Us in the Before and After

About Jenny Valentine

Jenny Valentine is an award-winning writer for Young Adults. Her first novel Finding Violet Park won the Guardian prize in 2007 and since then she has written many books, including Broken Soup and Fire Colour One, as well as young fiction series Iggy and Me. Her work has been published in 19 countries. In 2017 she was the Hay Festival International Fellow, spending the year meeting and learning from teenagers all over the world. She works to empower and give a voice to young people. She lives all over the place and has two daughters.

A Q&A with Jenny about her first novel, Finding Violet Park

Cool name!
I owe the showbiz name to my husband!

This is your first book, have you always wanted to be a writer girl and how did you make it happen?
My mum bought me a notebook when I was about nine that looked like a novel on the outside. I had to put the title and the author on the front and then fill it with a story. I knew then. I am not sure exactly how I made it happen - I put the work in I guess.

What was your favourite book as a teen girl?
Such a hard question! I read a lot and I always wish I had made lists of all the books I loved. One that stands out would be The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

For people who haven't read your book yet - Finding Violet Park, what's it all about?
It's about a boy who finds an old lady's ashes in a mini cab office and decides to find out who she was. He learns a lot of other things while he's doing it.

Lucas is a great narrator, what made you write from a boy's perspective?
No idea! He just jumped out, fully formed, in about the second sentence. I'm not sure I had that much choice in the matter.

Secrets are a big part of the book, what's your biggest secret?
Good try!

If the book had a soundtrack, what would be on it?
Well, Lucas listens to all his Dad's old records so there'd be some early David Bowie, some Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, maybe Rolling Stones. Then there'd have to be some piano pieces for Violet to play, Rachmaninov gets played at Lucas's granny's. Then Lucas's own choices might be Sufjan Stevens, Will Oldham, and a song from my husband Alex Valentine's record TARDIS HEART. It's called SORROW and as soon as I heard it I said I'd want it in a soundtrack if I was ever lucky enough to get one.

Apart from your own, what's your favourite book for teens?
Holes by Louis Sachar. I love that book. I think it's perfect.

What's the best thing about being a writer?
Finding the exact word you've been searching for.

Do you have a writing routine, Jenny? Tell us about it¦
Well it's very un-HELLO! I drink coffee, I have a walk by the river with our dog, I sit down and I re-read some of what I did the day before. Then I get going. Sometimes I look up and three hours have gone by, sometimes it's like getting blood out of a stone. I think it helps to have no routine at all, just to go with it, see how it's working.

What's next in the world of JV?
I'm working on my next book. It should be out next year. I can't tell you what it's called yet because I don't know. I'm very indecisive.

The colour pink. Discuss.
Let's see...bubblegum, fake fur, rose petals, cold noses, underwear, marshmallows, candy floss, lip gloss... how am I doing?!