Spring was dominated by the publication of Secrets in May. Leading up to a book’s launch, the author commits to all manner of publicity and marketing. This can range from writing articles commissioned by mags and papers in return for a plug (of the book, not of the bath…), to interviews across the media (tv, radio and press) to events up and down the country, plus signings in book shops and finally, undertaking daft things to secure any publicity going. In fact, all authors become a little shameless in giving their new books a leg-up! As you may remember from my blog, the leg-up for me came in the form of a ladder propped against a bus. It was fantastic to don a hi-viz jacket and physically fix one of the amazing posters to the side of a London double-decker!
The shenanigans that take place around publication can be as exhausting as they are fun - and the rewards are always well worth it. You must remember, we authors spend most our year in utter silence in the company of people who don’t actually exist - so I for one find it a real thrill to be out and about, meeting the people who really matter (you lot who buy my books, the staff who ensure the shelves are well stocked, the journalists who take shorthand while I gabble nineteen to the dozen, the producers who let me witter on and on, on radio and tv….)
March-June were packed with commitments ranging from writing my first short story for radio (entitled Fish & Chips, for BBC Radio 4 - I’ll see if I can post it up here, in due course), to appearing on the Matthew Wright show on TV. I also turned the airwaves blue-ish with Claudia Winkleman, but then I turned the airwaves silent on the Robert Elms show when I promptly lost my voice! I signed books up and down the country - me and my trusty felt pen (a Pilot Liquid Ink Sign Pen - in either pink, mauve or blue, since you ask…) and spoke at length to journalists from the nationals as well as regional papers. I also did a number events in the North East - which is of course where Secrets is set. How much fun it is to return ‘for work’ to a place so close to my heart. I even managed to organize at ‘working lunch’ with a journalist…at one of my favourite eateries in Saltburn, Virgo’s!
There were fantastic evening events in Whitby, York and Middlesbrough too - it was great to meet so many readers, old and new. I must make mention of one lady, Colette, who has been writing to me for years and years. It was such a thrill to finally meet her when she journeyed from Leeds to York for the talk there (tork in york? talk in yalk?). At the event in Whitby, a certain Sharon Stone was in the audience (yes indeed. No, not that one). Well, a few weeks later, she took a day off work and decided to drive north for an hour to read Secrets on the beach at Saltburn… and she was strolling along the vast sands at pretty much the same time as I was being frowned at for not having a copy of my book on me for a local photo call (doh!). Sharon to the rescue… Perhaps the event I enjoyed most was the final one on my schedule. Middlesbrough was organized by my great friend Jennifer Garton who has a cameo in Pillow Talk. The evening was a sell-out. Raucous, spirited a fantastic giggle…with a great curry afterwards in Stokesley and a fantastic night’s sleep at Crathorne Hall, my favourite hotel ever.
All in all, I enjoyed every exhausting minute - I know Secrets is my 10th novel, but the thrill of seeing my book in the shops, in the pages of a magazine or in the hands of a reader is as much a thrill now as it was way back in 1996 when Sally was first published. Secrets enjoyed two months in the UK Top Ten and is my fastest selling and biggest selling novel to date. A massive thank you to all who have supported me. It’s been emotional!
Many of you have been in touch asking whether I’ve written a short story for the infamous anthology just published, In Bed With….
It’s edited by my great friend, the marvellous Australian author (and so much more) Jessica Adams. I met Jessica whilst involved with the Girls Night In anthologies - she’s a remarkable woman - read her book I’m A Believer - it’s one of my all-time favourite reads!
Anyway, back to the matter in hand, no - I didn’t contribute a story to In Bed With… Partly because I was up to my neck writing Secrets, partly because I’ve always written pretty raunchy scenes (yes alright - downright dirty) in my mainstream novels and thus didn’t feel I needed an outlet in which to do so!
The In Bed With girls have written under larky pseudonyms that combine their first pet’s name/ the road in which they grew up. It’s a bit of fun and an excellent PR/ Sales angle - but I do wonder would they not have been proud to put their own names to their work? And I don’t use the word ‘work’ lightly - I find writing short stories excruciatingly difficult - I could write three or four chapters in the time it takes to write a short story - give me 140,000 words over 2,500 words any day!
The shortest story my poor Dad has read was a mere 21 words long… It was the opening of my first novel Sally… and because the 22nd word was, erm, risque he hasn’t read a single word I’ve written since - and I’m now 10 novels and 12 years down the road!
Well, my last post generated a lively response - thanks to all of you who gave a little time and shared your thoughts. Authors, readers, publishers, agents - even a QC - joined in the debate both on my website, on my facebook page and also the blog I wrote for thebookseller.com. Anyway, the upshot was… apparently I should be a nice, quiet lady-like author who doesn’t take to her soap-box… Read into that what you will!!
Slapped wrists aside, a lovely consequence of all the hoo-ha was other sites linking to this one. As you know, I’m new to blogging and at first all this blinkin’ linkin’ flummoxed me. However, I rather like it now - it makes the world a smaller place, a friendlier place and it makes cyber-space not such a scary place for yours truly. Following one such link, I discovered a really lovely website that champions women’s commercial fiction and has lots of interesting pages. And I’m loving the name: trashionista.com!
I’ve come across plenty of weirdy/ snidey/ fairly venomous blogspots which simply go out of their way to belitte and even attack the genre I write - so it was really great to discover such support out there. A hearty THANK YOU.
At some point soon, I will scramble back onto my high horse/ climb aboard my soapbox and have a good ol’ sound-off about those who denigrate (yeah yeah, author’s fancy word for ’slag off’) my type of fiction… but in the light of my last blog, I think I ought to keep this post nice and anodyne…
Tomorrow I’m off for a long weekend to Spain (if the snow holds off) as it’s half term. This trip, I’m perhaps more excited about the airport, than the destination - as it will be my first first chance to see Secrets in the airport bookshops. I want to tell you that for me, the thrill of seeing copies of my books is as strong now as it was for my very first novel, Sally. So - if there are any staff reading this who work at Luton - keep your eyes open for the mad woman craftily repositioning books… she may even approach you, all flushed and a bit hyper, squealing ‘I wrote it! Please can I sign it!’
A website I frequently visit to keep up to date with the latest publications is lovereading because it’s so much more than a standard online bookstore. I am taking with me Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates) and Mister Pip (Lloyd Jones) - two books I’ve long wanted to read.
I hasten to add that I will also be taking my copy of Grazia (a sacred weekly institution for me) - which I bought on Tuesday and have managed to not open since! Saving it for the plane, I am - the kids will no doubt run amock, up and down the aisle, while Mummy buries her nose in that glorious publication but hey, it’s only a two and a half hour flight to Malaga….and Monarch air-hostesses are famously fab.
One final thing: I was a question yesterday on the Weakest Link…but apparently, the silly chap’s answer was WRONG!
I started this, my second novel, before I even had an agent, never mind a contract, for my first novel, Sally. It was half-written when I finally landed my first deal. The money coming in meant I could continue the book by embarking on my first research trip. I flew to Northern Ireland in early February 1996 - ironically, on the day of the IRA bus bombing in Aldwych. I stayed in County Antrim and tootled about by myself, truly feeling I was following in my character’s footsteps. Soon after that, I continued my research with a trip down to north Cornwall. I remember it was snowing - and snow replaced sand on the beach, right up to the water’s edge. Chloe was the first of my novels to make it into the Sunday Times Top 10. My editor had the chart framed - and it has pride of place on my study wall to this day. Jasper and Peregrine in this book were actually based on two aged geldings I knew!
Read a brief synopsis of Chloe
See what happened next to Chloe
Back in 1991, trying to figure out how my new computer worked, I found myself writing the opening of the sort of novel I wanted to read. The thrill of being able to write what I wanted - and then hiding it - was utterly liberating….hence the utter raunchiness of the opening paragraph! Of course, I couldn’t afford research trips so the locations features in Sally are those well known to me - London and also Mull, on the Scotland’s west coast.
I was working in a coffee and tea shop at the time - and my colleagues were all ears to hear how this novel was progressing. The meal that Richard prepares Sally was suggested by Michele - an Italian with whom I worked at that time.
This novel took four years to write. It was finally published in November 1996. I’ll never forget the shock and sublime thrill of seeing it on the shelf of a bookshop. I feel very fondly towards the characters - hence involving them in minor roles in Love Rules - just so I could see what they’d been up to in the intervening years!
Read what happened next to Sally
Read a brief synopsis of Sally
[1991] - Freya gave up a PhD scholarship to write her first novel, Sally. For 4 years she turned deaf ears to parents and pals who pleaded with her to “get a proper job”. She went on the dole and did a succession of freelance and temping jobs to support “writing days” every now and then. During this time, she was rejected by many publishers and agents whose comments ranged from “you can’t start a book like that” (referring to Sally’s rather raunchy opening scene) to “I like your idea but can’t stand your style”. Undeterred, she started Chloë as soon as she finished Sally. In 1996 she approached one of the UK’s top literary agents, Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown Ltd. Throwing caution to the wind, Freya sent him 3 chapters and a page of completely fabricated reviews, which she wrote on behalf of the Sunday Times, Jilly Cooper and Germaine Greer. Lloyd took her on and put her work up for auction.
[1996] - 5 publishers enter a bidding war for Freya’s books. A three-book deal for a six figure sum is the result. Sally is published to great acclaim and Freya is heralded a fresh voice in fiction.
[1997] - Chloë doubles Sally’s release figures and is a Sunday Times bestseller.
[1998] - Polly spends 14 weeks in the original Fiction Top 10. The film rights are sold and the paperback goes straight onto the Sunday Times Top 10 at no.5.
[1999] - Freya’s 4th novel Cat is published in November. Set around the Tour de France, Freya’s research took her deep down to the secrets behind the Lycra.
Freya’s books are translated into five languages. In Holland, she is called the Literary Spice Girl and her books are hailed “better than viagra”. Her fan base is wide, ranging from teenage girls to elderly gentlemen worldwide.
[2000] - in June, Cat is released in mass market paperback. Fen is being written. Pip is being researched. Freya is involved with the Daphne Du Maurier Festival and the Edinburgh International Literary Festival as well as many other book festivals from Bodmin to Bracknell.
[2001] - Freya’s 5th novel, Fen, is published in October. Her son, Felix, was born on Easter Sunday, 15th April 2001.
[2002] - Freya spends the summer writing Pip. Fen is published in paperback in late September and goes straight into the charts, peaking at no.4. Freya is now safely into her second pregnancy with the baby due in early February. Pip is completed late November and Freya and her family move house a couple of weeks later.
[2003] - Georgia Jeannette born on 4th February 2003 at 10.45 pm, weighing 7 lbs 14 0z. Pip is published in August. Freya starts her 7th novel, Love Rules, featuring the adventures of two best friends - new characters, plus the reappearance of Sally.
[2004] - Pip is published to great success in paperback. Freya completes Love Rules and follows her editor to HarperCollins. Freya is now hard at work on no8 – which reunites Cat, Fen and Pip McCabe.
[2005] - Love Rules is published around Valentine’s Day and then in paperback later in the year. The novel is a Top10 bestseller, breaking all Freya’s previous sales records. Home Truths, Freya’s 8th novel is written and the author’s thoughts turn to her 9th…
[2006] - Home Truths is published in March and stays in the Original Fiction Top10 for over 3 months. The book becomes a paperback bestseller in the autumn, making the national Top 10 and riding high over the Christmas period. Pillow Talk, Freya’s 9th novel is written and the author’s thoughts turn to her 10th…
[2007] - Pillow Talk is published in August to great acclaim, going straight into the Original Fiction Top Ten. The tenth novel is underway - and waiting for a title.
[2008] - on 4th February, Pillow Talk is published in paperback and wins the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Georgia turns 5 years old on the same day. It’s a career highlight for Freya, with lots of TV and press to do but soon enough she’s back in the library, completing the 10th novel, Secrets.
[2009] - Secrets will be published as an exclusive airport edition in February, and in paperback in May. Freya thought she needed a rest…but now she’s planning her 11th novel - and a couple of top secret projects too… watch this space!
It’s blowing a gale outside – a tree was uprooted right outside our house this lunchtime so Georgia and I went to ogle the twelve lovely firemen from three fire engines which hared down our street in two seconds flat. The tree had fallen right across the road, smashing a couple of cars in its wake. No one hurt. There’s something so sad about a fallen tree – all those decades, perhaps centuries, of standing so lofty and proud, ending with such an undignified disposal via chainsaw and council wood-chipper. Freya says: Go hug a tree!
(more…)
Meet Sally - well-mannered English rose of twenty-five. A primary school teacher from Highgate, Sally’s decided to re-invent herself as a femme fatale and all-around sex-goddess. Goodbye Laura Ashley; au revoir M&S undies; hello Erica Jong.
Meet Richard - six foot two and a bit, perfectly carved and gorgeously chiselled. Thirty-five-year-old architect from Notting Hill, confirmed bachelor and the unknowing target of Sally’s masterplan. She’s determined to be the one great erotic heroine of his life. He’s going to be her dream affair - no strings, no scone-baking. Just sex and sensuality. Until, that is, a New Year masked ball unmasks more than was intended. Until Richard, unwittingly, threatens all that Sally holds dear. From London Zoo to the Pompidou, from tiramisu to I love you, join Sally and Richard on their roller-coaster ride of self-discovery, self-denial, seduction and spots (proving Sally can’t change hers) in this fabulous, fresh and funny first novel.
Meanwhile, read about what happened to Sally
