 FRENCH SALLY is a novel in three volumes, published by Unbound Press. Originally, the novel was called Place de la Comédie, before I moved to Montpellier and discovered that a Place de la Comédie really existed. That was in 1990. I thought I was a writer back then, but I realise now I never have been. I was almost a writer though, and that's one of the reasons I pressed ahead with French Sally. I was almost a writer because Place de la Comédie almost got published twice. I never approached an agent but sent it off to two different publishers at the same time. One isn't supposed to do that because what if they both say yes? Ha, ha! That'll be - that would have been - the day! The two replies arrived in the same delivery, one addressed to William Price, the other to Peter Prince. I put them in an old tin trunk with a manuscript of the novel itself, and rediscovered them 20 years later in the shed at the end of the garden. Here they are (click to enlarge): John Farquason Ltd The Alison Press They were nice. That must be why I kept them. And far from throwing me into a slough of despond, they made me think it was worth spending however long it took to get the story right. It took another 15 years. Is it more focused now? Well, I hope so, given that getting it so was uppermost in my mind during rewriting. I'm sure it'll still seem chaotic to some, but all I can say is you should have seen the original! Unbound Press, incidentally, is also the title of the literary journal the company has launched. In the inaugural issue you'll find a brief account of life, work and writing, along with other prose and poetry well worth reading. I recommend - but you may prefer others - Goat and Dumplins by C.D. Mitchell and For The Son of a Childless Mother by Melanie Rae Thon. Finally, since I'm on the subject of Unbound Press, have you ever wondered what it's like to be a policeman? Possibly not. Few people do, I imagine, unless they're thinking of becoming one. Policemen, to me, were like doctors - distant, imbued with authority, best avoided really - until I read Unreasonable Force. Whereupon I discovered they're as human as anyone else. |
