That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Adele Parks

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

Bestselling author and joy spreader, Adele Parks, joins Gaby for a natter. They talk about her books, creativity and love of life. Adele sadly lost a lot of people close to her at quite an early age, and that has made he live for the moment ever since. One of her greatest joys is writing, which is lucky in a way because she's published twenty-four books! We hope you enjoy this fun and uplifting chat, as much as we enjoyed recording it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adele Parks, you are a bundle of joy, so it's completely right that you are on reasons to be joyful. I want to say thank you on behalf of every million billion readers who've read your 2,500 books. Is it 24? It is, yes. For the words that you write and the ideas that you have and the characters that you brought us. You're adorable. Thank you so much. But the thing is, it's my pleasure. It really is my pleasure.

I would spin that straight back and say, I want to say thank you to my, I don't know if it is million billion, but all my readers for the exact same thing, for giving me their time, for giving me their trust and letting me entertain them. It's just what I always wanted to do. So it's just fabulous. I'm so lucky. You fed me the perfect question then, and it is a cliched question, but is it really all you wanted to do? Yeah, literally since I was a little girl, a librarian suggested to me that I might make a good writer. So what? I know how weird is that. So as a little girl, my sister's three years older than I am,

and it is the lot of the younger child to wait around for the much more interesting older child. So I would wait in the library, and my mum would be with me, and then she'd wait for my sister, finishing school, and we'd all walk home together. And in the library, I always took three books out, and obviously different children's books, picture books,

but I would read them that night and then take them back the next day. And I got right through the library very, very quickly. And the librarian used to joke about it and say, or you're the reidiest person I know, readiest little girl I know. I like that. Readiest. And she said, do you think one day

you might want to become a writer? And that was the lady who gave me the idea. Because that's how we get ideas. People suggest things that suddenly seem possible. If this adult who was in this job thought it was possible for me,

it suddenly seemed possible. And yes, I always wanted to be a writer. I had no idea how to do it other than just write. So that it seemed possible for a job is quite something when you're very little. Well, yes, I didn't understand that at first at all, and it is funny. So I said, actually, she said to me, would you like to be an author?

I didn't understand what the word author meant and had to admit that, which I was mortified about. That's lovely. It's quite funny, because of course a five-year-old isn't going to know. Between five and seven, I can't actually remember what age I was, but I know, knowing what school I was at, I had to be between those ages. And she said, you know, an author like Enid Blyton. and she rushed off and came back with this Enid Blyton book and Enid Blyton's signature is on the front of books even now and she said, you see, Enid Blyton sits at home writing these books for you

and honestly for many years I thought Enab Blyton was literally sat at home writing these books for me and I didn't really understand how everybody else was reading them. So kids are so mixed up but it did make me understand that this physical story in front of me, this physical book in front of me, had been written and thought of and imagined by someone else. And from pretty much then onwards,

I started writing little books that I used to sell to my grandpa for 10P. What did they say it? What are your family saying? What did your school teachers all say at this? My parents were excellent. They always encouraged us to be or do anything we wanted. I don't think they thought it was especially realistic,

but I don't think they thought it was especially unrealistic either. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. They weren't especially overly involved. They used to be, you know, sort of anything. want to you know off you go but it was very much up to me to to to often go my sister wanted to be a teacher and is a very excellent teacher so we used to play games where she would teach me and then I would write a book or a story and I would give it back to her and she would mark it and that was

quite fun she was obviously my first editor and I remember she was obsessed with Maori towers and I wanted to stay in her we moved house and we're in separate bedrooms and I was desperately upset and she was joyful and you see reasons to be joyful and I said to her, I know what the Maori Towers girls do in the holidays and if you let me stay in your room, I'll tell you. And I just made it up. I just made it up.

And she said, how do you know? And I said, oh yeah, I get this special letter from Enid Blighton. I just, everything I said was a fib. And I think they probably knew everything I said was a fib, but they just said, hasn't she got a great imagination? And I told my sister the stories of what they did in the school holidays and she loved it. And that's how it went.

Didn't tell her when at school. I told them I wanted to study English at uni, but I didn't tell anyone I wanted to be a writer. In fact, well, I thought I'd kept it quite to myself because I thought it was a bit vain, thinking that I had a skill that could possibly entertain. You know, the things I would write, I think they're funny because I've written them, but what if they're not funny

or what if they're not suspenseful or entertaining or whatever they had to be? And when I was at university, I went to Leicester University and there was a group of 40 of us that read English. and when I did years later when I was 30 get my contract I remember saying to people ringing them up and saying I've got a writer's contract and I know it'd be a big surprise because you didn't even know I wanted to be a writer and to the last person standing they just said oh for God's sake it out

every time you're drunk it's all you bang on about so they knew and also how embarrassing and they were just like why is that embarrassing that I was drunk and not knowing I don't mind what I do but you know it would have been better if I'd remember but I feel, yes. And so you said when you were 30 got your first contract? So in between leaving university around 21

and then, what did you do to make sure you got that contract nine years later? First of all, in a random 21-year-old, very joyful way, I went to Italy because if anywhere, Phil's who enjoy it's Italy, surely. I'd been on a holiday there once but I didn't really know the place, couldn't speak the language.

But I went to teach English as a foreign language there. On the grounds that Ian Foster had, and it had worked for him. And that was his run. It was so random. It worked for me. I just thought, you know, maybe I'll go there and something amazing will happen, and I'll come home and write about it, which is really unthought through, but absolutely fabulous. And I would encourage, I was going to say young people, but in fact, I would encourage anybody to just go.

If you want to go, go, go. Did it happen? Did I find something fabulous? I found lots of fabulous things. I found lots of fabulous things. But nothing that I came home and wrote about straight away. Mostly I found fabulous food. I learned, you know, I learned a lot about food.

That was amazing. Came home about twice my size. Fine. I learned about light and cities and I learned a little bit of the language. And I met lovely people. So it was amazing. How long were you there for? A year.

Wow. Okay. So, okay, that's a year. Yeah. So what happened to the next eight? I, yes. So then my dad kept sending me. And those days you had to have old letters, you know,

and posts and things. We didn't have an awful lot of money. So to keep in touch, our system was I would ring three times and put the phone down. And my mum would ring back three times and put the phone down. But we didn't actually speak on the phone because it was expensive. So I would receive actual physical letters. So was that the way to say, you know, we're alive? We're okay.

Yeah, we're alive. Hey, we're alive. We're good. Yes, my dad used to send me these letters. And jobs, you know, if the job is saying, here's a proper job. Have you thought of a job? Are you going to get a job? when are you going to get a job?

So I had, and I don't often talk about this because it's so confusing for two years. I had a series of very different jobs. All various graduate programs, I did six months in accountancy. I can't think there's anything I'm less suited to. And that was proven that we used to have a lot of exams. I think it was an exam about once a month.

And one exam, I handed in a poem instead of the exam. And the people were so lovely at this lovely accountancy firm. Sorry, you handed in a poem? About numbers? No, just about life that I'd written in the exam. And they said to me... Love that. Well, they didn't so much.

Bless them, there were such lovely people. There was another 11 in my cohort, and we had such a giggle. But when I handed in this poem, they did say to me, Adele, I think you handed in the wrong piece of paper. You must have been doodling after you finished the exam. And I said, no, that's actually what I did instead of the exam. And they said, oh, it's a good poem. And I said, how is it for a resignation letter?

They said, oh, we think it's that as well, dear. And it was just so clear that it wasn't the right place for me. And then I went to work in Phoenix and New Bond Street, in their fashion department, working on Gortex, which was cruise swimwear, no less. And again, it was this sort of buyers program, you know, that if you wanted to get into fashion, it would have been the perfect thing to do. But I found I was just stood around doodling and writing again. You see, it all comes back to the writing. It does. So inside, something kept you going.

Because I often ask this to actors and musicians and comedians and people. What makes you keep going to get to where you know you want to get to? Well, I just, so I had a number of jobs. I worked in advertising, et cetera, but all the jobs that I did, and I feel super lucky that I did those jobs. They were great life experiences. I met fabulous people and learned so much. Everybody I met, you always learned something from nearly everybody.

you meet, the people you love and the people you don't love, you still learn from them. So I had this amazing time, but every single thing I ever learned or loved or was disappointed by, I realized I would write about it. I would always be carrying a great big thick notebook that I was constantly filling. And that went on for many years. I was 28. And this is the slightly less joyful part of the podcast, but I think it's important that people know these things happen. Yes, absolutely. So in my late 20s, as a family and me personally with my friends, I lost a number of close friends and family relatives. Very suddenly, sometimes, slowly other times, shockingly, people younger than me, people older than me. But in a short space of time.

Very short period of time. And it was gobsmacking. It was extraordinary because I think if you lose your grandparents or an uncle or something, you could perhaps understand it. If you lose somebody to a disease, you'd be resentful, and you, if you have everything, you have accidents, suicides, all, everything that could, a possible way to lose people that happened to me in a short period of time. And I realized life is precious. And it's a bit silly to wait till you 28 to work that out. If only we knew it from get-go. No, hold on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there are people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, who suddenly work it out.

Oh, bless them. No. Maybe they knew and they forget. I don't know. Maybe we should have a tutorial every day. Well, it's your podcast, actually. Your tutorial every day, people saying, life is precious because it is.

So I went to a grief counselor and talked about, I wasn't trusting in the world anymore. I'd lost my joy de vivre. And I said to her, and I remember it very clearly. I said, I don't think I'll ever be happy again. And she just laughed at me, which is quite funny. And she said, Adele, you come in here and crack jokes all the time. And I said, do I? She said, yes, you always have a sense of humour. And she said, I don't need you to crack jokes. Nobody needs you to do anything. But just so you know, I think you are going to recover. You just have to find, and you will love this Gabby, because it's so up your street. She just said, you have to find something that brings you joy that you control. She says, doesn't need to be massive. It could be baking a cake. It could be writing a letter, picking up the telephone to talk to somebody, gardening, whatever, but you need to be in control of it. And I said,

to her, well, actually, I'm happiest when I'm scribbling. She said, oh, what do you mean? Because scribbling could have meant anything. I could have been an, you know, artist or something. And I pulled out my notebook, and I said, these are my thoughts. And I just write them down there, but they're just little ideas. And she said, how many of those books do you have, Adel? I said, I don't know.

Maybe a dozen, maybe 20. I don't know. She said, oh, I think it might be a little more than scribbling. It was just again, that nudge. Not dissimilar to the nudge I was given by the librarian. A librarian. All those years ago, these lovely, these lovely, these lovely women in my life.

And just a little nudge. I'm a girly swat. We've jumped over that, but I am a girly swat. So she said, I think you need to do a little more of that that makes you happy, that scribbling.

And I just thought, I'm going to write the book. I'm going to write the book that I have promised myself I'm going to write and that I have told my family I'm going to write. And I just did. I started, I looked at it.

I kept the day job. I did three hours, three times a week and five hours one day in the weekend. I had a project plan of the books I needed to read, the genre I was researching, how I would approach agents, what my pitch letter would be like,

I'd just go down to it, which actually was all the experience from all the other jobs that it taught me to be marketing and organised and out there and presenting and selling. There's a drive there. So it's as if the drive never left.

So there was something inside you that was just pulling you back to that. I think I'm so, lucky to have that. That is the most wonderful thing I've ever been gifted, that there is something inside me that makes me feel brilliant when I'm writing.

So it's never a chore and I have. Really? Never ever, even now? 24 books in. Okay, so there are days where I know that I know I'm not doing very well and that it, I can't don't really feel like, etc., etc. And, you know, maybe

something nice has come up or I've had a few busy days so I feel a bit behind and then I'm berating myself for setting myself deadlines that I'm now falling behind on. But as soon as I'm there and actually at my desk and thinking about words, I love it. I love it. I just get really excited by it. You know, I'm quite self-critical. I'm equally comfortable with editing down.

There are days that I think, gosh, I'm just writing and maybe nobody ever wants to read it again. And that's a different part of the job. And there are days that I worry about distribution or book covers or. or events or marketing, all of those things. That's the business side. That's the business side. But you're the creative mind. But the actual excitement of writing the words is always joyful.

I know everybody always asks where the idea's from. This is a really random, bizarre question. Because I was thinking it the other day. So 24 books, you've got all these different people. Where do you get their names? Oh, that's a good one. That's a really good question. So if my character is, say, I don't know, 64, I will then,

there's a register that you can Google it. You do that. Yes. And I go back. Ed, who works on this podcast, behind you, his mouth just went, don't. Ah! No, I look back and I say, what are the top ten names of that time? And then I choose one, because I think that will be a name of that time.

Surnames as well? Not always, but surnames don't usually have a popularity thing. But I will look at surnames and think, okay, is that surname something that's likely to be? I'm more likely with surnames, is it likely to give a hint about the character? So for instance, my very first one was her name was Connie Green, Constance Green. And she was constantly naive, green in that way. Oh, that's so clever. That's so clever. And she wasn't constant as she should have been to her husband, to her relationship.

So there was a lot of play on her name. And then, yeah, so I quite often have a name that might have a little play. The book that's coming out at the end of March paperback book called Just Between Us. Just Between Us. is everyone has to get it because I've actually read it the hardback I've read I'm going to buy the paperback as well just because I think you're fantastic thank you but it's not and this isn't a spoiler

this is clear from the blurb on the back there is a character in it she's dead already or certainly missing and presumed dead she was a bigamist and I had called her in one previously Kylie so she was Kai to one husband and Lee to another husband but her real name was Kylie

so when she dies and her you know know, all of this comes to light. She is Kylie. And the book is about how they are tracking down. One of them is tracking down Kai. One of them is tracking down Lee. But actually, the woman in her entirety is Kylie. So sometimes names do have a little bit more.

So clever. It's so clever. Thank you. When you talk about your books, are the characters? Because, of course, you've now made a film of one of your books, which is really exciting. I can't wait till we can all see that. It's not long, I think.

It's not long. You're right. It's May. and that's the image of you and that's completely right. Yes. Because I want to know that those people in your head, I know you can say they've got blue eyes or brown eyes, but do you actually picture them walking into a room?

Are they a proper sentient being? Now, this is really interesting, because if you'd ask me that up until five years ago, I'd have said, absolutely, I know their physicality and I know their shape and size. And then, and I think it's development, I decided it wasn't up to me to decide what that person really looked like because actually writing and reading is a two-way thing.

I write the words, readers read them and they interpret them in their own way. And I think we're definitely moving towards a society where people are putting themselves a little bit more front and centre and that's interesting in itself. So I now try and... Noxicism seems to be everywhere. a little, but it's also a fluidity maybe. It's also, so I with my characters now try to keep away from physicality because actually

physicality isn't really what's important about a person. It is what they think and how they behave. So my characters, since I'm writing psychological thrillers, tend to be about what they're saying, what they're thinking and what's the gap between those two things and how they're behaving. I'm less about their physicality. Sometimes I need to describe a character because they might be so devastatingly good looking. They can hoodwink people

because that tends to be a thing. Or they might look a particular way and therefore they get overlooked and discounted. And that might be important to the plot. But generally speaking, I don't hang around talking about what a person looks like. It's more how they're thinking. But it was me wondering inside your mind.

You just said something there which reminded me I spoke to this really lovely, lovely young man that I know. He's in his mid-20s, and he says that he's unbelievably handsome. And he's been asked to do modelling and everything. And he said he's got a real problem because nobody trusts him because books always make the handsome young men. The trouble, I know, I feel the same for my son. I'm just saying.

Who is all so gorgeous. It's really strange that. Good-looking people aren't people, they don't believe they can be nice because actually my experience in life with the good-looking people I've come across is quite often they're so happy because everything's fine. They want to give back and they're actually the naissive because of nothing to resent. Yeah, they don't have to be a buddy. Sorry, that was just on the side.

I just remember you said that. So all of these books and the 10 million readers who read each one, they have a picture in their mind which I love because for me I love books. because I have a very vivid imagination. Yes. And it feeds pictures into me and I create these pictures. But then when I see a film, I mean, just recently one day came out and everybody had an opinion on one day and everybody had read it

and then everybody has watched the Netflix show. They perfectly cast. So for me watching your film, for you to cast them in a film, you've got a picture of them. but then we've also got a picture of them. Yes, it's funny, isn't it? Because in the image of you, I'd given a physical description. The instant I met at Sasha, who is my lead,

I couldn't ever imagine it being anyone else. She was so perfect. How wonderful! And she is so perfect. And she, you know, cleverer people than I am and have gone off and cast her. And that was what was absolutely interesting about the whole film process. Because I love being a writer

and producing my own books, and I'm very confident and strong on that. And then what I have enjoyed about making it into a film, watching it being made into a film, is a number of other creative people have come along with their thoughts and their expertise and their creativity. And I think that just adds to the richness. But I know my readers, there will be some that will go, yeah, absolutely, get it, 100%. That's how I imagined it. And there will be many of those that say, that's not how I imagined it.

because when we come to reading, it's so personal. You arrive with your own experiences, your own thoughts and dreams and ambitions. When you sit and watch a film, it's actually a much more public forum anyhow. You quite often watch a film with someone else. You go to the cinema with someone else, family, friends, dates, whatever. Reading is very solitary. It's a private dialogue. So I'm going to ask my readers to just say,

this is another creative art form. give it a chance, give it a while, I think you're going to love it. I love it. I'm so proud of it. How can we see it? Yes, well, in America, they can go to cinema and see it, and in the UK, we're hoping that they can go to the cinema and see it,

but it will certainly be on Paramount Plus, but I am hoping gets a theatrical release first, and that's all still being talked about. If you could all just campaign for that, that would be very helpful. But that's so exciting. It's so exciting. It's so exciting. That's the lovely thing about my world.

This time last year you might have said to me, oh, have any of your books been optioned? And I'd say, oh, yes, a few, but you never know. And then suddenly, and it was literally sort of May, actually, just out of the blue, got the green light on something we'd been working on, and off it went. Oh, it's so exciting. You still find life very exciting, though, don't you?

I do. I do, thank goodness, and aren't I lucky? I work up this morning, and I have read your beautiful. beautiful book about finding moments of joy. And so actually I consciously do now. I think I probably always found moments but wasn't consciously saying, oh, that was a moment of joy. And the sun was sneaking into my bedroom underneath the blinds. And it just hit my dressing table, which had a lot of pictures of my family. And it was just a lovely moment. And I thought, look at that. The sun's out. That's my family. And I'm in this lovely warm room. And it was already a magical day. Yes. Yes. That's winning. That's winning. It is winning. Because then if things

happen in your day and they inevitably will because that's life. And life's not perfect. And life's not easy. You can then pop back to that moment and remind yourself, oh, do you remember that lovely moment this morning? Yeah, I do. Okay. I'm feeling a little bit better again. The future is another book every year, I hope. I think so. I mean, I... You're not going to stop, are you? I can't see myself stopping. No. I just don't think it's, what would I do? I love being busy. I love, I mean, when I say, what would I do? There's a million things could do. There's so much you could do in life. But I know I can write a book year and I know I still have stories to tell. I'm writing the 25th now, which will come out in 2025. I've already planned 2026. You're kidding me. I know exactly

what that book is. I'm excited to write it. I wish I had more time. So I think I'll just, yeah, keep going. You have got more time. Probably not to do the more justice for writing them by which I mean I wish I could write it now when I say you know how much more time I wish I could write it now but I can't write it now because you know it doesn't do justice to the one I'm currently promoting

or the one I'm currently writing so I do keep a very clear sort of strategy of at the moment I'm promoting then other days I'm writing and other days I'm thinking about the one ahead because otherwise if I started smudging it all together I think I would neglect one aspect of that

So it's number 25 and 25, number 26 and 26. Yeah. It's the easiest way to remember. It really is. And conveniently, also my child turns that year each year. So in 23, he was 23. This year he's 24. That's a way for me to keep my life in order as very easy maths.

So it sounds, I mean, a lot of people would say that life is tough. If you want to be a creative, if you want to be a writer, if you want to be an actor and all of those things. But what I'm getting from you, and I always do when I hear you, interviewed and when I've interviewed you in the past, that you're saying, don't, don't ever give, you're a real never give up person, not you? Never give up. Never give up. And I think never give up. Okay, I'm going to slightly caveat at that. I think with writing, never give up. Even if you don't get published, you keep writing, sweetheart, because you are a writer, irrespective of whether you're published or not. And that is the

joy of writing. But you have to earn a living. If you have to earn a living, go and earn a living, doing other things at the same time, but don't neglect your writing. gives you that sort of feeds your soul. I think there are other creative worlds that are harder. That so if you want to be a musician or an actor, well musician, I would say keep playing. Even if you can't be paid to do it, still keep playing. Just still enjoy it.

Acting. Keep saying sonnets aloud. If that makes you happy, you know, join the amateur dramatics. If you can make a living out of it, amazing and wonderful and keep going for it. if you can't be proud of doing it in a private capacity in a hobby capacity it doesn't mean that's not as good

it still feeds your soul no it feeds your soul and I think that's what's important but particularly with writing you've only failed when you give up or even then you haven't if you've decided it's the right thing for you but you've only been told you can't go ahead when you decide you can't go ahead

there's always someone who will say no there's always going to be someone who will say yes. People have different opinions on everything. Adele, you are a complete amount of joy. Oh, well, if I am, that's because I'm in your company. You are. No, you are. You are.

No, you. You put the phone down first. No, you put the phone down first.