I promised my publicist I wouldn't actually sit on their laps
I have a friend who says being an author is basically being paid to be disappointed once a year. There have been years when, I have to admit, I have almost agreed with him.
This is not one of those years.
Perhaps it should have been. I began my ninth novel – Six Month Contract – out of contract. It is fair to say that even when starting it I knew the book would not be an “easy sell”. Books about quadriplegics tend not to be, especially when you throw in the words ‘carer’ and ‘Dignitas’. When I tried to describe the plot, people gave me the same look you give the woman who sings songs on the bus and tries to show you her socks.
Even when I finished it and Penguin – that iconic publisher – bought it, I still felt anxious. There were brow-furrowed discussions about how best to pitch it. “This may be the book that kills my career!” I would joke to friends. And a little muscle would tick in my jaw and my voice would go a little bit too high.
Can you feel my nerves from there? You can?
Today, eighteen months after I finished it, I sat on a sofa under studio lights discussing it with Richard and Judy. Yup, the Richard and Judy. Because Me Before You, as 6MC is now titled, has made it onto the R&J book list for Spring 2012 and I’m having one of those rare moments where you feel so nauseatingly delighted and grateful you could do an actual free-form Dance Of Joy*.
As any author will tell you, the R&J list is, even without the television show, the biggest possible boost to a novel. But more importantly – it’s RICHARD AND JUDY. I watched them when I was a student, when I worked nights, pinned to a sofa as a nursing mother. These days I follow Richard on Twitter (he tested me on Binky’s epic scaling of unopened letters) and I tried very hard not to make a complete gushing arse of myself.
I failed.
Because this is the thing about Richard and Judy: if you are of a certain age, you think you know them. You’ve read about Judy’s womanly ops, and you’ve winced at Richard’s cheesy jokes and you’ve scorched your eyeballs with his Ali G impression and it’s like meeting members of your family. Iconic members of your family. Members of your family that make you sweat with nerves. (‘Why are you so nervous?’ My husband had asked that morning. ‘You’ve met far more famous people.’ Me (incredulous face): ‘It’s RICHARD AND JUDY’)
I told myself this was stupid. I asked myself: What would Sebastian Faulks do? (answer: not say the word ‘arse’ within thirty seconds and get mildly hysterical when the microphone dropped down his top).
But, like the absolute professionals they were, they warmed me up with five minutes of friendly chat and then, on camera, talked knowledgeably and with enthusiasm about the book. They used the word ‘quadriplegic’ without fear. Judy (who has enviable hair, btw) said it made her both laugh and cry. They wrote nice things in my copy and joked about finishing their own books (they are both writing novels). They were, frankly, exactly as you would expect from their screen personas. I came out beaming, and without once involuntarily blurting out OHGODILOVEYOUBOTH.
I can’t really say anything else about today that won’t make me sound like even more of an idiot than I already do. My gushing adoration of Jilly Cooper during an interview last year showed me that when faced with one of my idols I will never be a ‘cool’ person (and I have to face the fact that this will now be evident on film).
But discussing the book that should have killed my career with Richard and Judy (RICHARD AND JUDY!) showed me that yes, publishing can often mean being paid to be quietly disappointed. And that every now and then, if you’re lucky, you have a moment that makes you feel like anything is possible.
The book is out now. I hope you enjoy it.
...other good books are available
*I may have done such a dance. So shoot me.
I’m so so thrilled for you Jojo, this book deserves to be a number 1 best seller.
As for Richard and Judy, well who doesn’t love them? I’ve also been known to turn into a grinning buffoon when met with someone that I’m a fan of *cough*, seems I’m in good company.
Wishing you heaps of success. Nic x
Such fabby, fabby news. Grinning for you, Jojo.
i absolutely LOVED this book, once i started i literally could not put it down, took me seven hours (straight) much to my husbands dismay but just totally enthralled!!! i am a registered nurse, the book made me feel feel sad, happy and i cried as well.. i love, love, LOVED it!!!
Hello,
I just finished this book today and cried for the best part of 10 minutes towards the last chapter. It is one of the best books I have read in a while and I felt as though I were the 4 person, in with Will, Clark and Nathan!!
I am now looking online for other books written by you. I have recently lost my job and found this book uplifted me in the sense that there are people that still want to do the “right” thing. characters or otherwise!
Please do keep writing!!
Alexa Summers
magralex@yahoo.co.uk
Thanks Tam – very kind of you to say so – and glad it passed the nursing test!
And thanks Alexa – glad you found it uplifting. And good luck with the job-hunting.
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Hi
I bought this book yesterday evening and finished it about 3 hours ago. So well-written, i had tears rolling down my cheeks and still feel like crying.
I had a lot of empathy for the characters. I have been in love with a man with a chronic illness for several years. He stubbornly refuses to be with me as wont put the burden of his illness on me. Its breaking my heart. I identified with a lot in your book. It also made me realise that he is unlikely to change his mind.
Hi Karen. I’m glad you got something out of the book – and I’m so sorry for the tough position you are in. Not knowing you or him, I can’t presume to offer advice, but I truly hope things get easier for both of you.
All best wishes
Jojo
I have just blubbered my way to the end of ‘me before you’. Thank you for such an amazing journey.
How can I buy Me Before You in the US?
I read Me Before You last week and loved it. It has made me think about my own views like no book has in a long time. I had to order it from amazonuk and wait approximately 18 days for it to finally arrive in my greedy paws in Pennsylvania!
I am two thirds of the way through Me before You and only wish I didn’t have to work for a living so I could finish it!
It is made to be dramatised. Have you had anyone approach you? I can just see Benedict Cumberbatch as Will….
I bought, read and finished Me Before You yesterday, and cried myself to sleep last night. I am still upset today. Thank you for such a beautiful, painful story
I heard about this book via the Richard and Judy spring read 2012. I read it yesterday, strainght through in one go. It is the best book I’ve read for a long time. You have a new fan!
Hello Jojo,
Just wanted to say a big thank you for writing such a wonderful book. I loved the characters, I laughed and I cried like never before. This book will stay with me forever and I’ll make sure all my friends read it!
Hi Jojo,
A beautiful story that humbled me aswell as making me sob buckets!!! Makes you realise how you take your abilities for granted. I have insisted my 14yr old, teenage son reads it. I can’t help feeling that I didn’t want the story to end and hope you consider a sequel. I would love to know what Clark does next in her life.
Thank you for giving us something so special to read.
Hi Jojo, just finshed reading Me Before You – what an amazing book. I loved the characters, you described them so well, I could visualise them. Loved the banter between Will and Clark. A book I could read again and again and still be enthralled. It changed the way I thought about a lot of things, including thinking outside the ‘square’. I can understand why Will did what he did, but it broke my heart as well as Clarks! I have recommended it to so many people and now I am searching for other books written by you. Thank you for such an amazing experience.
I finished reading this on a long-haul flight. I cried so much the air hostess came over to check I was ok!
I didn’t for one second think the ending would be as it was – it was both wonderfully and horribly unpredictable. But very impressive that you make the reader agree and appreciate why Will does it, whilst desperately hoping that he doesn’t!
Amazing book, am distributing it amongst my friends now.
Nadine and RachelKiwi – thank you. Sorry for late reply!
Kerry – it will be out in the US either late this year or early next. I’ll make sure I post it on here when I have a publication date.
Suzie – I have had a meeting about just this issue today. Watch this space…
Genevra, Eileen and Estelle – thank you!
Sarah – fascinated to know what a teenage boy would make of it…
Keryn and Kelly – thank you. V happy to hear that.
I just had to leave a comment about your book. I read it, then read it again. It has made me sit up and really see this world we live in. Everything looks so much brighter and so much fresher. Music means so much more than just ‘sound in the background’
The characters in your book are SO real ! I have never actually been touched to the core by a death in a book as much as I was reading this, it was so real !!
Every emotion is felt reading your book, you really have a precious gift to be able to move people in such a way through the power of your words.
Will we be seeing more of Clark ? I would love to know how she gets on in her new life.
Love the book so much I don’t want it to end!! Have cried buckets already and that’s before I read the end of it. If it is dramatised, please don’t let them spoil it by changing the ending for a “Hollywood” happy ending as has happened to other books in the past. Hope you do write a sequel so we can find out what happens to everyone afterwards and the effect Will’s decision has on them all. Thank you for writing about a very thought provoking subject.
Absolutely loved this. I felt so connected to the characters, i just sat and sobbed last night when i read the end. I’m so glad that in the short amount of time it took me to read the book – i couldn’t put it down!- i got to be transported into another world, with other people and it made me feel so very grateful for everything i have. I love your writing, but this was simply amazing!
What a wonderful book! I absolutely loved it! I live in US and had to order it on
AmazonUK. Unforgettable characters, I can’t stop thinking about them. I can’t even think about reading anything else for a while. Thank You JoJo. You are my favorite
writer.
I bought this book becuase it had a competition attached to it here in NZ _ a couple of months late I have just gotten around to reading it – its one of the most amazing novels I have read – it’s hard to find a good book where you actually feel like you are right there with them – this book does that – it’s sad and happy and all in a good way becuase it makes you think. Having a son with a disability some of it made me angry especially earlier on when they were at the races – but its a fabulous read – loved it and look forward to reading more of your books
I have just finished reading ME BEFORE YOU, and wished it would never end!!
It is so beautifully and sensitively written that the characters come alive one the pages, you can truly picture them. I strongly agree that this book is a film waiting to happen-it is amazing. This is the first Jo Jo Moyes book I have read and I
am now eager to read more. Thank you for this insightful book that leave you
deep in thought for days afterwards. The only other book that did that for me,
was My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, but I never found another of her books to match that one. I am certain however, that Jo Jo Moyes will not disappoint!!
I have been trying to buy “The last Letter from My Lover”, but it appears to be out of print? Do you know where I can get it or if you will be re-printing sometime soon?
Many thanks xx
I completely and utterly loved this book. The people on the train must have thought I was having some sort of a breakdown as I laughed out loud and wept into my tissue all within the space of about 40 minutes. It was absolutely brilliant. I just didn’t want it to end, OH gosh I’m just welling up thinking about it again. Thank you Jojo.
ps. Benedict Cumberbact for Will is a GREAT shout.
pps. A book has never made me cry before. This made me BLUB.
You did not come across as nervous or overwhelmed at all. I love R & J and have done so since I taped “This Morning” and watched it back when I got home from work:)
Just reading your book now- my sister in law gave me her copy and my brother read it in just few sessions. Its brilliant and I am loving reading it- such an emotive subject that is so well observed and imagined. I’ll be sorry to leave it,( am at the point where the Traynor’s agree to Lou’s requests for helping Will see the world), but thank you, and well done. Clever lady you are. Am spreading the word…
OMG. I absolutely love this book ‘ Me before You ‘, I have never read a book that i couldn’t put down. I was so engrossed , that i felt i was falling in love with Will also, he was so charming. I cried so much, even the day after i finished it and was telling my daughter about it. This would make a great film. Absolutely BRILLIANT. well done. x
Thanks for your lovely comments. I’m so glad you’re still enjoying it. I’d LOVE Benedict Cumberbatch as Will. I hoped to have exciting news on the film front, but as these things go, it’s proven a bit complicated. But thank you for your kind words – and I’ll try to check in on this page more often!
This is a truly lovely love story and a week on am still involved in its sadness and joys. Loved the humour. Great book – how do you inhabit such a story and still run a normal life!?
Would just like to say I adored Me Before You. I finished it in 2 nights which is very rare that I find a book that I just could not put down….totally engrossed from start to finish. Loved the characters and could actually visualise them as reading…being made into a film came into my head right from the start. I cried and cried and still am even now. Inspiring, funny, heartbreaking.. Am now a converted Jojo fan….well done x
Hi, just read this book in one day for my book club tomorrow night….such a good read and thought provoking….I loved all the characters …especially Lou’s family….the last chapter really got to me and not ashamed to say I shed a few tears reading it….well done for tackling such a sensitive issue.
My goodness, you are now one of my favourite Authors. I have just read my third novel written by you in a matter of a few weeks. One of them was, Me Before You. I have been blown away by them all. Every one of them so far has captivated me beyond belief. I am now going to try and slow down with reading the others you have written so far. I need to savour the rest as I know you wont be able to write them as quickly as I am reading them presently. Thank you so much for such sumptuous, wonderful stories!
I loved these characters and had to read the book in two evenings. Please, please what do you mean by the title?