On Writing THE KEEPER OF STORIES

The truth is I might not have written The Keeper of Stories if I hadn’t been watching the Oscars.

I was curled up on a friend’s sofa, it was very late – or rather, by then, very early in the UK – but it had become a tradition that we watched the Oscars together. When British, Olivia Coleman won Best Actor, we cheered and then listened as she gave her acceptance speech. In it she referred to a time when she had been a young hopeful and had also worked as a cleaner. She described standing in other people’s bathrooms, talking to the mirror, toilet cleaner held aloft as if it were an Oscar statue. At this point I wondered if there was anyone watching who was still a cleaner, whose life had never really developed as they had hoped. What would they think, watching Olivia?

And so Janice was born.

Janice was just who I needed to breathe life into a story that I had been thinking about. This was based on the idea that everyone has a story to tell. At the time I was approaching sixty; over the years I had worked as a market researcher, florist and also as a charity fundraiser. During all of this I had often encountered people who revealed an unexpected aspect to their lives; sometimes an achievement, maybe an event, or just a single moment that was truly surprising (interestingly, for them it had usually become common-place, something that they barely thought to mention). I had often thought about a story based on someone who really did not believe they had a story to tell (or not one they were willing to share); what would they do? Might they start to collect other people’s stories? Now, with Janice in my mind (and by my side) The Keeper of Stories was born.

My first year of writing was mainly spent making notes. It was all about the research. I decided, having heard so many amazing stories in the past, the best thing would be to become a keeper of stories myself. So, for a year I talked to everyone I met and asked them about their own stories, and stories that they had come across. Consequently almost all the stories in my book are based in some way on true life. I have changed names to conceal who the story is about and at times altered them to fit the narrative, but I do like the idea that these are about real people. It cements my belief that everyone does have a story and proves that it is within the ordinary that you find the extraordinary. 

During this research I also thought back to my time working as a florist. In one shop I worked in I had been inspired to photograph and write a non-fiction book, A Year in the Life of an English Country Flowershop. It records the year of the shop, the changing seasons and, of course, the beautiful flowers. However, looking back, I began to realise that this book is mainly about the people who came into the shop and about their stories. It occurred to me that even back then I had been collecting stories (like Janice). 

After the research it took around three months to write the book. It was one of those precious times when the words just flowed. I am a planner by nature, but occasionally the story took over. I knew Janice would be encountering a fox-terrier called Decius (why else would she keep coming back to clean for such an awful person as Mrs YeahYeahYeah), but I had no idea just how bad Decius’s language would be! I have since had a reader complain about Decius’s language (luckily almost all my other emails are very positive). I wrote back and said that I was very sorry that he felt that way, but that he would really need to take that up with Decius!

So, the book was written and it was time to try and find a publisher. After many years of trying I was fortunate enough to have Tanera Simons from Darley Anderson as my agent. She’d had no joy placing my earlier books, but she was undeterred. At first the rejections started to ping into her in-box, as before, but then one editor showed some interest. Charlotte Ledger, Publishing Director of One More Chapter loved the book. One More Chapter is a digital imprint within Harper Collins UK. They focus on ebook and audio, but do print paperbacks. As Charlotte explains, “Digital first, but not digital only.” Charlotte understood that digital first is not everyone’s first call, but the more we talked the more we realised that Charlotte ‘got’ this book.  

So, in March 2022, The Keeper of Stories, was launched in the UK. The rest, as they say, is history. The book started to rise up the Amazon charts, and then miraculously (it seemed to me) stay there. Readers’ reviews stared to build, and it became apparent that this book was growing because of word of mouth. This became particularly obvious at Christmas when readers were clearly giving The Keeper of Stories to friends and family. In the two weeks before Christmas The Keeper of Stories hit the Sunday Times Bestseller list. Charlotte and Tanera cheered, I cried, and we all opened the Champagne! 

The Keeper of Stories had now sold in 21 countries and launches in the US with Blackstone Publishing on Jan 24th 2023.

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Find out more about Sally on her website https://sallypage.com/

Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/SallyPageBooks

THE KEEPER OF STORIES

A charming, uplifting debut novel–full of humor and depth–that has taken readers around the world by surprise. 

Everyone has a story to tell. But does Janice have the power to unlock her own?

She can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard as she cleaned a sink? Before long (as she dusted a sitting room or defrosted a fridge) she noticed people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they had always done so, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her …

Cleaner Janice knows that it is in people’s stories that you really get to know them. From recently widowed Fiona and her son Adam to opera-singing Geordie, the quiet bus driver Euan, and the pretentious Mrs. “YeahYeahYeah” and her fox terrier, Decius, Janice has a unique insight into the community around her.

When Janice starts cleaning for Mrs. B–a shrewd and prickly woman in her nineties–she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice is clear: she is the keeper of stories, she doesn’t have a story to tell. At least, not one she can share.

Mrs. B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell?

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