JOFFE BOOKS PRIDE Q&A – Renée

Here at Joffe Books we're looking to celebrate Pride Month over the month of June. We're very keen to show how proud we are of our LGBTQ+ authors, their hard work and their amazing achievements.

This week we caught up with Renée — read below to find out what Pride means to her.

What was it about the crime genre that drew you to it?

I was, and still am, a voracious reader. I whizzed through what were called ‘girls books’, so when I was ten, my mother gave me an Agatha Christie book to read. I was the one who changed our library books, so I just turned to the adult crime and mystery shelves because I liked the puzzles. Then I found Dorothy L. Sayers and was hooked.

Which LGBTQ+ author should everyone read?

All of them, and especially Adrienne Rich. I was fifty when I was introduced to her by Aorewa McLeod in Stage 3 English at university. I love her line ‘A wild patience has taken me this far . . .’

What does Pride Month mean to you, and how do you think it’s changed over the years?

It reminds me of how hard we worked to achieve equality. Marches, protests, written pieces, taking petitions to parliament. The first march I went on was really scary — people on each side of the street shouted horrible things, but we kept going and we got it.

What advice would you give to aspiring LGBTQ+ writers?

The same advice I give to anyone. If you want to write, write.