Writer Jenny Colgan remembers the author of The Life and Loves of a She Devil, who has died aged 91, a supreme operator who understood how to have a successful literary career
Photograph: REX/ShutterstockPhotograph: REX/ShutterstockI have worked with a lot of writers on the festival circuit, most of them delightful – but I have never seen such an adoring literary audience as I did when I was on stage withThese were second-generation feminists, working mothers, divorcees, and they absolutely loved her for pouring her rage and impish sense of fun into her books – not justbut The Hearts and Lives of Men, Down Among the Women and more.
Fay loved appearing before crowds, she loved being outrageous and cheeky and – let us not be euphemistic about this - she quite often spoke a load of absolute rubbish designed to get her into the papers. She was completely open that this was entirely a strategic move. When I had had two books published she leaned towards me and said: “Now, look. Anyone can START a literary career. Getting it to carry on is the tricky bit!”, which was some of the most useful advice I’ve ever heard. Her own method was to say something utterly controversial and newsworthy whenever she had a book out, which generally worked like a charm.
I was once approached by a chocolate company to mention their chocolate bar in one of my novels after Fay had agreed to a product placement deal with a jewellery company for her book
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