Ever fancied having a character in a book named after you? Previously, there were only two ways: change your name to Bilbo Baggins or something, or go to all the effort of becoming really good friends with an author. But now there’s a third way: paying hard cash!
Last night there was an auction at a charity ball in aid of the Richard House Children’s Hospice. And one of the items auctioned off was the chance for the winning bidder to have a character in Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s next novel based on them!
In the event, two people both bid £9500 for this honour: one the finance director of a fashion group; the other the CEO of an Icelandic-owned bank (ah, so now we know why they’ve got money to burn!). So for his next novel, Grimwood will be creating characters with their names, physical descriptions and characteristics!
“The book will be Thrones and Powers, a magic realist crime novel set in heaven, hell and Mexico City”, Jon tells us. “I'm writing it now, so I guess it will be out towards the end of next year or the spring afterwards.”
Meanwhile, we’d like to take the opportunity to offer one reader a mention in our reviews section – we’re sure we can randomly slip it in somewhere. The bidding starts at £5000, with the proceeds going to the Ian Berriman Benevolent Fund. If you’re interested, do get in touch...
