From the Heart

It is quite a significant year for bestselling Barnsley author Milly Johnson as 2022 will see the publication of her 2oth novel.

Starting her writing career relatively late, at the age of 40, she has had an incredibly productive and successful few years since the publication of her first novel The Yorkshire Pudding Club in 2007. She, deservedly, has legions of fans who devour her warm, life-affirming novels that highlight the importance of community, family and friendship and celebrate the tenacity of the human spirit.

“I look at all my books on the shelves and think ‘how did that happen?’,” says Johnson. “And I think it’s because I really pushed myself. People think if they haven’t done it by the age of 25 it’s not going to happen but that’s not true. One of the things that inspired me was that Catherine Cookson was 44 when she wrote her first novel. It is never too late but the push has to come from you and you really have to graft for it.”

Her latest novel The Woman in the Middle, which comes out in paperback next month, explores the so-called ‘sandwich generation’ through middle-aged protagonist Shay who is caring for her elderly parents and her grown-up children as best she can.

“There are so many women, including myself, in that situation,” says Johnson. “Because people are having children older that means you are probably also being hit by the menopause and coping with everything that throws at you, just as your kids are trying to make their way in the world and your parents are getting frailer. And around all this you also have to try and fit in a life and a full-time job. There is no guidebook for this but we do it because we love the people we care for.”

The hardback version of The Woman in the Middle went straight into The Sunday Times Bestseller list when it was published last autumn. “It seems to have resonated with a lot of people,” says Johnson. “I wanted to write a salve for women who are going through that experience to let them know they are not alone and not to beat themselves up. I had so many letters in response to the book. It has been quite amazing.”

True to her prodigious work ethic, she published at least one book a year since her debut, Johnson is already working on that 20th novel which is due out in September. “There isn’t a title for it yet but it is about three sisters, born seven years apart, who have never really bonded but come together after the death of their mother to divide up the house. As an only child, I have always been fascinated by sibling relationships and family dynamics.”

It sounds like a story that will connect with Johnson’s loyal readership, with whom she enjoys a close relationship. “Someone once said to me after a reading ‘aren’t you ordinary?’ and I will take that every time,” says Johnson. “It means I am someone people can relate to. I like to think that my readers can think ‘if she has done that, maybe I could do it’. I hear from so many people who have gone for it and done certain things inspired either by me or one of my characters and that makes me very happy.”

The Woman in the Middle is published in paperback by Simon & Schuster on March 3.