Not Even A Single Thing Can Stop My Passion For Writing

Jane Green’s non-fiction books made her career to be known, as she said that the place she found her solace and joy was within the pages of books.

LONDON - 27 March 2023

Jane Green is the New York Times bestselling author of one cookbook (Good Taste), and nineteen novels, including the huge hits Jemima J., and The Beach House. With over ten million books in print in over twenty five languages, she is credited as being one of the founders of the genre, "chick lit".

She has had her own show on BBC Radio London, is a current storyteller for The Moth, was a correspondent for ABC News for the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, and is a regular guest on radio and television.

She has been featured in People, Newsweek, USA Today, Glamour, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and Cosmopolitan amongst others, and lives in Connecticut with her husband, six children, 2 dogs, 5 cats, and 6 chickens.

Which writers — working today do you admire most?

Anyone who keeps on writing as their main career, despite the lack of support from publishers. It has become a brutal industry, and I have found it utterly demoralizing. I will always write, but after twenty one novels, writing has had to become my side hustle rather than my main gig, which I never would have expected.

Who are your favorite writers? Are there any who aren’t as widely known as they should be, whom you’d recommend in particular?

I will read anything Cathleen Schine writes, same for A.M. Homes, Jean Hanff Korelitz and Stephen Macauley. They are each wonderful writers who deal with similar themes - disparate, quirky people who unwittingly come together to form a family of choice.

What do you read when you’re working on a book? And what kind of reading do you avoid while writing?

I tend to avoid fiction when I’m working, nervous of unintentional plagiarism. Reading memoir and biography will often inspire parts of the story I’m writing, so I tend to stick to non-fiction when I’m writing. 

What genres do you especially enjoy reading? 

I love memoir, and literary fiction with a commercial bent.

Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine? 

Catherine in Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido, which remains my most favorite book of all time. Her strength and fragility, following her roller coaster journey through life brings me immeasurable pleasure, no matter how many times I read it. 

What kind of reader were you as a child? 

A voracious one. Like so many of us authors, I was a child who was slightly on the outside, who never felt like she fitted in. The place I found my solace and joy was within the pages of books. 

Which writer would you want to write your life story?

I don’t think my life story is nearly interesting enough to become a book. Which means it would require someone with a very overactive imagination and a lack of ethics.

What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. It is like visiting old friends. 

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

Far too many of the classics to mention, including Ulysses and the Iliad.

What do you plan to read next?

Devil Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, although there is a biography of Peter Beard that is whispering my name very loudly.

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*Dear Jane Advice Columnist for Dailymail.com