Sep 27, 2016
What if some of the artists we feel as if we know –
Meryl Streep, Neil Young, Bill Murray – turned up in the course of
our daily lives?
That’s the basis of this collection of linked stories that
follow Rose McEwan, an ordinary woman who keeps having
extraordinary encounters with famous people.
Nora Parker, Merchandising Coordinator at Kobo, interviews Marni
Jackson, author of Don’t I Know You? Published by Flatiron Books in
New York.
In the interview, Nora and Marni discuss:
- Marni’s turn to fiction from her previous books such as
Pain: The
Science of Why We Hurt and Home Free:
The Myth of the Empty Nest
- The accidental manner by which these stories ended up
converging into the linked-stories novel that it became, starting
with a short story Marni wrote called “Bob Dylan Goes
Tubing” which was originally published in The Walrus in
September 2012
- How that same “Bob Dylan” short story was inspired by a
painting that her son created one afternoon when they were at the
cottage
- How Jackson choose who to include in the stories and how Rose
McEwan’s relationship to celebrity evolves throughout the
tales
- How Bill Murray is a great character in the book because of the
carefully curated and crafted persona of “Bill Murray” that he
deftly manages and uses to connect with his fans (or, to use a very
Canadian term, as Marni does: “Stick-handles” his fame in a really
interesting way
- The interesting relationship between celebrity and audience and
how the audience or fans actually “author” a celebrity’s fame
- The manner by which celebrities don’t necessarily exist “out
there” in the distance, but that they are very much a part of our
creative lives (ie, we may put on one of their songs while we are
having sex – a perfect example of how they are incorporated into
those intimate moments)
- The juxtaposition of the journalist in Jackson who enjoyed
documenting real elements from the celebrities in this book with
the fun and fictional encounters with Rose
- Jackson’s interest in our relationships with celebrities and
our relationship to fame rather than in the cult of celebrity
- The Al Purdy stage show project that Jackson is currently
working on based on the film al purdy was here which she
co-wrote that her husband, Brian D. Johnson, directed
- The concerns regarding the mention of famous people in the book
and the fact that Jackson’s lawyer went through it with her
line-by-line to ensure there was nothing that could be construed as
libelous or defamation of character
After the interview, Mark Lefebvre, Director of Kobo Writing
Life and Author Relations, shares some thoughts regarding Author
Branding, outlining some ways in which an author can ensure that
they are curating and presenting a consistent author persona or
brand out into the world. He draws upon a couple of examples that,
like in the Bill Murray reference Marni Jackson uses, are Canadian.
He uses his own example of the use of the life-sized skeleton
Barnaby
Bones that he employs for his Mark Leslie
horror/paranormal/ghost story author persona. He also explores Hugo
and Nebula Award winning science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer
who uses the “Dean of Canadian Science Fiction” element throughout
his persona, including the name of his website: SFWRITER.COM. As a final example, Mark
looks at the fonts uses in the title for the Netflix original
STRANGER THINGS and how that makes a promise to potential
viewers.
Other links of interest:
Marni Jackson's Website
Marni Jackson's Books on
Kobo
Flatiron
Books
The Walrus Magazine
Branding for Writers – from Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn