It's Rowling after all.
Yu Dong was really not sure at first, because people with looks like Rowling were everywhere in London, and he was afraid that he had identified the wrong person.
While signing her autograph, Yu Dong asked again: "Which book do you like? Is this "Resident Evil"?"
"My favorite is "The Second World"." Rowling replied.
"Why do you like "Second World"?" Yu Dong asked again.
Maybe it was the bright smile on Yu Dong's face, so Luo Lin didn't think it was strange that he asked her this question.
"What attracted me was not only the science fiction part, but also the description of people with supernatural powers, which is very wonderful."
"It seems that you prefer fantasy novels, such as magic and so on..."
Rowling was surprised and said, "YU, you are right. I like these things very much. In fact, I have been thinking about a book for a long time and have even started writing it."
"Do you still write novels?" Yu Dong asked with interest.
He found that his acting skills had improved. When he asked this question just now, he even deceived himself, as if he was really surprised that Rowling wrote a novel.
"I am indeed writing, but I haven't finished it yet. As you said, I am very interested in magic, and this book is also about magic. I..."
Yu Dong interrupted her with a smile, "Ms. Luo Lin, I'm afraid I don't have time to talk to you about this now."
Only then did Rowling realize that she was a little too excited, and quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry."
After saying that, she turned around and left.
Yu Dong called her from behind, "Ms. Luo Lin, your book."
Luo Lin quickly turned around to pick up the book, but unexpectedly she heard Yu Dong say again, "If you don't mind, you can wait for me in the bookstore for a while. After my book signing is over, we can talk about the book you are writing.
I am very interested in the book."
"Really?" Luo Lin said in surprise.
Yu Dong nodded, "Of course, but it may take me a long time to finish."
"It doesn't matter, I will wait for you no matter how long it takes, so I won't bother you now."
After saying that, Luo Lin took the book and left. Her mood was like a roller coaster just now. She never expected that YU would stop to chat with her, nor did she expect that she would actually tell YU about her novel, let alone that YU would listen.
After hearing it, he actually expressed great interest.
Too many to think of.
Unexpected and unimaginable.
…
The book signing will last until 7pm.
It was originally planned to end at five o'clock, but there were too many people coming, so Yu Dong specifically asked the bookstore to extend the time.
During this day, apart from taking a break for lunch, Yu Dong sat on the chair for more than ten hours. When William saw Yu Dong working so hard, he was a little touched. This was so dedicated.
And YU’s dedication is not just for money.
William has received many writers who have held book signings, and he has encountered all types of writers.
Some writers are lazy and will leave the bookstore after sitting there for less than an hour, leaving readers here.
Some writers are relatively indifferent when encountering a book signing scene, will get angry, get angry, and end early.
Some writers do signings very quickly and perfunctorily, just to make money.
YU is different. It can be seen that he really wants to give back to his book friends. He often gives special autographs to book friends and even chats with them.
Although it took a day to sign, YU's signature remained unchanged from the beginning. Although William did not understand Chinese characters, he could tell that YU's handwriting was very beautiful.
After the autograph session, William wanted to take Yu Dong and the others to dinner, but Yu Dong waved his hand and said, "You're welcome, William, go and do your work, I have something else to do."
"How is this possible..."
"If there is anything else, you can tell Jiang Jie." Yu Dong smiled, then pulled Cheng Yanqiu downstairs. He just saw Luo Lin walking downstairs.
When he got downstairs, Yu Dong saw Luo Lin at a glance.
In order to be equal to the east, Rowling deliberately found a location where she could directly see the stairs. After all the readers came out just now, Rowling kept staring at the stairs.
Seeing Yu Dong, she stood up with a smile.
Yu Dong walked over with Cheng Yanqiu and introduced her, "Luo Lin, this is my wife, Cheng Yanqiu."
"Hello."
"Luoluo, this is..."
Yu Dong gave an overview of Luo Lin's situation, and then the three of them sat down.
"You said before that you wrote a novel about magic. Can you tell me more about it?"
Luo Lin nodded, "Of course, I did it a few years ago..."
She told Yu Dong how she got the idea, how she prepared for the book, and the general content of the novel.
After she finished speaking, Yu Dong smiled and said: "It sounds very interesting. Are you saying that it hasn't been finished yet?"
"It's actually finished, but there are still some places that need to be revised."
Yu Dong thought for a while and said, "Let's do this. I'll ask my assistant to contact you. If you want to publish it in the future, we can help. By the way, have you thought of the name of this book?"
"I've thought about it. It's called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
"..."
The American version that Yu Dong has read should be "Harry Potter and the Wizard's Stone", which is directly translated into the Philosopher's Stone in China. The word "philosopher" is indeed a bit advanced and does not fit well with the market for this book.
"Harry Potter" is not a literary masterpiece, but it has all the commercial elements to become popular. Compared with "A Song of Ice and Fire", the Harry Potter series is more like a juvenile adventure novel.
But there is a market for such books.
Some people say that the Harry Potter series is nothing but good marketing.
This statement is a bit too taken for granted.
If it relied solely on marketing, then the achievements of Harry Potter should be easy to copy, but this is not the case. The success of this series is inseparable from strong marketing and contemporary relevance, but it is also absolutely inseparable from its own advantages.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Otherwise, Warner is not a fool and spends all its money on marketing for it.
In fact, before this book received any capital attention, it was already on the bestseller list and won many awards. Only then did it become noticed by American publishing houses.
At this moment, Jiang Jie happened to have finished talking to William about the matter, and Yu Dong introduced Luo Lin to him, "This is Luo Lin, a fantasy novel writer. She has a new book that she wants to publish. You can contact her later.
Now, let’s talk to Cambot about this. Rowling, this is my assistant, Jiang Jie.”
"Hello, Ms. Rowling."
"Hello, Changjie."
…
Later, Yu Dong and the others went to have a meal. Luo Lin happened to not eat either, so they came together.
After eating, they went back separately.
Yu Dong didn't explain too much. He planned to let Cambot and Rowling talk to each other first, and if there were any problems in the middle, he would come forward.
The signing in London ended and they went directly to Manchester the next day.
After arriving in Manchester, they didn't go anywhere. They just rested in the hotel for the day. In the evening, Yu Dong played cards with Yu Hua and the others for a while.
When leaving London, Jiang Jie specifically looked for local newspapers to see how the news reported on the signing event. Later, he found that many newspapers focused on Yu Dong's evaluation of Arsenal and Chelsea's two signings this summer.
The newspaper said that YU is very optimistic about the two signings of Arsenal and Chelsea.
These two clubs had mediocre results last season, with 22 teams ranked 10th and 11th respectively. Maybe these two pieces of support will become a symbol of the two clubs' take-off.
Yu Dong also found it interesting. When did he, an outsider, have the ability to influence the Premier League? These media really dare to write any news.
But what Yu Dong never expected was that there would be something even more outrageous later.
On August 20, after Yu Dong held an autograph session in Manchester, Manchester United's coach invited him to watch the game at Old Trafford.
Manchester United lost to Villa 1-3 in the first league game on the 18th. Now that they are back at home, they hope to invite Yu Dong to come over and cheer them on.
Just in time, Yu Dong and the others went over.
When they heard the invitation to be the head coach of Manchester United, Yu Hua and Bi Feiyu were very excited because they were old fans and of course they wanted to see what it was like to see such a top club.
In fact, they don't know much about the Premier League teams.
In recent years, Chinese people generally pay more attention to, or can pay attention to, Serie A.
On the contrary, Yu Dong knows this Manchester United better. After all, there are many legends in the Manchester United lineup in recent years, such as Schmeichel, Scholes, Keane, the two Nevilles, Beckham, Giggs, Can
Tongna...
The result was that Manchester United beat West Ham United 4-1.
Now, various media outlets have reported again, even saying that YU is a lucky star. And they also said that Manchester City in the same city lost because YU did not go.
This statement makes no sense at all, because Manchester City is indeed weak now.
Mainly, Manchester United seems to particularly want to regard YU as their lucky star. Ferguson also told reporters that although they suffered a disastrous defeat in the last away game, after YU came this time, the boys on the team were very motivated, which is why there was such a game.
A perfect victory.
He also said that many people on the team are YU fans.
I have to say that Manchester United is really better at marketing than other teams. Otherwise, if Yu Dong came to the UK, Manchester United would not be the only team to think of inviting Yu Dong to watch the game.
It's not a bad thing to please Yu Dong. If Yu Dong is in a good mood, what kind of article can he write later to praise Manchester United? Isn't it better than some advertisement?
…
After leaving Manchester, Yu Dong and the others went to Paris.
They didn't have anything particularly important to do in Paris. The main thing was to meet the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Actes Sud, He Biyu.
The name He Biyu sounds like a Chinese, but in fact she is an authentic French. Her original name is Isabelle, and she is a professor of Sinology at the School of Oriental Languages ​​in Paris, so she has a good understanding of Chinese literature.
He Biyu was very happy when she saw Yu Dong and others.
She smiled and said, "I have already met half of my favorite contemporary Chinese writers today."
Yu Hua asked: "Where is the other half?"
"There's another half, I haven't discovered it yet."
Several people laughed. It seemed that this was just a French joke made casually by He Biyu.
He Biyu is about forty years old, petite, with short hair, capable and somewhat elegant. She previously taught at Yanjing Institute of Foreign Languages, and has a deep understanding of China and Chinese literature. She herself admires Shen Congwen very much.
I have also done special research on Shen Congwen's works before.
Later, when we talked about contemporary Chinese writers, she mentioned Mo Yan and Chen Zhongshi. It was obvious that she was also very interested in these two.
Yu Dong joked, "I should have brought Mo Yan here if I had known earlier."
"Of course. If you have a chance next time, you must bring him here with you." He Biyu then talked about their novels, "The works of the three of you have performed well locally. Whether it is sales or reader feedback,
Everything is okay. Of course, this is just the beginning, and it should be better in the future. The company and the Deep Space Company are already ready to start doing some promotion."
He Biyu didn't know that Yu Dong was the boss of Deep Space Company, so she deliberately said a few more words to them, "Especially when Yu Dong's novel, "Xiang Xiang" was published, I asked my opinion whether I should borrow the book you relied on before.
"Resident Evil" and "Second World" have accumulated popularity, but Deep Space Company has said that it will not be used for the time being. It can be seen that they have their own plans."
Yu Dong smiled and nodded, "Actually, it's mainly for your publisher's consideration. Hasn't your Chinese literature series just started? The Deep Space side also wants to wait for your series to grow and promote it together. This will help develop more
of Chinese works.”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Then you three will be wronged, and you have to wait for others. But I believe that even if there is no promotion, these books will be published in French books
If it grows naturally in the market, it will also have a good result."
He Biyu comforted Yu Dong and the others with a smile. In fact, she was also under a lot of pressure.
At the publishing house, she was an airborne soldier. Deputy editor Barr was originally considered the most likely candidate to be promoted to editor-in-chief. Once she came, Barr had no chance.
Therefore, Barr has been keeping an eye on the Chinese literature series she presided over. If this series does not develop well, Barr will definitely launch an attack. It is normal for him to go to the president to apply some eye drops.
The series of books has just come out not long ago, so I can only say that the performance is mediocre. Although Barr sometimes makes a few strange words, it is not too excessive. But if there is no improvement one after another, it will be difficult to say what will happen next.
Originally, he wasn't too worried. After all, with Yu Dong here, the sales of the book would not be bad no matter what. However, as Deep Space remained unmoved, her pressure became more and more intense.
"Editor-in-Chief, do you have a guest here?"
He Biyu looked at the door, couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, and said that Cao Cao... I think he was thinking of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao would be here soon.
Deputy Editor Barr was tall, middle-aged, and a little stout, with brown hair and blue eyes. He walked in with a smile, looked at Yu Dong and the others and said, "They should be those Chinese writers, right?"
At this time, the translator brought by Yu Dong and others came into play, and he translated Baer's words to Yu Dong and others.
He Biyu also introduced to Yu Dong and others, "This is the deputy editor-in-chief of our publishing house, Barr."
He Biyu then introduced Baer, ​​"These three are Yu Hua, Bi Feiyu, and Yu Dong."
Barr nodded as a greeting, and then said to He Biyu, "I'm just passing by to take a look, so I won't disturb you."
He came suddenly and left quickly, staying in this room for no more than a minute.
After he left, Yu Dong and Bi Feiyu looked at each other for a few times, but neither spoke.
But all three of them had the same idea, that is, this Barr might be in trouble, and He Biyu was not as simple as it seemed.
It is obvious that deputy editor Barr has no idea that Yu Dong is YU.
It is reasonable for an airborne editor-in-chief to burn the deputy editor-in-chief first.
Of course, He Biyu's ability to do this also proves that Barr, the deputy editor, has indeed been excluded from the core level of the publishing house. After all, it is impossible for the publishing president to know that Yu Dong is YU, but the president did not tell him
Barr revealed.
Later, after leaving the publishing house, Yu Hua lamented, "The court battles in France are not weak either."
"Let's forget about these things." Bi Feiyu said with a smile, "How about we see if there are any football games in Paris and pay attention to the level of the French league?"
"French football is okay, let alone the league. I pay more attention to French food, such as foie gras, snails, red wine, macarons... Yu Dong, you said you wanted to treat us to dinner, right?"
"Did I say that?"
"Of course you said it, right Feiyu."
"That's natural."
Yu Dong smiled and said, "I see that you two don't care at all about how your book is received in France."
Bi Feiyu pouted and said, "Why do you care?"
"Go to the bookstore and check it out. Didn't you go read "Alive" when it was released in China?"
Yu Hua waved his hand, "Don't read it. Didn't you understand what Chief Editor He meant? She said that the performance was okay, but she had to give it a discount, but the performance was not satisfactory. French people speak like this."
…
In fact, Yu Hua was wrong. He Biyu said it was okay, but it was really okay.
The book series even has a small but loyal following of readers.
Anna is one of them. She is a student at the Sorbonne University. She discovered this series of books published by AS Publishing House in a bookstore a few days ago. Now there are only three books, two novels and one novel collection.
"Alive", "To the West", and "Panic Fingers", and the names of the three writers all have YU in them. She thought that the names of Chinese writers all have YU in them, because the author of "The Second World" is named YU.
At first, Anna read these three books out of curiosity. She didn't know much about Chinese literature before, but after reading them, she discovered that she actually liked all the novels in them, whether they were novels or short stories.
The novels written by Chinese writers give people a special feeling. The things they describe are obviously very far away from her and do not exist in this era, but they can make her feel that they are close at hand and within reach.
Those worlds that seem to be very different from the real life she lives in can resonate with her at any time. Perhaps this is the charm of literature. Even if the culture is different, it can stir the deep strings of human nature.
Since then, Anna has been fascinated by Chinese literature. She wanted to find some more books by Chinese authors in the bookstore, but found that it was not easy.
She even wrote to AS Publishing House to ask what other books would follow the series and whether there were any books by this author.
During this period of time, Anna read "Going West" twice and "Alive" three times. She took out the short stories in "Panic Fingers" and read them when she had nothing to do.
The books written by these three writers all have bitter themes, but they are written with a subtle sense of humor that makes people want to laugh, but they don’t know why.
In terms of style, "Alive" reminds Anna of Hemingway, "Panic Fingers" has a somewhat elegant feel to it, while "Going West" has a touch of magical realism... But the novels of the three of them are all
One characteristic is that he loves to tease.
They seemed to make fun of everything, and they always made fun of them inadvertently, making fun of the ordinary, the hardships of life, and the strengths of the Zhang family and the shortcomings of the Li family.
For example, in "Alive", the protagonist's father is defecating next to a cesspit at the end of the village - in fact, Anna does not know what that kind of cesspool is and why the protagonist's father is defecating next to it - but the scene in the book is not difficult.
Imagine that the protagonist's father defecated next to a cesspit at the end of the village, and then fell into it and drowned.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! For another example, in "To the West", Dadan will let Hongzi pretend to be a villain to bully elementary school students, and then he will act as a hero himself.
Obviously they are very sad things, but they can write different feelings, allowing people to feel the power of life from these sadnesses.
"Anna, are you still reading Chinese novels?"
Anna's good friend, Olivier, walked over from behind. He stretched out his head to look at the book in Anna's hand and said with a smile, "That's true."
"Why are you here?" Anna asked strangely.
Olivier is a sportsman and rarely appears in the study room. He sometimes reads books, but they are all popular novels and even children's literature. His favorite novel is "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
A British children's novel.
"Our Zombie Research Association has an event today, which is nearby, so I came to see you. How do you like it? Do you want to go and have a look?"
By the way, Olivier also likes "Resident Evil", and they also set up a zombie research association. Sometimes people from their association dress up as zombies and scare people in the school.
Anna shook her head, "I still won't go."
"Why? Don't you also like YU's "Second World"?"
"I quite like "Second World", but I'm not very interested in "Resident Evil", and now I prefer these three YU."
"These three YU? Are they all called YU? Are all Chinese called YU?"
"I asked around, YU is a surname, and many people in China have the surname YU."
Olivier shook his head and said he didn't understand, "Chinese people have really weird surnames. So many people have the same surname."
In France, the situation is just the opposite. There are many people with the same name, but fewer people with the same surname.
In fact, Anna also made a mistake, because Bi Feiyu's surname YU is not his surname, and his surname should be Bi.
——
——
Asking for monthly ticket
Chapter completed!