Far from Reckless...

Cornelia Funke is far from Reckless unlike the title of her latest book... she is in fact charming, eloquent and highly talented.

Making a stunning entrance in a stunning dress at the sumptuous and very Gothic Beach Blanket Babylon in London's Notting Hill last night she certainly proved that she is a tour de force! The assembled guests were awed by her dress and thrilled to be able to share an evening in her company and of course that of Lionel Wigram her co-collaborator for this story.

Working for over two years on this story Cornelia and Lionel have had many disagreements, all of them friendly, about where it should go and how it should develop but their shared vision of a dystopian fairytale remained true and they have created a story within a story. A world found through mirrors evocative of Grimm's Fairytales and forever sleeping beauties nearly exploded Cornelia's storytelling brain but it has certainly been worth it.

If you thought that the power of Cornelia's imagination had reached its peak in the Ink trilogy think again for here is the beginning of a new, more thrilling and perhaps, to some, an even more exciting series!

Reckless features an adult main character yet it is a children's book. Upon being questioned about this approach by the equally wonderfully dressed Nicolette Jones, Cornelia replied that she had learned from the Ink stories that it was the adult characters who were favoured by the reader and that if the story did not ask for a child it really wasn't necessary to put one in. After all children hear and see the adult world around them constantly, they want to understand it and know more about it - books are a perfect way of allowing this to be in a safe way.

Reckless may be a dark and haunting tale but Cornelia's writing style gives it a warm tone. Working with Lionel she explained gave her a new perspective on the story - a male one. As a film producer he would obviously like to see the story on film and we would all love to see the dress once again but this time on the red carpet!

A wonderful evening in the most perfect setting. Thanks to Barry Cunnigham and his Chicken House team not only for this but also for sharing with us all Cornelia and her talent. I am already longing to read book 2!