‘I have to live with a traitor’s name’
When my first novel, Every Day Is Mother’s Day, was published in 1985, I had been living abroad for some years. Its sequel came out a year later, and at that point, returning from Saudi Arabia, I needed to work out whether I could make a living as a writer. The advance for my first book had been £2000. For my second it was £4000 – a good rate of progress, but not an income. Apart from my agent and publishers, I didn’t know anyone in the media or a single other person who was a writer. But I didn’t think I was equipped for any other trade.
The first person one piece a month, £40. Alan Ross at the employed me; he was able to pay even less. But I decided I would say “yes” to anything, especially if it frightened me. Soon, Charles Moore at the became my patron, and offered me their film column. A weekly column made me visible and led to more work than I could handle.
