At the age of 8, Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972.[1] She has published 30 novels and 1 Novella (as of September 2022), two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months.[2]
Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity."[2]
Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband is noted Toronto attorney, Warren Seyffert.[3][4] They have two daughters, Annie and Shannon,[5] and own property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.[2]
Interview
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that it "isn't what her fiction is about",[6] but rather more about the development of her characters.
Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."[1]
Audience
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany.[5] In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.[5]
The Bad Daughter (2018) – Novel (a.k.a. Bleeding Hearts)
All The Wrong Places (2019) – Novel
Cul-de-sac (2021) – Novel
The Housekeeper (2022) – Novel
References
^ abWagner, Vit. "Okay With Being 'Popular'; Author Not In The Same League as Joan Didion, But She's Writing the Books She Wants to Write." Toronto Star 28 Mar 2008: E.9. Print.
^Wherry, Aaron. "Author has the world at her doorstep: Joy Fielding: Novelist." National Post 06 Sep 2003, Toronto ed: TO.2. Print.
^ abcWong, Jan. "Home is where the sales aren't for this Canadian novelist." The Globe and Mail 12 Mr. 1998, Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies, ProQuest. Web. 26 Oct. 2010
^Wigod, Rebecca. "Plot-Meister Says That For Her, It's Mostly About Character." The Vancouver Sun 28 Apr 2007, final ed: C.9. Print.