Bits, Bobs, Blog

Where inspiration comes from is always something of a mystery, but Wishes Come in Threes is a novel where I can pinpoint exactly how the idea came into being. It happened in two parts. With about three years between them. The first came on a family holiday in Austria. My daughters had been watching theContinue reading “Where do ideas come from? The inspiration behind Wishes Come in Threes”

The short answer is I had children. The slightly longer answer is this: Once upon a time – between 2015 and 2021 – I had five novels published for adults. During that time I was working in advertising, my wife worked in media and we were raising a young family. It was tough and carvingContinue reading “WHY I STARTED WRITING FOR CHILDREN”

Here’s the first line to my new novel: Adam has been dying for eight weeks now, but he isn’t getting any better at it. I think that’s a pretty good line, and I feel comfortable saying as much because I didn’t write it. Not really. In sixteen words, this line introduces us to the heroContinue reading “Walking a Tightrope”

Have you ever had that conversation with a loved one? The one where you discuss who you would prefer to die first? It’s a bit morbid (okay, entirely morbid), but it’s romantic too. It’s about love more than it is about death. You’re watching some TV show when one of the protagonists is hit byContinue reading ““I Hope You Die First.””

Someone will ask me what my new book’s about. “It’s about two couples who swap partners for the night,’ I say. And then I count and wait for the inevitable response: 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . “It wasn’t inspired by real life, was it?” And they laugh, nervously.Continue reading “The Inspiration for a Debauched Story”

Short video of me discussing my latest novel: “a feel-good book about dying.”

I was invited to speak in front of a group of aspiring writers a while back. All adults, all invested enough in their ambition to turn up to the basement of a pub somewhere on a Wednesday night. It was summer, a warm evening and they could have been anywhere else – upstairs in theContinue reading “Sorry About That”

CAUTION: There be spoilers ahead! 1. Alistair is the least sympathetic character in the book. But did he achieve redemption in the end? 2. From one perspective, Faye is the least ‘powerful’ character in the story. How does that power shift throughout the course of the story? 3. What happens to Mike and Sally afterContinue reading “FOUR: Reading group questions”

It’s the question every writer dreads: “Where do you get your ideas from?” Because the honest answer is usually: “I haven’t a bloody clue.” But with my latest book, I know exactly where the idea came from. It’s so obvious it’s painful. Or should that be the other way around? I’d just finished my fourthContinue reading “A Daunting Idea”

I’ve been asked a few times to list my 10 favourite books. But how do you choose only 10? The 10 books I would save if the house was burning down? The 10 that I would recommend to a friend? Or 10 I would choose to read again if they were to be my last?Continue reading “My Favourite Books (today)”

Q&A for the WH Smiths Blog (I know, the glamour!) Q: The Two of Us is a love story but it’s not a story about falling in love. Where did the idea first come from? A: I was thinking about what happens after Happily Ever After. After the traditional happy ending. What happens, for example,Continue reading “A Staying in Love Story”

Something I wrote for Foyles on the publication of my novel ‘The Trouble With Henry and Zoe.’ I didn’t make a deliberate decision to write a ‘romantic book’ after the birth of my first daughter. But I wrote one anyway. . . Read the rest of the article here: http://www.foyles.co.uk/Blog-Andy-Jones