´óÏó´«Ã½

Apples

Richard Milward’s debut novel, 'Apples', is a tough, explicit yet tender coming-of-age story about teenagers Adam and Eve that he wrote as a teenager, so how did he get started?

"Apples is probably my sixth or seventh book, but as Jack Kerouac says, you’ve just got to stick at it ‘with the energy of a benny addict’."

"I originally submitted Apples on bright green paper, with a drawing of a boy sat next to a big juicy apple on the cover. Faber told me to send it back in clearer font, then a couple of weeks later, me and Lee (my editor) chatted My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 over dinner, then a day later the deal was done!"

Is Apples an honest depiction of life in a small town?

"Well, small town boredom pushes kids into making up their own entertainment, whether it’s nailing a three-litre White Lightning down the playground and nailing each other, or picking up a pencil and paper or musical instrumentÌý - or whatever – and being creative.

What do you say to people who say you're putting the area down?

"That’s not the intention at all. I mean, Boro’s got its problems, but I love it to death .I wanted the Middlesbrough in 'Apples' to be all fluorescent and magical and beautiful.

"The only thing I’m really trying to criticise are sleazy macho meatheads who like to screw over innocent ladies and punch the lights out of innocent gents."

You come from Guisborough, so how qualified are you to write about living and surviving in Boro's estates?

"Well, when I was writing Apples I spent every day drifting through Beechwood and Grove Hill on my way to art college. It’s weird, because everyone puts these estates down as being like the Bronx or something, but everyone’s just going about their business really.

"In 'Apples', I wanted to give the kids a bit of warmth, since they’re widely misrepresented as emotionless tearaways. The kids are alright! Guisborough’s certainly leafier than Middlesbrough, but leaves don’t automatically make you well-behaved.

"There was a definite freshness writing about places in Boro I was discovering myself for the first time.

So how easy do you find it to be disciplined with your writing practice?

"I never get writer’s block (it all pours out!), but I usually only write an hour or so a day. The trickiest thing is mixing getting wrecked and writing. Drunken, drugged up writing tends to be quite cringeworthy the morning after.

"Saying that, I used to write long into the night, like a zombie, but now I get it done in the morning, when my girlfriend’s at college, and then the rest of the day’s free for fun and games!"

Your depictions of rape at parties, taking e's and infanticide are raw and real. Where do you find the inspiration, experiences and those voices from?

"Apples is a mad tapestry of observation and personal experience and crazy imagination. I’ve seen boys take advantage of paralytic girls before, swallowed E every single weekend for a couple years in Boro, but I’ve never killed any babies.

" It’s really fun writing horrific violence, though – does that make me bad?

So you've got one book under your belt and you're studying at St Martin's College in London - what next?

"Hopefully the writing and painting will get even weirder and wonderfuller. The next book may or may not feature talking condoms."

Art students are known for being quite promiscuous - does being a published writer help when you're on the pull?

"It only helps when writing down my number."

To listen to Richard on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cleveland, go to the 'see also' section.