Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to my Frequently Asked Questions page, something I have been wanting to do for a while. If your answer is not here, then please have a look at the Fforde Questionarium which has more answers than you can shake a stick at (if that's what you want to do)

Updated: June 2021

What books have you written?

In published order:

1: The Eyre Affair (2001)
2: Lost in a Good Book (2002)
3: The Well of Lost Plots (2003)
4: Something Rotten (2004)
5: The Big Over Easy (2005)
6: The Fourth Bear (2006)
7: First Among Sequels (2007)
8: Shades of Grey (2010)
9: The Last Dragonslayer (2010)
10: One of Our Thursdays is Missing (2011)
11: The Song of the Quarkbeast (Nov 2011)
12: The Woman Who Died a Lot (July 2012)
13: The Eye of Zoltar (July 2014)
14: Early Riser (August 2018)
15: The Constant Rabbit (August 2020)
16: The Great Troll War (Sept 2021)
17: Red Side Story (Feb 2024)

What sort of books are they?

Good question. An odd mix of Fantasy, Crime and Sci-fi. There's romance, too, and literary stuff, and satire, and .. well, you name it.

When is the next Shades of Grey coming out?

All publication plans are on my Next Book page.

Is there going to be another Thursday Book?

Yes, and it will be called 'The Dark Reading Matter', but refer to my Next Book page for information on upcoming publications.

Will there be another Jack Spratt book?

There are no plans (as yet) to write a third Nursery Crime book. Please refer to my Next Book page for information on upcoming publications.

Why have we been waiting so long to get a sequel to Shades of Grey?

SofG did not sell well upon first publication, and even now is not a mammoth seller - even adjusted for the time since publication, it ranks only at number four of my best selling books. It was this reason, plus a diluting of my writing time by the Dragonslayer series and my hiatus of 14-18 and a need to reestablish my career with standalones that probably accounts for it.

When is your next tour?

All details of my tours and apperances are up on my Appearances page. As soon as anything is confirmed, it goes up here. If it's not here, it's unconfirmed.

Why no books between 2014 and 2018?

There is more about this in the 'Making of' wordamentary for Early Riser.

Did you write a book called The Great Samuel Pepys Fiasco?

No. This was a proposed Thursday book that was written in her world and then deleted - which is why we can't now read it.

Did you know that Japanese scientists are trying to clone a mammoth?

Yes, and although they might be able to physically do this - sort of - the mammoth will never be truly a mammoth as it won't be doing the sort of mammothy things that mummy and daddy mammoth would have taught it. You might argue that on this basis no reptile can ever be a reptile as they don't learn anything at all - nor, in fact, does a cuckoo, but I think elephantines are smarter than that and would have had a unique sense of family that can now never be known. Although tigers are not rare at all - there are far more in Texas than in the wild, it is said - the true tiger will be extinct when it no longer roams free. Those in captivity will only be a pale reflection. Sad, isn't it?

When is your next tour?

All details of my tours and apperances are up on my Appearances page. As soon as anything is confirmed, it goes up here. If it's not here, it's unconfirmed.

My hometown isn't on your tour list. Is there any point in me
emailing you and asking you to drop in?

No. If you want to know why I'm not turning up at your local bookshop during my next tour, this is how it works: The bookshops make applications to Penguin or Hodder and the noisiest or most enthusiastic shops get me to come to their stores. so..... the more noise the customers make to their managers, the more likely I am to turn up on a future tour. The best people to email are your local bookstores, but if my tour is already up, it's too late - or at least, it is for this year.

I'm coming to one of your talks. Are there any rules about signing?

Time permitting, I'll pretty much sign anything. If you have a skipload (US: Dumpsterload) of backlist, then use your sense of fair play and politeness as to what you think is appropriate. Disturbing development: Some people are beginning to think the postcards are a right, not a gift. They are subject to availability and are generally only given out with each current book. Bookstamps likewise, and are only for dedicated copies. Note to dealers/non-reading collectors: I won't do 'lines' in books, or uppercase, or full name, and sending along several members of your family with a small quantity of books to disguise the true amount doesn't really fool anyone and makes you look cheap - I'll sign them all in one hit very happily.

Do you come and give talks at colleges/librarys/universities?

Generally, yes. Travel expenses would be welcome, and some tea and a hobnob or two.

Do you give talks at Festivals?

Frequently. If you are a festival, find your way to my contacts page. If you want to know where I'm talking, have a look at appearances page.

I am a sticler for good prooofreading and/or grammatical and speling errrors. Can I send you a list of the errors I found in your books?

Of course - but please have a look at my upgrade page to see if it/they are already listed. Suggestions for new upgrades are always welcome.

Can I buy books from you?

Indeed you can. Mostly paperbacks, and we don't preorder or sell hardbacks until about a month after publication. A full list of what is on offer can be found at Ffotographica, my eBay outlet which you can reach by clicking HERE

; How can I get books signed by you if I can't make it to an event?

You can either buy them from my website or if you already have them, send them to me with RETURN POSTAGE and I will sign and return it/them. The address is: Jasper Fforde, PO Box 165, Hay on Wye, HR3 5WU, United Kingdom.

Is it true you read Tess backwards so it has a happy ending?

Completely true. I always read Thomas Hardy books backwards.

How do you pronounce 'Zvlkx'?

The correct pronunciation for "Zvlkx" is "Zvoulks". There. You heard it here first.

Why is Thursday called Thursday?

You can find out by leaping to my "Questionarium" by clicking HERE

Who won the World Cup in 1972?

Trick question. There was no world cup in 1972.

My book has no chapter 13. Why is this?

None of my books have a chapter 13. I'm not sure why this might be so but suffice to say that since I write most of my books 'on the hoof' but also want an 'interconnectiveness' about them (two things that would seem at first sight to be mutually incompatible) I tend to leave blind or 'partially sighted' alleys for myself to exploit later - or not. You know when you see an asphalted road leading into a field? Well, you just know there will be a housing estate there - they just haven't built it yet. That's what the chapter 13 thing is.

Can I buy Thursday Next Merchandising anywhere?

Yes you can. There is a whole host of interesting goodies to be found at my eBay outlet, Ffotographica.. Just in case you think I am cynically thrusting my snout deep in the trough of merchandising, I use the proceeds to offset the costs of this website and all those postcard freebie things I do that are independent of my publishers. I apologise to US readers about the high cost of the T shirts but all I can say is that the pound is strong at present and no, we have no plans to open a US merchandising arm of Goliath.

Can I buy those postcard giveaway thingies from you?

Yes indeed. Any remaindered after book tours are sold to offset costs of new postacrds. You can see the collection on display at my eBay outlet, Ffotographica. . For more details about the postcards, click HERE.

I am a film producer and I want to make your books into blockbuster movies. Can we talk about it?

Not really. I worked for twenty years in the movies so know how difficult it is to get a picture to the screen, and how many projects fall by the wayside. So in order not to spend my time constantly in discussion with people who have little hope in getting something to the screen and wasting everyone's time, we speak only to players. The criteria is pretty simple: You have to have made a movie I've heard of, and liked. In ten years we've had three meetings and one option, now expired. Approaches to my agent, and if you can't find out who they are without asking me, you're neither serious, nor a player.

I am a producer without a single credit to my name, and no track record. Can we meet and talk about producing your films, and perhaps do that utterly pointless 'who would you cast as Thursday Next' game?

No.

Who was the best Batman?

Adam West. Not, as previously thought, Michael Keaton. My thanks to Mr Wolf for bringing this to my attention.

You can find many more questions and answers at the Fforde Questionarium.