And speaking of perseverance


A raunchy novel with a dauntless heroine has transformed the lives of a 93-year-old author and three of her friends who were living in nursing homes.

Pushed by her daughter-in-law, who found the manuscript and couldn't put it down, Lorna Page has become one of the oldest debut writers on record, with equally unusual social results.

Suddenly prosperous on the advance and sales of A Dangerous Weakness, a feminist thriller set in the Alps, Page has traded her one-bedroom flat in Surrey for a big, detached country house, and invited contemporaries to move in.

"Care homes can be such miserable places. You sit there all day staring out the window with no one to talk to," she said. "I thought it would be lovely to give a home and family life to one or two people who would otherwise be sitting around there. It's nice for me too because at my age it's handy to have someone to live with. Now every book that sells will help towards making a home for someone."

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It seems to say that the money came from advance sales, not an advance as such.

edit: oh, no it doesn't, sorry Will You Love me Tomorrow is now available on Amazon. Click to find out more.

That particular story was full of misreporting and hype. I blogged about it here: there are plenty of links in my blog post, so you can track down what happened.

Apologies for any typos I might let slip by: I've developed a problem with my vision and I've not got used to it yet.

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Why, Paul, that sounds remarkably cynical of you...!

I was cynical when I first heard of the 93 year old's story: it sounded so unlikely and I was right to be doubtful. It would be nice if things could just be reported straight, don't you think? Apologies for any typos I might let slip by: I've developed a problem with my vision and I've not got used to it yet.

How Publishing Really Works