I’ve written in a previous post about how I came to write a Christmas thriller in a flat in Riyadh. But it was only later, when I came to edit the novel, that I realised an unexpected character had pushed herself into the forefront. And she was so intriguing, I needed to see how her story played out. The more I thought about it, the more I realised the story arc would need a thriller series, not just a single book.
SPOILER ALERT!
This article contains spoilers, so make sure you’ve finished Book 1, No Way To Live, before reading on!
AI generated image of Angel of the South’s logo – more for my own visualisation purposes than anything else…it’s a version of storyboarding.
angel of the south – an unintended thriller series
I didn’t intend to start a thriller series. I have other projects in mind, and a full time job, so the complicated structure of a series is the last thing I need. What I wanted to do was focus on getting my sporting underdog novel finally finished after God knows how many rewrites.
But Billie Brindley, who started out as No Way To Live’s antagonist, kept popping into my head. She’s going into business for herself, she said to Katie at the end of the novel:
‘Something philanthropic. Good deeds and charity, that sort of thing.’
Question: How would someone like Billie help people?
Answer: The only way she knows – violently. And the thing about Billie is, she’s all light and dark, as the cover of No Way To Live shows. Yes, she’ll help people – but there needs to be something in it for her.
Good Deeds and Charity
I agonised over the title of No Way To Live, but the title of Book Two came easily, from that conversation Billie had with Katie – Good Deeds and Charity.
Billie was going to set up a company that would, in her mind at least, perform good deeds and charity, helping the little fish against the sharks – and she’d make the sharks pay her fees. After all, the sharks have more money.
A thriller series is born
And so Angel of the South was born – the name of Billie’s company and the series. And it’s all thanks to being stuck in a flat in Riyadh.
At the end of Book One, Billie persuades Katie to ‘forgive and fuck‘ Tom. She loves Tom, but appears to have recognised that he’s moved on. Needing to move on herself, she goes travelling, gets herself trained in hand-to-hand fighting, weapons and surveillance. She even has a fling.
But for Tom, Katie was a fantasy that represented a life away from his criminal background, away from Billie, for that matter. He does love Katie…but she’s not Billie.
Book Two sees Tom and Katie together still, but when Billie asks for Tom’s help in her first really big case, the ties between them pull tight.
Turns out Billie isn’t ready to let Tom go after all…
Angel of the South will explore the push and pull of Billie and Tom’s relationship and the people they help and harm along the way.
LINKS
No Way To Live is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Leave a Reply