Patrice Lawrence has always wanted to be a writer. Alongside having a successful career in the charity sector, writing was something she always did – and supported and encouraged others to do. Born in Brighton to Caribbean parents, the self-confessed feminist and gardener lives in east London and has published work on equality and rights, as well as adult and children’s short stories through Hamish Hamilton, A and C Black and Pearson.
Despite having no conscious desire to write for teenagers, her first book deal (for two books with Hodder), is young adult fiction. The first novel, Orangeboy, is being published this month. Lawrence tells Joy Francis why she adores Toni Morrison, the importance of having an agent, getting a shout out from Malorie Blackman and why she believes it’s “an excellent time” to be a writer of colour.
Congratulations on your two book deal with Hodder Children’s Books and the June launch of Orangeboy. What is Orangeboy about?
It’s about a 16 year old boy called Marlon whose mum has the highest calling of all as a librarian. His dad died when he was little and he inherited his dad’s vinyl collection. Marlon goes on a date with a girl he fancies, though he doesn’t really know a lot about her. They meet up on a Saturday afternoon and a tragedy happens, changing his life forever. It’s about how far we would go to protect the people we love and how far we can be drawn into something that is completely out of our character. It’s set in Hackney where there is still knife crime and young people shooting each other. It’s about that legacy and how and why it happens.
It’s interesting that your book is being launched soon after Yvvette Edwards’ latest novel The Mother, which also deals with knife crime in Hackney, but from the mother’s perspective. There seems to be a synergy and a time for these stories to come out.
Yes, it’s interesting because Marlon’s mum is quite a big character in the book and I wanted them to have a good relationship. There’s stuff she is getting her head around and the promises Marlon has made to protect her.
What drew you to young adult fiction?
It was an accident. I had never thought about it. I’d written stuff in the past, such as adult short stories, and had them published. I’ve written adult fiction, but haven’t had them published, so I have no idea why I ended up writing for the young adult market. I did a course in crime writing at Arvon with Dreda Say Mitchell. I went with an idea of writing an adult fiction book set in the Port of Spain, Trinidad, in the 1940s, but I came back with Marlon. I wrote the first paragraph as part of a writing exercise about a young man called Marlon who has an affair with this young girl, but I have no idea where it came from.
Which writers inspire you?
Toni Morrison is wonderful. Songs of Solomon is one of the most brilliant books ever. Sci-fi writer China Mieville creates an amazing world. Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London books are great, as I’m a Londonphile, but he also he writes wonderful multi-ethnic and mixed race characters.
You have been working on your craft for many years and you also keep a blog – The Lawrence Line. What has kept you focused on your writing path?
I have always written. It’s just something I do, and would continue to do whether I got published or not. When I approached my 40th birthday, nine years ago, I already had an agent but I thought that I needed to get more work published, improve my skills and network more. Now I’m 49, my next step is how best to shape the rest of my life. I am also inspired by other people and writers. I went on Twitter to say I had just got 10 complimentary copies of my book Orangeboy. Malorie Blackman replied to my tweet. I said, hopefully out paths will cross soon, and she said she was coming to see me speak at a festival, which was wonderful.
What do you think got you your book deal at this point in your writing journey, apart from your talent?
One is that I was good enough. I spoke to Alex Wheatle about writing Liccle Bit which, like my book, falls under Hachette Book Group. Both of us shared how good an experience we were having with them. Second is that I really put in the hours and wrote 10 to 11 drafts. Also I have a really good writing group that tells me what works, so by the time I got the manuscript to my agent, it was in quite good shape. Finally, I told a story I really wanted to tell, which is important to me, with characters that I like. I lucked out in getting an editor who is London-born and who used to live in Streatham. I trust her to the hilt. She said this is a very important family drama and not a gang story. The head of children’s publishing is also a Londoner who lives in Lewisham. They both got that this is a London book. They have also put me forward for every literary festival going, including Hay, YALC [Young Adult Literature Convention] and Edinburgh. What also possibly helped me is that I’m social media literate and I’m happy to write a blog, tweet and put in the time to promote my work. Also there are a lot of book bloggers on Twitter, which has helped.
Your second book, Indigo Donut, is out in 2017. How is that going and are you experiencing the second book syndrome?
I’ve actually sent the first draft to the editor. I didn’t know that Orangeboy would get published, so I did a paragraph for a second book, just in case. While Orangeboy was being edited I started writing Indigo Donut. It’s about two characters this time, Bailey, who is mixed race with a ginger afro and lives in Hackney, and Indigo, a young girl bought up in the care system who was found by her dead mum’s body. She is working out who she is when they both meet in the sixth form. As Indigo is 18, she might have to leave the care system. Bailey has a much more stable identity but he soon realises that all families have secrets.
What advice do you have for writers of colour?
This is an excellent time to be a writer of colour. The publishing industry is very self conscious and is willing to look at writers of colour, and why they are not publishing many of our work. Read as much as you can and deconstruct what works and what doesn’t. Enter writing competitions – that is how I got my agent. It’s about building up a portfolio.