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#1: Out of Fashion - complete Author: Liss, Location: Richmond

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:16 am
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It was embarrassing, no two ways about it. Jo Maynard was honest enough to admit it, loath as she was to do so. She sat in the salon at Freudesheim, and glanced at the manuscript sitting on a side table. Well, there it was. “For the Honour of the Fourth”, by Josephine M. Bettany. Never to be published. Not in touch with the youth of today, Henry Crowther, her publisher, had written. Thank you very much for submitting it, Mrs Maynard. Your books have always been popular in the past, Mrs Maynard. More clichés in the same sort of vein, but undeniably a rejection.

It was a jolt to her identity, Jo realised, crossing her legs and attempting to be mature about it. Her books had happily sold ever since she sent of Cecily, and the concept of rejection – the possibility of which she had accepted readily in her youth – had become rather distant. But here it was, and she found herself quite unprepared for it, and rather loath to send Honour round to anyone else, because surely if Crowthers weren’t prepared to publish it, no-one else would.

Was she out of touch? She didn’t think so, not exactly. It wasn’t as if she had any shortage of young people to talk to! But thinking about it, the kind of books you saw in the children’s section of bookshops these days were different to those of her youth. School stories seemed to be more scarce. Things went in and out of fashion, she knew that, and it seemed that she was now determinedly out of fashion.

“We would be happy to see more of your adult novels,” Henry Crowther had written, and Jo realised that she hadn’t written an adult novel for some time – over five years; closer to ten, when she thought about it. She’d written a few historicals, true, but for the children’s market. Laziness, she realised, and her cheeks burned with shame. She’d chosen periods she’d known well, settings she could write about without worrying over details.

There it was. She’d got into a rut, one of those tedious children’s writers one sometimes met, who churned out repetitive, formulaic books with little thought to originality, or creativity, or literary integrity. Jo made a long arm, and settled Honour on her lap. Flicking through, she read some of the passages.

Helen lifted an eyebrow at the Middle standing before her, and merely said sharply, “Less cheek from the likes of you, please! Take an order mark, and go to your form-room immediately!” The errant Middle – Alice Harper – turned on her heel, shot a mutinous look at the prefect over her shoulder, and returned to her compeers. Helen herself stifled a chuckle, and returned to the sanctum of the prefects’ room, there to lament to the others the problems of the Middles

---

“They don’t trust us, not a jot!” declared Hilary, standing on her desk in strict obliviousness to the rules. The others clustered round her, always ready for a little rebellion against their Seniors.

---

“What rot those kids talk,” remarked Helen. “Don’t take any notice of them, Cherry, dear.”
“But one can’t help but take notice,” said the Head Girl, rather anxiously. “They can cause such dreadful trouble when they’re roused.”
“I’ll say!” put in Anne, warming her hands in front of the fire. “Remember that row they got into last term?”

“Matey would tell me to chuck it on the fire,” Jo said to herself absently, then, with a surge of decision, did just that, poking vigorously at the pages with a poker until they were all alight and she had narrowly avoided setting the chimney on fire.

She was out of date. She could admit it. She had been too lazy to write properly. She could admit that, too. It was even possible – and this was the hardest to admit – that some of her friends had realised this too, and been too polite to mention it. The thought of Hilda or Nell reading one of her books and seeing how bad it was, made Jo cringe, but she had the – more or less unsettling, she couldn’t decide which – suspicion that neither of them read her books anyway. Not their style.

And there was Con, being published, although she had only just finished at Oxford, and was officially working for a weekly women’s paper. Jo wasn’t sure of the details – Con had been quite close-mouthed about the whole thing, and only sent a telegram informing her parents of the good news. Hot on its heels had come the package from Crowthers. Good of them to return it, really – they didn’t usually. Was she jealous of her daughter? Jo considered the question as dispassionately as she could manage. Well, yes. Maybe it was that feeling women had in books, when they realised that their daughter was growing up, taking their place. Youth, beauty, talent. Not beauty, really – Jo had accepted long ago that she would never be a beauty, and had never particularly aspired to it. She was striking, and that would remain, and she wasn’t too modest to be glad about it. But youth, and talent… Oh, heavens, of course she was jealous!

But she wouldn’t say, wouldn’t give any indication. Jo’s resolution firmed. She would be proud – she was proud of Con. And she would look at her own writing, and try harder. Write an adult novel, and really think about it; do it properly. Write something she could be proud of her, and her family, and her friends. She would be damned if she just gave up, sinking into obscurity when she still had talent. She knew she had talent! She just wouldn’t be so lazy about it any more. With a final poke at the smouldering remains of “For the Honour of the Fourth”, Jo Maynard began planning her next book.

Last edited by Liss on Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:27 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: Miranda, Location: Perth, Western Australia

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:57 am
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Well done Joey for being so honest with herself! That can't have been easy to do, especially with Con's success fresh in her mind...

#3: Author: Frogize, Location: Perth, Western Australia

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:09 am
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Shock! Horror! Joey's finally grown up!

#4: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:10 am
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That is fabulous Liss - I loved Joey being prepared to be so gut-wrenchingly honest and think it all through

And well done Con Very Happy

#5: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:18 am
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Thanks Liss, that was ace.

#6: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:26 am
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I felt quite sorry for Joey there!

#7: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:00 pm
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So did I, Alison!

Although the idea of Joey writing an "adult" novel did make me snigger, out loud, in the office.

*retreats to the gutter*

Thank you Liss

#8: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:40 pm
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Well done, Joey and well done, Liss - lovely.

It's so easy to get stuck in a rut, especially when that rut has been successful for a long time.

Good for Joey that she's taken the blow in such a positive / proactive way and not just run away to hide.

#9: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:48 pm
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Thanks, Liss.

#10: Author: leahbelle, Location: Kilmarnock

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:54 pm
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Glad that Joey was able to be honest with herself and still be proud of Con.

#11: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 4:37 pm
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Well done, Jo - facing the truth like that is something a Chalet girl should be able to do Very Happy

Thanks, Liss

#12: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:42 pm
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Well done Joey. And thanks for a nice positive depiction too Liss.

#13: Author: aitchemelle, Location: West Sussex

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:47 pm
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francesn wrote:

Although the idea of Joey writing an "adult" novel did make me snigger, out loud, in the office.

*retreats to the gutter*

*Joins Fran in the gutter*
*Recovers*
Thank you Liss, a great Joey Smile

#14: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:49 pm
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I always wondered just why the Upper Sixth girls were so entranced by Jo's school stories, after all, if they were doing English at 'A' level, they'd be reading far better stuff than anything Jo could write.

#15: Author: Elle, Location: Peterborough

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:45 pm
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aitchemelle wrote:

francesn wrote:

Although the idea of Joey writing an "adult" novel did make me snigger, out loud, in the office.

*retreats to the gutter*

*Joins Fran in the gutter*
*Recovers*
Thank you Liss, a great Joey Smile

*joins everyone else who is in the gutter*

#16: Author: Tara, Location: Malvern, Worcestershire

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:40 pm
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Good for Jo! A true Chalet girl indeed.

#17: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:25 am
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She's definitely no spineless jellyfish! Thanks Liss.

#18: Author: wheelchairprincess, Location: Oxfordshire, UK

Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:52 pm
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Thank You Liss

*off to join everyone else in the gutter*

#19: Author: Mrs Redboots, Location: London, UK

Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:20 pm
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Good for Jo!

Thanks, Liss.

#20: Author: Katherine, Location: London, UK

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:59 pm
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Jennie wrote:

I always wondered just why the Upper Sixth girls were so entranced by Jo's school stories, after all, if they were doing English at 'A' level, they'd be reading far better stuff than anything Jo could write.

But here we all are reading EBD’s stuff and I always imagine Joey’s stuff to be as good as hers. We still manage to have our Jane Austen discussions too.

Thanks Liss. Poor Jo, perhaps she can write an EDB filler for GGB. Although that mean I’m in the wrong house.

#21: Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:25 am
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Katherine wrote:

Jennie wrote:

But here we all are reading EBD’s stuff and I always imagine Joey’s stuff to be as good as hers. We still manage to have our Jane Austen discussions too.

I was just going to say the exact same thing, then I saw that Katherine had beaten me to it..... Very Happy

No matter what other books I choose to read, books that would be regarded as "better" than EBD, I still love my Chalet School. I can't see that the CS Sixth Formers enjoying reading the odd JMB is any different.

Joey seems to write for a broader range of ages than EBD, too - there are her straight school stories (presumably written for the teen to early twenties market, like those of most golden age school story authors) but also her historical novels, one of which is targeted for making into a Hollywood movie....

#22: Author: RoseCloke, Location: Camping in my housemate's room. Don't ask.

Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 4:34 pm
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I've been meaning to read this for ages and I'm glad I got around to it Smile

I can't decide whether I feel sorry for Joey or not, although I'm very intrigued as to what Con's job entails, if she's being so tight-lipped about it Shocked

#23: Author: La Petite Em, Location: Cheltenham

Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 8:45 pm
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Well, that was brave of Joey to admit to herself. All I want to know is, what does she mean by ADULT book? Thank-you!

#24: Author: Woofter, Location: Location? What's a location?

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:23 pm
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Good for Joey. Thank you Liss.

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