FTL, as I call it, was one of those lucky things. The idea for the twist at the end of the story came to me out of the blue. I wrote about 80 pages and a detailed synopsis of the rest and an agent became interested in it and sold it to Orion in a very good two-book deal. It has also been sold to 22 countries round the world... just signed a contract for Lithuania!
It got a lot of critical acclaim and attention and more than either of my other two books, but still, Hester’s Story did better (in paperback it ended up on the bestseller lists) and it’s too early to tell with Made in Heaven. Hester’s Story has sold to about 10 countries and Made in Heaven to about five so far, though this may change with time, especially if it does well in paperback here.
What do you think made it so popular? In terms of how, they have been received, how do the subsequent novels compare to Facing the Light?
You can publish anything you like but you can’t make people buy it in huge quantities. If there was a sure-fire way of doing this, all books would cover their advances but they don’t!
I think Facing the Light was popular because it combined a family story with a mystery. People do like to have a secret they have to find out. Hester’s Story has been very well received, in terms of the feedback I’ve had... also had very good reviews. Made in Heaven has had hardly any reviews but I’ve had lots of people say they like it best of all... it’s quite different from the other two, and is about a family preparing for a big wedding.
The biggest difference between writing for children and adults is the length of the book.
Article comments
1 - L. Diane Wolfe
Adele's trick of starting every day by correcting the previous day's work is great advice! If inspiration isn't hitting at the time, editing previous work gets it going. And there is always editing to do! I have three stages I work in - handwriting the initial story, putting it into the computer, and editing a printed hard copy - so I have options for getting my creative juices going in the morning!