I’m
really pleased to welcome one of my favourite authors to the blog today, Paige
Toon! The second book in her YA series, I
Knew You Were Trouble, was released yesterday by S&S. Read on to find
out about the research Paige does for her books.
Ever
since my first book, Lucy in the Sky,
I’ve liked to visit the places I’m writing about. It’s not always possible – in
Chasing Daisy, my characters travel
to every country on the Formula 1 circuit – so sometimes, internet research has
to suffice. But when I have been able
to walk in my characters’ shoes, see what they’ve seen and visit the places
that they’ve visited, my writing definitely feels more alive. Or so my readers
often tell me…
The Accidental
Life of Jessie Jefferson and its sequel, I
Knew You Were Trouble (out 30 July), are set partly in Maidenhead and
partly in the far more glamorous locations of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Researching Maidenhead was easy – I went to secondary school there – but researching
LA and San Fran… Well, that was fun. I first went to LA when I was writing my
second book, Johnny Be Good, about a
twenty-something girl called Meg who finds herself working as personal
assistant to bad boy rock star Johnny Jefferson. The Jessie Jefferson series is a spin-off from this book and its
sequel, Baby Be Mine, so it was easy
to visualise Johnny’s teenage daughter Jessie’s surroundings.
I
hope these research pictures help to bring the story to life for you…
1.
This is Santa Monica beach and the fairground where Jessie goes with her
half-brothers Barney and Phoenix on her first full day in LA. Johnny arranges
for the rides to be closed to the public.
2.
Here are the manicured gardens of Bel Air, home to lots of the rich and famous.
Johnny and also Jessie’s new LA friend – TV star Charlotte Tremway – lives
here. Picture Lottie’s legendary parties taking place behind those walls…
3.
The Skybar at The Mondrian Hotel is one of Jack’s sister Agnes’s favourite
hang-outs. When I went there, I thought the guy on the right looked a bit like
Johnny from behind…
4.
Here are the hazy lights of Downtown LA from up in the hills. Jessie sees this
view every night from Johnny’s pad – and she’d also see it from the back of her
dad’s motorbike.
5.
The Golden Gate Bridge only looks this bright in colour when the sunlight hits
it – and this is how Jessie saw it when she escaped to the beach with Jack on
the morning after the All Hype concert in San Francisco…
6.
Who can you spy out there on the waves? In I
Knew You Were Trouble, Jessie thinks Jack kite-surfing is one of the
coolest things she’s ever seen… The scenes that take place on this beach are
some of my favourites in the entire book. I’d love to hear if it’s the same for
you – so please tweet me @PaigeToonAuthor and let me know!
Note:
For more research pics for all of my books, please visit my website www.paigetoon.com
Thank
you so much Paige! Don’t forget to pick up your copy of I Knew You Were Trouble and the re-covered The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson.
Sophie
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