When you tell someone you are a writer, the first question they will ask is: “Are the books selling well? Does it make money?”
Under Your Skin
With the release of my fourth book, “Under your Skin”, a question I am being asked a lot is “Why did you set your book in Belfast?”
Belfast, Northern Ireland, has always been synonymous with the troubles. Literature set in Belfast has described the agony of bombs, armed patrols, and a divided city. Bus tours take tourists around the city, showing them the peace wall, pointing out the most bombed hotel and reminding visitors of our history.
I wanted to write a novel set in Belfast that didn’t mention the troubles at all. After the Good Friday Agreement back in 1998, we rejoiced and welcomed peace. We wanted normality and we wanted to move on. Part of looking on is not looking back.
People had forgotten that Belfast was a regional industrial powerhouse and its people have a great reputation in business. It is a thriving hub with two universities and some beautiful Victorian architecture.
But I wanted to paint a picture of an even more interesting Belfast. The one enhanced by the beautiful Cave Hill; the high point of the city which has a spectacular view across the entire green surroundings. I wanted to talk about the Belfast castle with its cosy tea-room. I wanted to describe the tinkling of china cups on saucers and the log fire sizzling in the background. I wanted to talk about beautiful Ormeau Park with its many overhanging trees and park benches.
They say that you should always write about what you know. My first couple of books were set in London and Brighton, because that is where I lived for ten years. I enjoyed writing about the cobbled lanes in Brighton and the unique coffee shops and independent craft stores. I could almost smell the sea air when I talked about the sea front and the beach covered in stony pebbles. And when I wrote about London, I could take myself back to the tube stations; to the fast pace; to sweeping up the escalator and swinging through the turnstiles with all the speed and unruffled ease of a resident Londoner. I could picture the lively atmosphere of Covent Garden, with multiple buskers along the streets, ready and waiting to entertain your every waking moment.
But now that I have lived in Belfast for a decade, I wanted to set my novel here. I wanted to refer to street names and places that I am familiar with. Ravenhill Road, Ormeau Park, Musgrave police station. It is at Musgrave police station where the detectives Simon Peters and Kerry Lawlor are based. They are the pair who have been called in to investigate the disappearance of Hannah Greer. As the #FindHannah campaign gets underway, we see the residents of Belfast search high and low to try and find her.
The story is a slow uncovering of all the secrets and mystery surrounding Hannah’s disappearance. In among the twists and turns of this thriller, there are themes such as mental health, addiction and domestic violence.
Belfast is one of those cities of a certain size, like Bristol, Brisbane or Boston. It has prosperous suburbs and inner-city problems. People face the same western world pressures – jobs, money, relationship problems. The location is the archetypal modern world hub. It could be any of the aforementioned towns.
These themes are therefore universal, and certainly not specific to Belfast. There could be an equivalent of Hannah living in Boston or Birmingham. There could be women from any town who may identify with Hannah, or who may know of someone in Hannah’s situation.
Ultimately, I wanted my book “Under your Skin” to entertain. I wanted it to be a fast page turner. I wanted twists and turns peppered along the way to keep the reader turning the pages. And I wanted to look at certain themes, especially addiction and domestic abuse. The location could be anywhere. There could be a Hannah in any town, any city. There could be a Hannah living next door to you.