Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for My Husband's Lies by Caroline England where I welcome Caroline to my blog where he has kindly provided me with a guest post on "Writing Characters". I was thrilled to be asked by Sabah Khan from Avon Books to take part along with some other fab book bloggers. You can find out who else is taking part in this fabulous Blog Tour at the end of this piece so without further ado, here it is:
It may come as a surprise to those who've read my dark twisty short stories or my debut novel, Beneath the Skin (published last October), but I’m a little in love with most of my characters, even those who lie, deceive and betray! It isn’t just because I’m their creator, a mum who can see no bad in her kids. It’s because they are human, and all us humans are imperfect, aren’t we?
My Husband’s Lies is a 'domestic noir' story, a tender and compelling tale of friendship, gay and straight love. But also one of conflict and secrets, unfaithfulness and lies!
Known as the ‘A Team’ at school, Nick, Dan, Will and Jen have been inseparable for years, but when they gather for Nick’s wedding, their ordinary lives are thrown into chaos by a friend appearing on the hotel reception window ledge, ready to jump. As the unstoppable chain of events ensues, lies, family secrets, illicit love and betrayal are unravelled, pushing their relationships with their loved ones to the limit. What will the eventual fallout be? With their tight friendship survive?
Jen is happily married to Ian and they have three girls, but their lives unbalance when their middle daughter falls ill.
Nick and Lisa are newly-weds but a chance remark to Nick at the wedding starts an obsession to uncover a family secret, putting his marriage at risk.
Dan’s baby with Geri is due. On the surface he’s reliable ‘Super Dan’ but underneath his anxiety is spreading and his judgement is being clouded by a renewed and confusing childhood attraction. He finds himself in free-fall. Can he really cope?
Gregarious Will has only been married to Penny for a year, but what is his jokey and relaxed facade hiding? Why is Penny pushing him to take a job abroad?
Though I have a vague idea about the seminal plot points before starting my novels, the stories are not only character-based, they are often led by the characters too. Take Jen, for example. Once she’d taken shape physically, I slipped into her home scruffs, took a bite of those buttery crumpets she loves and let her take me on a stroll around her mind. I discovered her worries and fears and the things that made her angry. I also unearthed the secrets she was hiding.
All my characters are flawed in some way, but I hope they are compelling and realistic. I love creating my cast, giving them parents or children, jobs, homes and hobbies. Deciding on age, height and hair colour. Dressing them, giving them personalities, tics and frailties. Making them fall in love with people that they shouldn’t! But what I like best is giving them a history, a past, and particularly a childhood. Admittedly I’m a bit obsessed with the human condition, but I like to explore how the child moulds the adult we become. And of course I give each person a secret which is threatening to explode!
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