Once, I had a literary agent. He loved One Apple Tasted. This was in the years before the internet, so I had no way of comparing my experience with anyone else’s much. Anyway, as you can tell from enormous aeons of time that have passed since, he didn’t sell my novel back then, and in fact I found the rejection letters so discouraging that I simply stopped dead in my tracks and went back to journalism. Anyway, I had written lots of unfinished stuff and short stories, but One Apple Tasted was the only novel I completed and thought was worth publishing. As it turned out last year, it was worth publishing and this is why we are here.
I didn’t have an agent, which you don’t always need if you are targeting small independent publishers, as I did - although quite by change.
What happened next though was the door swinging open on the publishing world at last, and through it stepped the graceful form of Lizzy Kremer of David Higham. She contacted me after reading a piece I wrote for the Telegraph, and has now offered me representation. Naturally I am bouncing up and down about this, and believe it will be a very different experience. The David Higham site has just relaunched, with me on it and now I need to finish Sail Upon the Land.
Literary Agent
February 4th, 2010Feedback that Made Me Smile
October 23rd, 2009For a few months, I have been designing and creating a website for Victoria Gray, whose husband the playwright and diarist Simon Gray died in May 2008. The idea is to house his archive and other exciting things like unpublished work and videos of people like Edward Fox talking about their experiences of working with him. It has launched now at www.simongray.org.uk and new content is going up all the time.
In the process, Victoria, who was an English lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London (where she originally met fellow lecturer Simon), came to the launch and bought a copy of One Apple Tasted, and told me that the launch of the Simon website on Wednesday that she read it on holiday. I was slightly alarmed at what this erudite person might think, but to my happiness this evening, I received this:
‘I just did want to say again how much I liked your book. The thing is, I thought it was nice– a word not generally used, but I really did think it warm, and engaging– and touching. I particularly liked every now and then an almost aside that quite startled me eg about old people– I don’t know why but I think you really have an ear or an eye for what is sensitive there, and certain insights that pull you up by the bootstraps– the doctor who felt more comfortable loving the human race in general, Dora’s mother and her memories, the way Dora speaks to herself — for goodness sake Jerusalem don’t be such a weed. Well done you. Keep going and all that. It’s very heartening when someone gets there after trying and trying and trying again. Richly deserved.’
So even a don likes it. I couldn’t be more thrilled. Now, on with the next one. I wrote first draft of OAT before the Internet - this time I keep fact checking as I go along instead of just delving in my mind and blagging it. Slows me down. Thank you, Victoria, for making my day.
One Apple Tasted Fishpie Recipe
October 19th, 2009Due to feedback I have had about people rushing to add capers to their fish pies, having read One Apple Tasted, here is the recipe. (I hope people aren’t taking some of the more misguided advice in the book too seriously - but everyone’s love lives should survive capers).
Ingredients:
1 fillet of haddock (or other white fish au choix)
1 fillet of undyed smoked haddock
4 eggs (or 12 quails eggs, although this is not in the novel)
Bechamel sauce (made with flour, butter and the milk you used to poach the fish, plus a good slug of a gutsy white wine)
Mashing potatoes (I make mash with a hand or electric whisk - be careful to buy very floury potatoes such as King Edwards)
Milk, butter and fresh grated nutmeg for the mash
2 tblspns capers
Method:
Put the fish in an over proof dish and pour over milk to cover, add a bayleaf, a little sliced onion, a few peppercorns and even a little lemon zest if you fancy it). Poach in a medium oven until opaque and flaky. Hard boil eggs. Using your fingers, flake off the skin and bones and discard. Put the fish flesh in a pie dish. Peel and slice eggs. Scatter over capers. Make a Bechamel by melting butter in a small pan (or these days I do it in the microwave in a pyrex bowl), whisk in flour, then strained milk from fish poaching, and white wine to make a pourable sauce. Taste for seasoning and pour over fish, eggs and capers. Lift everything gently so as not to mush up, to allow sauce to seep down among the ingredients. Make mashed potatoes - boil til a bit soggy, drain, add milk, salt, butter and grated nutmeg. Beat with hand or electric whisk til fluffy. Carefully arrange over top of fish etc. Make nice peaks if you like. You can also sprinkle with cheese, but there is no need. This can be put aside in the fridge and then reheated through in oven or microwave (I use a combination grill/microwave for minimal time to add little toasty brown to potatoes and heat the middle through. Do not overheat.
Serve in hot dollops, with a sharp salad on the side. Dora served Smarties for pudding, and then they all went to the fateful masked ball at the Polish Club.
Avon UK is my Twin
October 16th, 2009Didn’t know until I received an email from one of my favourite PRs on my birthday, proclaiming the golden anniversary of Avon in the UK. I have always liked Avon. When I was young, we had an Avon lady living next door and as a teenager I loved going to her house to play with the samples. Almost as much fun as going to Biba in Kensington High Street and painting every nail a different colour. Being an extremely underfunded teenager, I didn’t buy much but as a brand it gave me that gorgeous, pleasurable buzz that make-up still gives me to this day.
So when a parcel arrived for me this morning stuffed with the latest Avon products, I was transported straight back to that front room, boxes scattered around us, as I tried on lipsticks too dark for my 15 years, and silvery pink nail polish on my sadly bitten nails.
In the bag was a lipstick called Country Rose, which looks like the perfect deep pink. A purple nail polish called Decadence, ideal for winter toenails, and some serums suitable for de-excavating any lines that dare to show their faces.
But best of all, and something I am going to order for all my girlfriends, is the Jillian Dempsey for Avon Essential Beauty Palette. Brings out the little girl in me completely, as it flips open to reveal two eye colours, two lip colours and a terrific blusher. I usually use a powder one, but this has converted me completely to cream - much more natural and warming to the complexion. And it prevented me from scaring the builders with my chilly, blanched and haggard glare this morning.
They, Husband and boys after school are the only people likely to see these products today, but I am looking forward to keeping this great product in my bag. I have a terrible habit of making myself up on the Tube as every second in the house before I leave has to be taken up with my little boy. And this palette is perfect for the purpose as everything is in the same place to prevent juggling.
I will certainly look a lot healthier at my next book event at this rate.
Drunk Mummy Interviews Me
October 3rd, 2009A terrific journalist and blogger I know, known as Drunk Mummu, wrote a feature on the US/UK grown up women site Powder Room Graffiti
“Josa Young has always loved the Virago Modern Classics - intelligent books written by women for women. When she wrote her new novel ‘One Apple Tasted’ it was this sort of story that she was aiming to tell. ‘The convention in romantic fiction is that the woman is rescued by a man - I so disapprove of that’ she says. ‘Most romantic novels deny the enormous strength of women’”
Read more here: http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/share-it/an-interview-with-josa-young.html/comments/
Fly Away…
August 18th, 2009Being as One Apple Tasted came out in August, I hoped it would hit the airports. W H Smith have the monopoly in most and there is a ‘travel’ buyer who chooses, and probably goes for better known stuff guaranteed to fly off the shelves (literally). But One Apple Tasted is in the City Airport. I am tempted to brave the DLR to go and see it in situ. The publishers seem pleased with the amount of copies shifted so far - as it has only been out since a week and a bit ago. The Amazon reviews are good fun, including this today: This book is really brilliant, and I loved it: breathtaking and hilarious, well written and modern, catching many society traits and human characteristics!
Which is so nice it makes me blush.
Lorne Forsyth’s Speech for the Launch
July 22nd, 2009Lorne, who is the moving spirit behind the relaunch of my publisher Elliot & Thompson, devised a speech for the launch party, but then decided that the flow of the party was such that he wouldn’t stop it to get everyone to listen to him - it is such a lovely speech that in some ways I wish he had. So here it is:
First of all, on behalf of E&T, I would like to express our very great appreciation to Josa’s mother-in-law, Liz Kennet, for so kindly allowing us to use her magnificent house, with all of its literary connections, for the launch of One Apple Tasted.
For us it has been a marvellous experience working with Josa. Her levels of energy and enthusiasm combined with her detailed knowledge of how to make use of web based promotional avenues have been a revelation – as has been the number of emails it is possible to receive from one individual in the space of a day. Last Saturday, my first one arrived at 6.48 am….
Already Oat has featured in the Top Ten of the Amazon list of Hot New Releases– a tremendous achievement for a first time author, further underlined by the fact that well established, successful authors such as Julie Myerson and Isobel Wolff have been so enthusiastic about the quality and sensitivity of Josa’s writing. Do please continue to spread the word so that the jungle drums can start beating before the bookshop (and Amazon) shelves are stocked on 7th August
I first met Josa 18 months ago – ostensibly to learn about the world of publishing in the digital age, and it was only after some time had elapsed that I was allowed to see her manuscript. Fortunately for Josa, our publisher, Mark Searle, then quickly took control of matters working with her, Laurence Mynott who kindly drew the cover and Helen Szirtes who undertook the copy edit. A big thank you to all three but most of all to Josa for entrusting us with such an important aspect of her life – her first book…..I understand there just may be one or two others…
Launch Party
July 16th, 2009We all gathered at my parents in law’s house - where my father in law lived all his life and where Peter Pan was written - for the launch party. It was a truly all-age bash - from five to 85. My mother in law discovered her old sparring partner Peregrine Worsthorne had arrived with journalist Mary Killen, and they set to as they always do on the subject of defence to great mutual enjoyment. He was wearing a pink suit, which went nicely with his swept back white hair. She was wearing a bright striped Kenzo shirt, coincidentally I was also wearing Kenzo - a dress with a red and white spotty top and a black and white skirt, bought on Ebay. I could see why someone sold it, as a safety pin was needed to keep it decent at the front! Nice though my bra was (Janet Reger) it was not for public display.
We drank Cava, nice and cold, and the sun peeped shyly from time to time among April style showers. People came and went, came and went, which meant we fitted in a lot more guests than the house could usually accommodate - with spillings into the garden.
The dregs were kicked out at 11pm and we hoovered and tidied, and everyone pronounced it a great success. No speech, as it just didn’t seem appropriate to the atmosphere. Anyway, I felt like a bride all over again - a bit shy, but thrilled that it was all happening at last.
Amazon Hot Future Releases in Books
July 10th, 2009I’ve been bouncing around on the front page of this category of Amazon since early yesterday when it became apparent that I was there from Google Alerts.
Husband, still mostly confined to bed by Taylor Frame on his broken leg, IM’d me with the news. At our highest, we hit No 12, which was seriously exciting. I put on Gnarls Barclay very loud on YouTube and danced around the kitchen, until Archie, 17, came in and turned it down.
What is it with teenagers these days? I stuck out my bottom lip all right, but it made no difference at all.
‘Listen to it quietly, or not at all,’ he explained.
We are still in there this evening, in company with the likes of a former playground chum, Nick Cave; Richard Dawkins, busy denying the existence of God (and why shouldn’t he?); Jordon, and other very luminous luminaries. It’s a bit like being stuck in a lift with a random selection of people.
I’m loving it, and wondering what will happen next.
Avoiding the Bad Sex Awards?
July 10th, 2009I published a piece in the Telegraph this week on writing a novel in the modern age. It provoked quite a stir. READ IT HERE.
A skincare range called Astral had commissioned a survey to find out about the reading habits of women aged between 45 and 60, and acted all surprised when it turned out that they liked love scenes - in fact they liked reading about sex.
My problem with ‘love’ scenes is that very often the writer has parachuted them in to keep the readers awake, and there is a danger of winning the Bad Sex Award (if you are lucky) or turning off your readers (if you are not). Strange patches of pornography appear in gentle stories about nice girls and their romantic trials and tribulations. And there is a theory that men aren’t very good at writing about it at all - most Bad Sex winners seem to be men.
Of course, it is a massive risk. What if you get it all wrong and people laugh, or throw the book out of the window? For me, it is all about plot and character and what people do when they are in love, or when they are not. And why they do things, and what the consequences are for them and the next generation and the one after that.
So it was with trepidation that I embarked on the subject. Read my conclusions from Wednesday’s Telegraph here, and let me know what you think. The central character has a deadly secret - she is a ****** (wildly controversial in the modern age). www.oneappletasted.co.uk
My father in law, Wayland Kennet, who died in May this year, wrote a book called Eros Denied in the 1960s, all about the origins of people’s distorted views on the subject. He read the novel and liked it, and my mother in law sent me a message yesterday saying he would have loved my Telegraph article, which is so lovely as I have no parents now of my own. She even commended the way I write about sex - which was nice.
