But the Collins battle does not signal the end of the celebrity novelist.The conglomerates that dominate publishing are still greedy for big names. In 1987, Century paid pounds 700,000 for her first novel, Prime Time. It and Love and Desire and Hate were both bestsellers, albeit not on quite the scale that their publishers hoped In the Nineties, glitzy authors’ sales have been slipping. Joan Collins was the personification of the cult of glamour that was so in vogue in the 1980s. The author’s celebrity, after the Dynasty decade, when Collins’s star had perhaps waned a little, would not be guaranteed to lure enough people in to bookshops.The Random House/Collins deal, signed in 1990, marks the end of an era.
But clearly the company decided that the two novels, provisionally titled Hell Hath No Fury and The Ruling Passion, would not be worth the effort that would have to be expended on them. Two years later, to her consternation, her editors at Random House abandoned her.No one is now prepared to say openly that Random House made a huge mistake in the first place. She was taking her writing seriously and eager to listen to advice She expected to receive help from editors. “Joni said there were so many things wrong with the manuscript they couldn’t even contemplate putting it right,” Collins commented.
I interviewed Joan Collins before publication of her second novel, Love and Desire and Hate (1990). Her American editor, Joni Evans, who had at first said of the actress, “I want her so badly I can almost taste it”, found the taste going sour. She wants the balance of the advance still owing to her: $3.6m, she says
The story behind the row isconvoluted. What it appears to boil down to is that Random House gave up on trying to get Collins’s manuscripts into a publishable shape.
All the embarrassing mechanics of producing a celebrity novel are being exposed this week in a New York courtroom. Random House is suing Joan Collins for the return of $1.2m it paid her as part of a two-book contract, claiming that the fiction she produced was “fragmented and implausible”. Collins is countersuing: she says she delivered work in good faith. Sheridan said: “I’ll make a decision later and do what’s right for me.”Birmingham’s player-coach, Mark Ward, has been told he can leave the club on a free transfer after a contract dispute.. The club has agreed a deal with Sheffield Wednesday that would involve Sheridan initially moving to St Andrews on loan. “At the end of the day, somebody has to steer the ship and I feel I am quite capable of doing that.”The Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan is to delay a decision on joining Birmingham. Cullis has never played at League level, and since 1992 has been the manager of Cradley Town’s youth side in the West Midlands League.However, the 37-year-old Cullis insisted that the job held no fears for him.
Asprilla is expected to return to St James’ Park later this week to finalise details.In a surprise move, Swansea, struggling in the Second Division, named Kevin Cullis as their new manager. Sir John confirmed personal terms and medical details have been settled and he sees nothing standing in the way of Asprilla’s move.”We should get a work permit and I cannot see any reason why we should not complete the deal,” he said. The club have agreed a deal with Sheffield Wednesday that would involve Sheridan initially moving to St Andrews on loan. However, Sheridan said: “I’ll make a decision later and do what’s right for me.”Meanwhile, Birmingham’s player-coach Mark Ward has been told he can leave the club on a free transfer after a contract dispute.. Jimmy Nicholl, the manager of Raith Rovers, is leaving Scotland to fill the managerial vacancy at Millwall.
