I’m delighted to share this with you! An interview with our lovely Deborah Price, author of The Peanut Factory. If you haven't yet read it, here's a reader review by Bill McConnell:
"Deborah Price really captured the times — the squats, the music, the transition from hippies to punks and on, the culture of Britain in the late 70s and 80s ...wonderfully sensitive portraits of the at times quite awkward interactions of otherwise wild and fearless young people. A fantastic and at times gripping read that takes you right there — the good, the bad, the ugly, the amazing music scene, and the rich pageant of humanity!"
xx Julianne, director at Guts
6 September 2022
How did you find out about Guts?
It was a lucky accident. I am in a writing group and at one of our meetings a fellow writer gave me a copy of Writing Magazine. In there was a feature from Guts asking for memoir submissions.
What drew you to Guts?
When I read the feature and saw that they liked memoirs and were a bit different, I knew we were a perfect match!
What surprised you about the publication process?
It was quicker than I thought. Julianne took me on in January and we were working towards a May publication date. I had written and published academic books that took much longer.
Did you have any misconceptions?
I thought that some of my work was ready for publication (ha ha) and I didn’t realise how much work there was involved in publicity and promoting my book - as much as writing it.
How did you find working with a small independent publisher?
It was wonderful, so much more hands on and personal than my experiences with bigger publishers with my other books. Julianne was so supportive and enthusiastic - there was no downside to working with Guts.
Have there been any changes in your life as a result of publishing The Peanut Factory?
I now feel that I can call myself a writer! That’s six books and numerous chapters in. It took the seventh book to really convince me that I am a writer! It was also strange knowing that many people out there know very intimate details of my early life. One of my nephews shook his head at me and just said, “Oh, Auntie Deb.”
What are you working on now?
I have been doing NaNoWriMo for a few years and have some drafts of novels knocking around. The one that I’ve worked the most on is called ‘Dirty Sweet’ set in the 60s to present day. It’s the memoir of a gay man, Richard, and his relationship with a charismatic woman called Maxine. I’ve set myself the task of editing it with Julianne’s voice in my head starting in September - wish me luck!
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The Peanut Factory is Deborah Price's debut memoir. You can buy the paperback or ebook from Guts Publishing here: gutspublishing.com/product-page/the-peanut-factory
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