Ten years ago, I had an idea for a novel - unreliable narrator, shocking twist, and a stays-with-you kind of plot that might provoke more than a no-comment three star review. I didn’t want to shy away from controversial topics, like the presumption of guilt in assault cases, the abuse that goes on in cults, corruption in the police, and the possibility of human redemption. I chose a female detective with a female boss and male underling. She breaks the rules and challenges authority. She’s a feminist, a disruptor, unafraid of the consequences of doing what she thinks is the right thing.
Where did DS Ronnie Delmar come from exactly? It won't come as a surprise to hear that I wrote what I knew. I had spent the nineties hunched under a shatterproof glass ceiling, facing the daily assault of sexual harassment, sidelining, exclusion from the ‘boys club’ that was the hub of the corporate law firm. I grinned and bore it until one day after hearing that only the men in the department were getting a pay rise, the puzzle pieces slotted into place and I found myself walking into the office of the managing partner with a strongly worded letter in my hand. After some puzzlement on his behalf - ‘Don’t you find male attention flattering?’ and ‘Are you sure you’re not overreacting?’ - I walked out with a cheque and a silencing order. I had a different name then, and I’m stopping short of telling you theirs.
You’d think I’d have been on the watchlist of the City HR departments but no, I went straight into another firm and made a nuisance of myself again, this time lobbying for a fair maternity policy that didn’t depend on pregnant women having a partner at home to rely on financially. People thought I was mad, but the thing was I couldn’t not do what I was doing, even if it meant sabotaging my own career. Without wanting to sound like a deluded cult leader, I felt I was controlled by some sort of higher power. Looking back slightly less dramatically, I think you could call it just being myself and doing my thing.
Which brings me to this question. What’s your thing, what’s stopping you doing it, and how can I help? Well, here’s one way I can. I’m calling all writers out there, at any stage of their journey, be it the inklings of an idea or a full manuscript in the drawer, to take advantage of this Black Friday week offer for 20% off my next writers’ retreat in Devon on 31 Jan – 3 Feb. Tea in bed, food, wine, roaring fires... More details on my Retreats Page and my latest Instagram reel
I can't wait to see you there.
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