Portobello Book Blog

• I’ve written for as long as I can remember, and it was the first thing that I can remember ever wanting to be as a child. I don’t really have any sort of “process”, the way that other writers seem to – every book I’ve written has been done in a totally different way: sometimes I write chronologically, and sometimes I don’t; sometimes I do a huge amount of research and planning up front, and sometimes I wing it completely. The one approach that’s been constant for the last few years, though, is that I make sure to write every day – even if it’s just five minutes of disconsolately moving a comma back and forth. That constant engagement keeps the book alive in my own head, and makes it much easier to progress.

• I’ve published three historical novels but I never specifically set out to be a writer of historical fiction, and in fact the projects I’m working on right now are quite different. A big part of my drive to write is around exploration – of different times and places and mindsets, and I think that’s what’s drawn me towards historical fiction in the past – but I’m writing fantasy now, for much the same reason.

• I used to be a real intellectual snob and would only read “literary” fiction and non-fiction, until I started to realise how much amazing writing I was missing out on by not exploring genre fiction more. (It’s a pretty artificial distinction anyway.) These days, there’s not a single genre that I don’t read, and some of the best books I’ve read over the past decade have been from genres I would have avoided when I was younger.

• Like almost all writers these days, I have a day job which pays my bills: I work as an education technical adviser for a large international NGO, and as part of my role I’m often deployed to parts of the world that are in crisis. I absolutely love what I do, and have no desire to ever giving it up, even if I were to somehow make a fortune writing. I do think having a day job that’s entirely unconnected to my writing makes me a better writer, as it keeps me connected to the world and to other people whom I’d never meet if I was a full-time writer.

• My work requires a lot of travel, and I travel a lot for enjoyment, as well. My single favourite thing to do is to spend a few hours wandering around in a place where no one knows me, occasionally taking breaks to read in cafes. It was probably the thing I missed the most during the pandemic.

• I have ADHD, which wasn’t diagnosed until I was well into adulthood. It’s definitely caused me some problems in the past (e.g. losing several passports within a year), but I’ve learned to harness it and work with it, and these days I think of it as more of an attribute than a disadvantage (though I realise that’s a privileged perspective).

• I moved to Glasgow initially in 2007, and have been based here since 2011, when I bought my flat on the southside. Although I spend a lot of time elsewhere for both work and pleasure, I feel more at home in Glasgow, and in Scotland as a whole, than anywhere else I’ve ever lived. Making the decision to move here permanently in 2011 is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

• One of my favourite things about living in Scotland is proximity to such stunning scenery. I’m a keen hiker and I’ve written huge chunks of books in my head while on solo walks, both in Scotland and elsewhere. I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2017, and planned out the best part of a trilogy in my head during that time.

• My new book, After Silence, is about an orchestral performance, and it was really important that I weave as much musical imagery into the book as I could. I’m not a musician myself but I’ve sung in choirs since I was a child and there’s something truly magical about collective creation of music, which I hope comes out in the book.

• I really, really love bats, and have done since I was a child. There are the most diverse mammals in the world, at over 1400 different species; they are pollinators and therefore vital for the ecosystem – and they’re also just delightfully weird little dudes. I got a bat detector for my birthday a couple of years ago and it brings me a great deal of pleasure.

After Silence by Jessica Gregson (Deixis Press, £12.99) is available from all good book retailers from 9^th August.

From the back of the book

Leningrad, 1941. German forces surround the city at the start of the most harrowing winter in its history. The siege becomes a battle for survival. Bodies fill the streets, and the crushing horror of cold, starvation and bone-deep fear is relentless.

Set against this background of tragedy and suffering, a remarkable group of musicians — soldiers and civilians, all of whom have been wasted by war and hunger — come together to perform Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. They scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments, but their performance of this haunting and defiant new piece provides a rare light of hope in the darkness. Friendship, love and a vibrant passion for music combine in this ambitious, absorbing and richly sensuous masterpiece.

About the author

Jessica Gregson was born in London in 1978. She is now a humanitarian education specialist and writer. She has a degree in Anthropology from Cambridge, a Masters in Development from LSE, and a Masters in Education from Glasgow, and previously worked as a policy advisor for the UK Government. She has lived and worked in a variety of places, including South Sudan, Myanmar and Azerbaijan. Jessica is the author of The Angel Makers (2007) and The Ice-Cream Army (2009).