. How do you come up with such a wide variety of ideas?

I think it comes down to my journalistic training from many years ago. You learn to see stories and to keep your eyes and ears open. My husband, God bless him, walks through life and he could not tell you whether the next door neighbor has moved out or somethingā€™s fallen from the sky. Heā€™s so focused on his world. Iā€™m one of those people who just wants to soak everything up. Iā€™m always trying to figure out what makes this person tick, what makes that one do what they did. My brain is constantly going. I always say if Iā€™m sitting in a room with two people, I can get two novels out of it.

Thatā€™s a real gift.

Itā€™s not. Itā€™s just called being really nosy!

Do you listen to peopleā€™s conversations?

All the time!

So we should watch out if weā€™re sitting at a table near you?!

I would never reproduce directly anything I heard but what it does is make me go, ā€œOh, I havenā€™t seen that kind of person beforeā€ or ā€œHmm, thatā€™s an issue I heard somewhere else. I wonder if this is a thing now.ā€ Last Letter came about because I was eavesdropping on people discussing text messages. I didnā€™t steal their words but it gave me a wider picture, especially since my cousin had just said sheā€™d never received a love letter and she was in her thirties. I thought, ā€œOkay, something has changed.ā€

And then you somehow tie them together?

Often, it takes months to figure out how to put them together. Like this book I was telling you about thatā€™s taken a long time to work out. I had a plot and I had a rough setting but something was missing. I couldnā€™t work out what it was. It wasnā€™t a book yet. And then I literally had a moment a couple of months ago when I woke up at half past five and went, ā€œThatā€™s whatā€™s missing!ā€ And since Iā€™ve been here in San Diego, something else popped into my head. Often, you need to let your brain be at rest before the thing actually just sorts itself out in the back of your head.

Exactly! I recently wrote a post about my writing process and how I do my best writing while Iā€™m sleeping. Thatā€™s when it marinates.

So true. So you would definitely get what I was talking about the subconscious. Itā€™s exactly that. Itā€™s marinating.

You wake up and it comes out but thatā€™s because youā€™ve been thinking about it constantly.

Yeah, your book is 40% cooking, 60% actual writing.

Do you tell your kids stories?

I used to when they were little. They loved it. Also, I make our animals into characters. When my littlest was a baby, he used to be King Baby and I would put him on my lap and move his arms around and say, ā€œIā€™m King Baby!ā€ and the other two would be in hysterics.

What about now?

One of the things we still do is talk about funny things that have happened in the family. They love it when we go over and over those stories. We keep those stories alive, which I think is important.

Do you think youā€™ll ever write a childrenā€™s book?

You know, I tried and I couldnā€™t do it. I think itā€™s one of those things everyone assumes they can do until they try it. Itā€™s really hard. I just donā€™t think I have the right tone for it. But you know what? Five years ago I was trying to write for radio and I couldnā€™t do it. I couldnā€™t hear it. Now I have quite a few radio stories on the BBC. Sometimes it just takes a while to unlock it. Itā€™s a completely different skill ā€“ like screenwriting is all about the visual. You need to kind of retrain your brain to see things in a different way.

Jojo Moyes books

Speaking of screenwriting, did you have to change a lot of the story of Me Before You for the screenplay?

Not a huge amount. What Iā€™ve had to do is cut quite dramatically which, you know, ā€œkill your darlingsā€ is not a statement by accident. Itā€™s a collaborative effort, and weā€™re in draft eleven. That should tell you how hard weā€™ve been working. Iā€™m hoping we’ve kept as much as we need for people to feel they havenā€™t lost anything in the story.

Iā€™m so happy youā€™re writing the screenplay. I canā€™t imagine how authors let someone else write their story.

It amazes me when people give it up freely. That book was so personal to me. I couldnā€™t hand it over. That being said, I was fully prepared if I rubbishing it that they would give it to someone else ā€“ and that was fair enough. But I just wanted a shot at it.

Readers are so passionate about Me Before You, it goes way past just loving the book. Whatā€™s been the most surprising thing to you about the publicā€™s reaction?

When the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation got in touch and said they wanted to support it, that was the biggest affirmation to me because I thought, ā€œOkay, they understand what Iā€™m trying to say.” I get so much email from people, and itā€™s a constant source of joy ā€“ the comfort and the kind of inspiration people take from it. And itā€™s so weird because you have no idea how a particular book is going to be received. I’m very grateful.

Letā€™s talk about other peopleā€™s books for a minute. I loved The Goldfinch as much as you did. What are some of your other favorite books or authors ā€“ or do you try not to read too much while youā€™re writing?

I do try to read a lot but I just literally fall asleep when I read quite often. Kate Atkinson is one of my favorites, and, of course, Barbara Kingsolver. Nora Ephron is my comfort read. I love George R.R. Martin. I love the Game of Thrones series.

Can you believe I havenā€™t read them?

Gasp! Fantastic characters. And a whole other world. If you’d have told me Iā€™d be reading fantasy and about dragons, Iā€™d say, ā€œYeah, right.ā€ Itā€™s genius. He is an actual genius. I watch the show, too, but I read the books first. If you start on the books, you have to be prepared to lose three months of your life because you canā€™t put them down.

Thatā€™s how I feel about your books! I canā€™t put them down!

Thank you so much! It was so nice to finally meet you in person.

For a chance to win an autographed copy of One Plus One, simply leave a comment below. For a second chance, Tweet this:

[Tweet “I want to win an autographed copy of “One Plus One” by @JojoMoyes. Enter here to win! #books”]

Contest ends on September 22 at midnight Pacific time. Winner will be notified by return email. Prize can only be sent to a U.S. mailing address.

80 thoughts on “my interview with author jojo moyes, plus a book giveaway!

  1. I think it is funny that she is not able to do children books – we all have our strong areas. I love that she is writing the screen play, when someone else does it for the author it ends up being so different from the book.

  2. Great interview! I’ve enjoyed all your book recommendations and you sound enthusiastic about this author’s books. I will definitely read what she’s written. Thanks, again, Lois.

  3. I just finished reading my latest book. I have been searching for the next one. This author may provide some good choices. The interview was great and I love the picutres.

  4. I have been looking for a new writer to read and this looks like one that I am really going to enjoy! I don’t know how I have missed these books before but I have a lot of catching up to do! Thanks so much for sharing her with us!

  5. I’m a huge fan of JoJo Moyes – loved the interview! I’m glad to know that she is writing the screenplay; I’d hate for a book I loved to be turned into a movie that wasn’t up to par.

  6. Oh now I am totally intrigued by how she describes her new book feels like a different process because “there is so much going on”. One of my favorite things about JoJo Moyes writing is how she makes complicated human interactions so clear. So if she thinks there is a lot going on, this one will be even better!

    I now have some new authors to look up as well! Thank you!

  7. Great interview. I’ve never heard of her or her books, but I look forward to reading them and getting to know her more! šŸ™‚ Thank you.

  8. I haven’t read her books, they sound very interesting. I love the interview and now when in public I’ll remember that people might be listening, then using my craziness as a character in a book..

  9. I have an author friend and hearing her schedule between writing, getting it edited, drafts, and then book touring and promotion – plus whatever else she has going on in her life – I don’t know how authors do it.

  10. I loved reading this interview! I can totally relate to the part about having a husband that is in his own world, while my mind works and deciphers at a mile a minute … writing is therapy! šŸ˜‰

  11. She sounds like an amazing author. 11 books is no joke! I am glad you got the chance to sit down with her for that insightful interview. I wish I had that chance with some of the people I admire

  12. So fun to get a peek into the mind of an author. I love that she has a background in journalism. That is what I got my degree in so I love to see what other people are doing with it!

  13. Have read one of her books for our Bookclub. Now I definitely would like to read more of her books. I am definitely a fan!

  14. I have heard such great things about her books! I read The Last Letter From Your Lover and loved it! Looking forward to reading the rest!! I also tweeted!!

  15. First read Ship of Brides, then Me Before You, then Night Music….and I hope to read them all. Love her style and subject matter.

  16. Am I still allowed to enter even if I didn’t like/couldn’t finish The Goldfinch? I did like Me Before You! Does that help? šŸ˜‰

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