any. What he does have – he thinks – is charm. He’s been honing his
manipulation skills as a charity collector for years, earning enough
commission to rent a bedsit and keep him in lager. But it’s time
for bigger and better things. He needs a break or a meal ticket and
rich, vulnerable looking Sophie Harris could be the answer.
about. Worse still, she won’t commit to seeing him. It’s
infuriating and addictive, so when Sophie finally seems to melt and
asks him to come with her to a Salvation program meeting, Aidan is
putty in her hands.
founder, doctor Jeffers, seem to be offering the route to money and
power that Aidan seeks. All he has to do is climb the ladder and
become a‘Savior’ with the chance of securing a lucrative
‘Salvation program’ franchise.
needs recruits to progress in the program, so what has Aidan got to
lose? Nothing but his sanity, his freedom and his chance of true love
with fellow initiate, Lizzie.
Guest Post
I have a confession.
My main character in Dunn – my newly released debut novel (do you see what I did with the totally unsubtle plug there) – is a bit of (let’s put this politely) an idiot and I don’t really know where in my strange brain he came from.
That’s not to say that I don’t like him…..
I’ve spent 9 years getting to know him; trying to make him horrible in a sympathetic way. He isn’t even really an anti-hero because nothing he does is for the benefit of anyone but him – apart from maybe a scene towards the end with his love interest, Lizzie, but no spoilers.
I should hate him, but I cant.
With a past like the one I dreamed up for him, how could I feel anything but pity for him?
But should I feel sorry for him? He is – as mentioned above – a selfish, manipulative idiot. He craves nothing but money and power.
(Unsubtle plug 2. You can buy Dunn on amazon, googleplay; iBooks and other retailers to follow or it will be available as a paperback through the troubador website next month. It’s marked as out of stock at the moment…. I am chasing it.)
Why on earth didn’t I write a simpler story about someone nice?
I guess because I’m just not like that.
And because, the further I got in the process of writing Dunn, the more I thought about the point of my novel and what I wanted to create.
There are lots of great stories out there about nice people and the horrible things that happen to them, I wanted to write something that makes you question your response. Aidan is horrible, but does that mean he deserves what he gets? Especially in light of his past? And what about the others? All of the characters in Dunn are deliberately a bit larger than life as a result. I nicked this idea from Charles Dickens, particularly Bleak House – not that I’m likening myself to him, I’m not!
So let me know if I managed to do this. Over the coming weeks, I plan to draft some interviews/short-stories/vignets with other key characters to explore them a bit more! Draft being the operative word as I have also started the second draft of ‘The Raven’s Test’ following the brutal, I mean honest feedback, I received from my husband (note I’ve dropped the ‘lovely’ on this occasion )
He wants to watch it or I’ll set the Morrigan on him …..
water swimmer. I am also one below black belt in Tae Kwon Do (Korean
karate), though I tend to only make it to one class a week with my
son these days, so won’t be making it to black belt anytime soon.
who got involved in a similar cult. I started writing the first
incarnation of the novel, whilst teaching English in China, but came
back and changed most of it after my son was born. The beginning and
ending have changed, thanks to the guidance from an award winning
author and playwright who has basically tutored me. My writing has
developed because of his guidance and I am now really happy with
dunn. It’s ready to go. I hope you will enjoy it.
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