tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post3914418068679003036..comments2023-10-21T21:54:39.121+13:00Comments on Tim Jones: Books in the Trees: An Interview With Penelope ToddTim Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856414700019368658noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-17841344324539022082010-06-16T12:24:14.468+12:002010-06-16T12:24:14.468+12:00Great interview, thanks Tim!
Hi Penelope! I'...Great interview, thanks Tim!<br /><br />Hi Penelope! I'm looking forward to reading <b>Island</b>! :-)Grace Dalleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11184423873725462269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-33823342895107895732010-06-03T19:31:05.700+12:002010-06-03T19:31:05.700+12:00I wrote my answer before seeing your latest commen...I wrote my answer before seeing your latest comment, Penelope - you have addressed Meliors' point far more eloquently than I! Dunedin's, Christchurch's, and Wellington's quarantine islands have a lot in common, which is presumably why they were selected for that purpose - similar size, similar distance from shore, and so forth. Is there such an island off the coast of Auckland?<br /><br />The close-to-real-time interaction between authors and readers is one of the things I like most about book blogging ... I got my copy of the latest issue of "New Zealand Books" in the mail today. It's a journal I like a lot, I've had a couple of poems and some good reviews of my books in it, and it serves a vital purpose as a "journal of record" - but I couldn't help noticing that at least one of the books reviewed was published in 2008. It would be wonderful to combine the permanence and authority of print with the immediacy of blogging.Tim Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856414700019368658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-72862060129535888362010-06-03T18:56:04.104+12:002010-06-03T18:56:04.104+12:00Thanks, Meliors and Kay.
Meliors - an interesting...Thanks, Meliors and Kay.<br /><br />Meliors - an interesting point, which Penelope alludes to in the interview. This may be a hard question to answer, but if you were an overseas reader, do you think the lack of specificity you found would concern you as much?<br /><br />Kay - my eyes are still turned south most of the time, but I do in fact have one or two interviews coming up from points north!Tim Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856414700019368658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-51208020196397305332010-06-03T16:59:00.973+12:002010-06-03T16:59:00.973+12:00Gosh, it's lovely to be able to discuss Island...Gosh, it's lovely to be able to discuss Island here with readers and might-be readers. Thanks Mary, Meliors and Kay, for responding. I was very interested to read of your sense of it, Meliors (and I'm delighted that you're spreading the word). I guess I took a risk, leaving the island slightly afloat in time and place, hoping the reader would make it their own. I suppose some will and some won't. One reader was convinced this was Somes Island which I've not set foot on. I'm sorry that my 'fictionland'(I like this term coined by Nigel Cox) didn't entirely convince you. Please point me to the anachronisms — in the faint chance I get to fix them for a reprint one day.:)Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557747956609276030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-91442913069945946512010-06-03T13:00:40.458+12:002010-06-03T13:00:40.458+12:00Love the interview Tim! And the comments re the &#...Love the interview Tim! And the comments re the 'invisibility' of southern writers is also interesting. You are certainly doing your bit to make sure the spotlight on writers no matter where they live or what they write, doesn't get stuck in one place but keeps revolving. Great job!Kay Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01791873464409271216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-42844077653261559702010-06-03T12:38:34.625+12:002010-06-03T12:38:34.625+12:00I picked up Island without any prior knowlege or e...I picked up Island without any prior knowlege or expectation and read it in one compulsive gulp, then immediately started recommending it to friends and family. My only concern with the novel is that it's too vague in geographic location and in historical time. Without particularities and with unexplained ananchronisms, it seemed almost more fantasy genre than historical. The lack of apparent anthenticity distracted me from the total submersion that my best beloved novels achieve, and so this almost, but didn't quite make it. A small quibble for a very good book. Thanks for putting my reading pleasure in context with this interview.Meliors Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11611510357627660124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-85618083628320821592010-06-03T12:11:23.300+12:002010-06-03T12:11:23.300+12:00Thank you, Penelope and Mary.
Penelope, that'...Thank you, Penelope and Mary.<br /><br />Penelope, that's very kind of you - if some of the plans you mention in the interview come to fruition, then I think that will "pass on the kindness" to quite a few NZ authors... or, on the other hand, you could just sign over all your royalties to me :-)<br /><br />Mary, I do think that southern authors receive less coverage than they should in North Island media: there may well be a gendered component to this as well. One of my aims in running my blog interviews has been to give some publicity to writers and genres (notably poetry, but also sf & fantasy) that don't get much coverage in the "mainstream literary media", if there is such a thing.<br /><br />(Though my main aim is to talk with writers whose work I like and whose writing careers intrigue me.)Tim Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856414700019368658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-91668003671130869762010-06-03T11:24:43.097+12:002010-06-03T11:24:43.097+12:00I am interested in Penelope's comments about t...I am interested in Penelope's comments about the invisibility of women writers especially those in the far south. I have been lucky enough to get to know some of these writers and their work through the Tuesday Poem site - and what riches I have discovered! The poems of Sue Wootton are an especially wonderful find. I also agree with Penelope that Ruth Pettis's novels should have had more recognition than they did. Her 'invisibility' is a tragedy. I had never thought of it being as a result of her gender and the place she chose to live - more due to her death, I guess, and her not being able to keep the book and her name out there... Food for thought.Mary McCallumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07482261103185786111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3264914780516321436.post-18328356088690773362010-06-03T11:18:56.105+12:002010-06-03T11:18:56.105+12:00Tim, thanks so much for giving your time, thought ...Tim, thanks so much for giving your time, thought and blog space for this interview. You're making me think hard about how I can pass on the kindness.Penelopehttp://www.penelopetodd.co.;nznoreply@blogger.com