Hello Charlotte Fans, today we are talking with Jackie Joiner, Editor of Voice of an Angel - My Life (So Far). Big Thanks to Ms. Joiner for taking the time out to answer some questions and to the fans who submitted questions for this interview. Lets start shall we?

=CharlotteChurchFans=: When was the idea for Charlotte's autobiography first conceived?

=Jackie Joiner=: The story goes that Charlotte's autobiography came about when Warner Books CEO Larry Kirshbaum was at a concert she was giving and was so enchanted by her that he came up with the idea and bought it almost instantly from the William Morris agent sitting next to him. That was in late 1999 I believe.

=CCFans=: Charlotte obviously has one of the most dynamic and changing careers in the world, how hard was it to attempt a biography in which she covers her carrier in such depth while keeping it up to date with her latest achievements?

=JJ=: We approached it as really a book about her career and her family and her "normal life" so she basically wrote about kind of the "highlights" of her career to this point--which could only be covered up to really the end of 2000 as she had to stop writing at some point! And the really interesting thing is that she talks about the process of recording her albums.

=CCFans=: Approximately how long has Charlotte been working on this project?

=JJ=: This project has been worked on since the moment we signed her up, late 1999. Normally a book takes about at least 12 months to produce (after its written!) and to get all the marketing and selling in place.

=CCFans=: Was their a bidding process for the rights to Charlotte's Autobio?

=JJ=: No, I believe we just 'snapped it up' (made such a great offer they couldn't refuse)

=CCFans=: Charlotte writes very well and is a total kick to read. Did she spend long hours putting the actual story together or did it just flow naturally?

=JJ=: I wasn't there while she was writing it but it seemed to me that she kind of started at the beginning and recounted her life chronologically starting with her mother's experience at giving birth to her!

Question from a fan: Ms. Joiner, what role did you play in the creation of the book? Basically what is the job of an editor in a book like this?

=JJ=: My role was to be the first reader, and to ask the questions that the reader would want to know. When you write, especially about yourself, its hard sometimes to be coherent, ie. you could be talking about one of your friends that you talk about all the time, but have forgotten to introduce that person to your reader. So I might ask, who is so-and-so and how do you know them? or I could ask boring questions like, when you recorded your album was it November 1999 or 1998, little detail things like that. It was a lot of fun!

=CCFans=: When any 15 year old writes her autobiography it's obviously going to raise a few eyebrows, how do you respond to the people who ask, why write this now instead of later after Charlotte has completed more of her career?

=JJ=: Yes, it is unusual to write an autobiography at such a young age, and Charlotte does address that issue in her book by saying how grateful she is that she's living a life that some adults could only dream about. And personally I think that its refreshing to read about someone who is just beginning to discover the world, who she is, the lessons she's learned already and how happy she is instead of a book by an older celebrity recounting their five unhappy marriages and the abuse they suffered from their parents...

=CCFans=: This is in relation to the last question...are their plans to release some sort of revisions to this autobio as time goes on? Lets say that Charlotte takes the Classical Brits this year (as we suspect) and comes out with a smash film next year.

=JJ=: It's not really standard practice in publishing to do updates on autobiographies. Plus, I see it as not a list of her professional accomplishments but more of a reflection on her life so far and what she's learned. Maybe when she gets married to Prince William and they have their kids and she's still performing all over the world (just kidding but you never know!), then she might feel like revisiting the book publishing world.

Question from a fan: Will the book be released in other language formats?

=JJ=: It will be published in Japan by Yamaha. That's it so far.

=CCFans=: Regarding the audio book, when and where was it recorded and how long did it take to do so?

=JJ=: The audiobook, which is absolutely lovely, was recorded in Wales (at a studio she's used before) in January I believe and I think it only took one day--apparently the producer loved her and was very impressed with her professionalism.

=CCFans=: Was Charlotte the original choice to read the audio book?

=JJ=: Oh yes, I didn't want anyone else but Charlotte to read. And she does a wonderful job, her personality shines through.

Question from a fan: Why the name "Voice of an Angel" yet again for another Charlotte release?

=JJ=: I don't know about that. At some point there was some discussion about whether we should change the title, but it just seemed to fit so nicely that we decided to keep it. Coming up with titles is really hard!

=CCFans=: Another audio book question, what is missing in terms of content compared to the hardcover?

=JJ=: I can't answer that question precisely but nothing significant has been cut out.

=CCFans=: Ms. Joiner, you obviously closer than most with Charlotte, did her multiple talents take you by surprise?

=JJ=: Unfortunately I didn't get to work as closely as I would have liked, she was in Cardiff or traveling most of the time, but I wasn't really surprised as I had lots of proof of her talents!

=CCFans=: A surprisingly small amount of books have been written about Charlotte, 0 if my memory serves me correct; do you think Charlotte's release of an Autobio will foster a "market" if you will for books about Charlotte?

=JJ=: It seems unlikely that our book will foster a market for other Charlotte books however, our Children's division will be releasing Voice of an Angel for Young Adults and Pre-teen audience later this year. It will be a smaller, more simplistic book, probably focusing more on the family instead of her career as younger readers won't really know who Placido Domingo is for instance.

=CCFans=: What was the most interesting thing you learned about Charlotte through the creation of this book?

=JJ=: That's a tough question, she's got so many interesting qualities. I'd say the most interesting thing to me was how she really is a very happy girl with two really nice and loving parents and a wonderful supportive family who somehow keep a really good balance between her professional life and her private life.

=CCFans=: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some our questions Jackie, this is a brilliant book and I don't think any Charlotte Fan's collection is complete without it.

=JJ=: Thank you so much for your super promotional site on your website and your support. I really enjoyed working on this book, and I hope that all Charlotte's fans will enjoy reading it.

©2001 CharlotteChurch.net

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