How The Antagonist Took Over
I wrote a Christmas thriller, something closer to Die Hard than Love Actually, with a smattering of the latter thrown in. But it turns out that like Hans Gruber in Die Hard, my antagonist took over.
Locked Down With No Christmas Trappings
I was living in Riyadh, without any Christmas trappings. Locked down during Covid, away from my family, I felt homesick.
With time on my hands and nothing else to do, I wrote ‘No Way To Live’s’ first draft in six weeks. At that point, the book had the working title of Christmas Lights, and it was about Tom, who never wanted to be part of the gang life he grew up into.
At first, the easiest chapters were the ones from Tom’s point of view. Sickened when Billie says the gang is to target Katie, the daughter of a shop owner who she wants to put pressure on, Tom finally walks away from the gang and travels to the Isle of Man to warn Katie and her father. Like me in Riyadh, he was a stranger in a stranger land, forced away from his home.
The Antagonist Has a Mind of her Own!
But the chapters I found I enjoyed writing most featured Billie, Tom’s ex-boss, partly because she was something of a mystery to me. Even when she wasn’t in scenes, she occupied other characters’ thoughts, like Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca. At one point, Katie, Tom’s love interest, even alludes to that.
In the first chapter written from Billie’s point of view, she throws a Christmas decoration that Tom once gave her over the side of her penthouse apartment’s balcony. But why?
At that point, I didn’t know – and neither did Billie. But I was keen to find out if it symbolised the end of their relationship or something entirely more mysterious.
Relationships are Key
No Way To Live ended up being about Tom, who never wanted to be part of the gang life he grew up into, and Billie, who did. She muscled in on the novel and made it at least half about her, if not more. Tom and Billie grew up together, were practically brother and sister…except they weren’t. Their relationship is more complicated than that. By walking away, Tom betrays Billie just when she needs him most.
Including Katie as Tom’s interest meant his relationship with Billie grew even more more complicated, because neither Tom or Billie understand how they feel about each other. Or do they?
The Standalone Thriller becomes a series
Billie wasn’t just content to take over No Way To Live (to the point where she gave the book it’s title). Her story really didn’t feel finished by the end of No Way To Live. After all, what would someone like her do after her actions in No Way To Live? In terms of getting a job, she’s really not the 9 – 5 type, and besides, I can’t imagine her tolerating a boss.
And so No Way To Live, which was only meant to be a standalone novel, became the first book in a series: Angel of the South. The series will explore Billie and Tom’s relationship, and all the people they help and harm as they at turns attract and repel one another.
No Way To Live
No Way To Live is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
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