When we heard that Paige Toon was writing a sequel to the fabulous Johnny Be Good, we knew we had to post about it in some way. We interviewed Paige last year - where she mentioned she might write a sequel to JBG as her fifth book, so it’s good to get confirmation - therefore we decided to ask Paige to write us a guest post about her books, about Johnny Be Good and about why she feels it’s important to bring back her previous characters in her new books! Take it away, Paige!
I can’t believe I’m an author of four books. It seems like only yesterday that I got a book deal and suggested to my publisher that I write Lucy in the Sky in three months – with a full-time job. I’d dreamed of being an author ever since I was a very young girl, but by the time I reached my twenties, I started experiencing this agonising fear that it would never happen. Getting that book deal at the end of September 2006, and subsequently writing my debut novel, was one of the happiest times of my life. In the end I wrote Lucy in the Sky in two-and-a-half months. We published it just four months later in April 2007.
Now it’s summer 2010 and I’m working on my fifth book, but Lucy in the Sky will always have a special place in my heart. For that reason I decided to revisit the world of Nathan and Lucy in my new novel, Pictures of Lily. I always felt that Nathan and Lucy had had their happy ending – and they didn’t need a whole sequel to themselves, but I also never wanted to say goodbye to them completely. I live and breathe every single one of my characters – so much so that they feel real to me. I like to think of them living in this parallel universe and it’s nice to drop in on them from time to time to see what they’re up to. I hope the readers of Pictures of Lily agree.
But Pictures of Lily is not about Nathan and Lucy; it’s about a girl called Lily, who can’t forget the one that got away. The prologue sees her boyfriend propose to her, but her first thought is of the man she fell in love with ten years ago when she was just sixteen. We flashback to then and discover why things didn’t work out for them, and then it’s back to the present, where Lily is living in Sydney and is friends with Lucy, Nathan, Sam and Molly from Lucy in the Sky. Her boyfriend, in fact, is Richard, Nathan’s builder buddy who you might remember travelled to England with him a few years ago.
All of my books tie in to each other – even if it’s just in some small way. The heroine of my second book, Meg, had a small part in Lucy in the Sky – she was Lucy’s stepbrother Tom’s girlfriend at the time. My second novel, Johnny Be Good, featured a conversation between Meg and Tom where she asked after Lucy. My third book, Chasing Daisy, tied into Johnny Be Good and answered one question in particular that my readers were dying to know – but it wasn’t a proper sequel. Then there’s Pictures of Lily, which gives a nod to all three previous books.
My fifth book, however, IS going to be a sequel – the sequel to Johnny Be Good. I always intended to write it – there’s still so much to be said – and I hope my readers enjoy hearing what became of Meg, Christian and Johnny after we left them on that cliffhanger.
I’ve only just started working on it, and Johnny hasn’t yet made an appearance, but I’m dying to write about him again. Meg and Christian are now living in the South of France with their blond-haired, green-eyed son, who has no resemblance whatsoever to his so-called dad. It took Meg a while to realise, but she’s now absolutely certain that the biological father of her one-year-old son is not her boyfriend Christian, but world-famous rock star Johnny Jefferson. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Christian will discover the truth, and she’s living in constant fear. Her character has become older and wiser – a little more jaded – but there’s still a lot of love and laughter to be found in her.
I always know in advance how my stories will pan out – and how they’re going to end up – but I won’t spoil things for you by giving away the ending. I will reveal however that I have no plans for a ‘threequel’, so I hope fans of Johnny Be Good will be satisfied with the ending! That’s not to say I won’t revisit the characters from time to time in future books – I’d miss them if I didn’t!
When I first picked up Since I Don’t Have You by Louise Candlish a couple of years ago, I had no idea how much I would love. I did love it, and it would rank pretty far up on my list of favourite ever books. So when I received a copy of Louise Candlish’s new book, Other People’s Secrets, to read I was thrilled. I’ll be reviewing it on Friday, but we also got the chance to ask Louise some questions, so here is her interview. Enjoy!
