After the 5-events-in-5-days excitement of publication week, Mark Kermode and I have settled into a far more civilised promotion schedule for Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound: The Stories of Movie Music which is out now in all good bookshops – ideally, your local independent bookseller, bookshop.org or Hive.
We were delighted to talk about the book at Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, a charming event on the Devon coast. I hadn’t been to that part of the world before, and loved sitting by the pebbly beach, enjoying chips and a cup of tea while watching the waves. We stayed in a guest house where our fellow residents included – as the landlady excitedly told us on arrival – Larry Lamb who was in the room next door to mine. I didn’t meet him but apparently he braved the waters for a couple of sea swims.
Mark and I had been in Sherborne the previous evening at an event hosted by the brilliant independent bookshop Winstone’s, held at the Cheap Street Church. The Winstone’s team was so welcoming and we had a little tour of the shop beforehand, including the adorable children’s area wallpapered with Tintin and Asterix comics.
Our sold-out event at Budleigh Salterton took place in the St Peter’s Church – another great venue! It was chaired by Tim Hubbard who’ll also be moderating our Cheltenham Literature Festival talk on Friday 10th October. Tim’s a consummate interviewer, steering us gently along so we were able to cover a lot of ground and avoid too many tangents!
Authors are invited to dinner at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club after their events. Apparently the club has some of the best croquet lawns in Europe! Who knew?! The walls inside the clubhouse are covered in certificates and the all-important Seagull Trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece so clearly the folk of Budleigh Salterton have embraced their competitive streak. Authors, interviewers and festival staff all eat at a long table and I found myself sitting by Clare Clark and Paula Hawkins. As a relative newbie to the world of literary festivals – that is, attending as a speaker rather than a member of the audience – it was fun to find out about their experiences.
Mark and I have been so lucky with the audiences at our events so far and it’s been such a heart-warming experience meeting people at book signings afterwards. Lots of hellos to Jason Isaacs! During the audience Q&A’s we’ve been asked varied and insightful questions about film music and the impact a score can have on the viewer. I’m still trying to find a fitting example of a great film with a bad score…
Still to come this year, Mark and I will be discussing Surround Sound at:
Friday 10th October – Cheltenham Literature Festival
Saturday 18th October – Liverpool Literary Festival
Friday 7th November – Aesthetica Festival in York
With an extra date still to be announced!
