Josie Lloyd discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Josie Lloyd, also writing as Joanna Rees, is the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling international author of over twenty novels and has been translated into 27 languages. Come Together, which she co-authored with her husband Emlyn Rees, was number one for 10 weeks and made into a Working Title film. Josie Lloyd recently wrote contemporary women’s fiction novels The Cancer Ladies Running Club and Lifesaving for Beginners, which was a #1 Bookseller Heatseeker. Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency is her first crime novel.
1. Isabella Beeton – she of the ‘Book of Household Management’ fame is still relevant today. Her weighty Victorian tome was full of common sense advice on how to run a household, but lots of it still rings true: like cooking a big meal on a Sunday and using the left-overs all week. Making sure that you find the best quality ingredients at the lowest price and learning how to budget properly. And, just when we thought it was a new idea, one of her pieces of advice is for the mistress of the house to rise early and take a cold bath. She was the perfect inspiration for my latest novel, Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency.
2. Creative collaboration is a magical thing. When I first met Emlyn, my husband, he was my agent’s assistant and we came up with a crazy idea to write a book together. He went away and wrote a chapter from a boy’s point of view, then I wrote a response from the female point of view. The book went on to be Come Together, a number one hit which was translated into 26 languages. Over the following seven novels, we learnt how to write collaboratively and still have a thriving writing partnership and have just written another rom com together. Learning how to plan and give feedback is key, but it’s so exciting to be involved in a creative project together. It’s true that two heads are better than one.
3. There’s no perfect way to be ‘a writer’. And certainly staring at a blank screen is not necessarily a good way to start. I’ve learnt that it’s crucial to accept and embrace your own method. Like most writers, I’ve always had a slight imposter syndrome, not really thinking I’m a ‘proper’ writer – even after 22 published novels. When lock-down happened, I thought it would be a fabulous time to write, but it was tumble-weed. I realised that I need interaction with people and that I write on the hoof, in brief snatches. I also always write ‘You are free to write the worst junk in the world’ at the top of every document – which tends to shut up my inner critic.
4. It’s breast cancer awareness month and having been through it – and having been inspired to write The Cancer Ladies’ Running Club – it’s important that people know that there are two types of breast cancer – lobular and ductal. Lobular accounts for 15 per cent of all breast cancers, which doesn’t sound much means that 22 women a day are diagnosed with it – often many of them too late. I am now patron of Lobular Breast Cancer UK and do a lot of work to support women through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. A large part of that is educating people that women are not just looking for a lump, but any change in breast tissue.
5. Having breast reconstruction surgery is not the only option after breast cancer. I had a prosthetic breast made that matches my bumpy chest wall and it’s a game-changer. More people need to know that this is a great alternative to surgery.
6. Daily Qi Gong is amazing. As a busy mum of three with a successful career, cancer came as an enormous shock. I realised that I’d put my own well-being at the very bottom of my list. After I’d been through treatment, I discovered Qi Gong the ancient art of moving meditation. I religiously do a fifteen minute routine upon waking – in my dressing gown, outside, and it has profoundly changed my life and wellbeing. Putting a ‘me-time’ routine into your day, but keeping it consistent is the key to well-being.
Better Known 