Debut author Kirsty Eyre, winner of the inaugural Comedy Women in Print award last year, talks to Pride in Ely about her debut novel “Cow Girl”, published this year and available for Christmas!
Make sure to read on to the end for a chance to win this fantastic book!
Cow Girl won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print award last year. Why is this award important?
Recognising that comic writing is a craft in its own right, comic genius, Helen Lederer, launched a new book award, Comedy Women in Print (CWIP), that shines a light on funny female fiction. I’d been writing my first novel for what felt like forever and had my manuscript pretty much ready to go out to agents when I saw CWIP asking for submissions on Twitter and had to enter. I was over-the-moon to be long and then short-listed, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to win! At the winner’s event, I remember drinking too many strawberry gins and Jilly Cooper telling me a bawdy joke – I was made up for life.
Tell us a bit about Cow Girl – Ely is in the Fens; full of farmland and potentially some ‘Cow Girls’ of our own!
Cow Girl is my debut novel. It’s a comedy which I pitch as a lesbian Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Cold Comfort Farm. Billie, a thirty-something lesbian scientist has to ditch London life to run her dad’s dairy farm up on the Derbyshire/ Yorkshire border when her father falls ill. She battles misogyny, homophobia and the turbulence of romance before finally winning over the local farming community who affectionately dub her, the ‘Cow Girl.’
You can see me reading an extract in this video….
What inspired you to write this story?
I knew first and foremost that I wanted to tell a story through the eyes of a lesbian protagonist and originally wrote the whole book as an LGBTQ Bridget Jones’ Diary in journal format. My parents retired to the Yorkshire/ Derbyshire border where the book is set and I fell in love with a dairy farm just outside Baslow which became my muse. The setting was born. It was at a Curtis Brown Creative writing course that I was advised to ditch the diary format and go for a straight (cough) narrative.
So you re-wrote the entire book?
I think I rewrote the story about five times over. The first draft after losing the diary format had the hangover of a journal and I took on board beta reader feedback and notes from my agent too. Then once I’d won the Harper Collins publishing deal, there was of course another round of edits. It’s certainly been a journey.
Would the book work if Billie wasn’t a lesbian?
Not really. Cow Girl is neither a coming-out story nor a story about being a gay woman, so on the one hand Billie’s sexuality is incidental. However, the hurdles Billie must jump and the prejudices she has to overcome would be nowhere near as significant if she was a heterosexual woman. That, and also a love triangle of three women I believe ups the ante. On saying that, Cow Girl is as much about friendship and family as it is about romance. Being a lesbian is part of who Billie is. Her experiences have shaped the person she has become and without them, she wouldn’t have the strength, courage and humour that she needs to succeed as a female farmer.
Why do you think we need more LGBTQ+ protagonists?
I strongly feel that LGBTQ+ protagonists are underrepresented in literature and this isn’t right. Firstly, because it isn’t a reflection of real life and we need more character diversity for all readers, and secondly, because there aren’t enough same-sex novels for our LGBTQ+ community (particularly in the rom com world: something my lesbian friends are at pains to point out – everyone needs a laugh, especially during these times!). My biggest passion in all of this is getting a mainstream audience to read novels with LGBTQ+ characters and understanding that these stories are for everyone.
What are you working on next?
I’ve got a couple of things on the go. Firstly, another comic novel, ‘Goddesses of Barnsley,’ which centres on three estranged sisters who reunite at their father’s funeral. I love exploring female relationships and this one is all about sibling rivalry, love and resentment.
I’m also writing two romantic comedy novels under a pseudonym. I’m half way through the first one which is set in Cyprus and have yet to fully form the second which will be set in Italy. Sun and escapism: isn’t that everyone needs right now?
Do you have one tip for any budding LGBTQ Fenland authors who maybe reading?
Yes. Obviously writing is a craft, but getting a novel to publication is probably more of a mental challenge than the act of writing itself. Going the full marathon in terms of word count, structure, plot points and character development means that you will undoubtedly go off piste at times. Getting there can feel unsurmountable at times, but don’t give up. Writing is as much about having the mental endurance to go back to it again and again. Also, join a writer’s group. Read each other’s work. Offer supportive and honest feedback and lean on each other. It may not need to be an LGBTQ group but if you’re writing for an LGBTQ audience, then make sure you have people from the LGBTQ community amongst your beta readers. Good luck!
Where can we buy the book and follow you on social media?
Cow Girl is available in the UK, Australia and Canada in ‘all good bookstores’! Check out Topping & Co locally, Waterstones, Amazon or Gay’s the Word. It’s possible to order it as an import from the UK to other countries.
You can find Kirsty on the social media links and bookshop links below!
You mentioned a competition… how do I enter?
Kirsty has very kindly donated a copy of Cow Girl for Pride in Ely readers to win. To enter, simply follow this link to the post our Facebook page. To enter simply Follow our page, then Like and Share the “Cow Girl” post.
A winner will be chosen at random on December 30th, so make sure we can contact you via Facebook to let you know if you won!
Optionally you may wish to sign up for Newsletters from Pride in Ely!