Image: Neville Thompson.
The story begins in 2023, totally out of the blue, at quarter to six on a miserable March morning.
Neville Thompson was about to drive two hours to Dublin, where he was mentoring teens tempted by a life of drugs and crime when his wife, Jean, woke and announced that she couldn’t face another Irish winter and they were moving to Spain. By September, they had done just that.
But as with all good things, spontaneity is often the best way. The couple had never been to San Pedro del Pinatar before, but they absolutely fell in love with it the minute they set foot there. The village atmosphere, the cost of living, and most of all, the friendliness of everyone let them know they had made the right decision.
Neville is a writer and is currently working on a number of projects. Next year, if there is interest, he plans to start creative writing classes and hopefully inspire others to start writing – and who knows, maybe they will see their names up in lights, just like Neville’s!
L’amour Ouf
With all the hype surrounding Gilles Lellouche’s latest epic film, L’amour Ouf, with a record French budget of €32,000,000, a who’s who of current French stars, and a killer soundtrack, it’s easy to see how the writer of the novel Jackie Loves Johnser OK?, Neville Thompson, has become the name on everyone’s lips.
“An overnight success, yeah right,” laughed Neville. “The novel was first released in 1997. I think we’ll be in the Guinness Book of Records for the length of time it took to get it on the big screen.”
Neville’s gritty novel struck a chord with a working-class audience when it first came out and has become something of a cult read. It tells the story of tough criminal Johnser Kiely and Jackie Clarke, the girl who fell in love with him from the moment she saw him.
Life of Crime
The book’s success led to Neville being asked to work with prisoners and teenagers on the brink of a life of crime. But how does he feel about an essentially Dublin novel being made in France?
“Every country, every city, has its different areas. I was amazed in music how the likes of Springsteen or Tom Waits could be talking about places thousands of miles away, but the people and their struggles were the same. So, I’d like to think that my books can do that. And thankfully, from the reactions I’ve received, that seems to be the case.”
So how is Neville dealing with the renewed interest in his work?
Bollywood Calling
“I think it’s fantastic. We had a Ukrainian publisher wanting the rights. Like, in the middle of the mayhem over there and they want to read my work? And the other day Bollywood came knocking – now that, I have to see,” he laughs.
“In fact, for me, Ireland remains the hardest place to break into. The amount of goodwill I’ve received from ordinary people on social media is very humbling, yet Mercier Press was the only publisher wanting to re-release the novel.”
Overnight Success
Still, Neville laughs as he adds, “But I like proving people wrong. I’ve had a lifetime of it, and look at me – 63 years old and an overnight success!”
Jackie Loves Johnser OK? is available from Mercier Press, Amazon, or to order at all good bookstores.
