It started out as a challenge for me. Known for writing dark and disturbing tales, I was asked if I could do something different. Perhaps a light and frothy book? Something that would make the reader smile or chuckle?
Could I?
As a writer, particularly one who loves experimenting, this was too good an opportunity to pass up. I started by trying to write a love story. It proved harder than I could imagine. Struggling with characters and tropes that are ubiquitous in romcoms and romance novels, I found myself consulting my teenage daughter on whether this was reading ‘right’ or not. Used to dealing with the thought processes of deviants, I was suddenly adrift in a sea of normality. What was I to do with this?
Humour was another matter altogether. I could do gallows humour, I could do sarcastic and twisted, but would it translate to the reader I was trying to get a laugh out of? One man’s funny is another man’s lead balloon, after all!
Sweet and sappy is another area I struggle with. A cynical optimist, I took off the rose-tinted spectacles many decades ago. However, I do like to look at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Could I convey that in my stories about grit and determination, resilience and hope without turning the reader’s stomach by being saccharine-sweet?
Ultimately, it was about finding a balance between light and dark, happy and sad, frothy and deep. Playing to my strengths while exploring areas that seemed uncomfortable, to begin with.
Finally, Covid-19 came along at the same time as my book launch. Had not foreseen that, but perhaps, in some small and strange way, it proved fortuitous. In these unprecedented and uncertain times, who wants to wallow in misery? We all want a bit of hope and a bit of joy.
Did I pull it off? YOU tell me!
