Everything About The Artificial Wife You Probably Didn't Ask ...
Here's some trivia about The Artificial Wife, my latest book:
* It was inspired by the real life case of Thomas Day, an 18th century author who bought two little girls and tried to mould one of them into the woman of his dreams. Needless to say, he failed. Read Wendy Moore's cracking How to Create the Perfect Wife for further details.
* I started writing in June 2017 and finished in February 2018 - practically unheard of for me. What can I say? I was hooked on the story.
* Another incentive was that Salman Rushdie was also writing a book about robots. "I'm damned if he'll get his book out before mine!" I declared the moment I heard.
* It's set within the same universe as Love and Robotics, but with relatively few instances of overlap. The only character who prominently features in both books is the odious bent copper Captain Lucy; he is a major figure in Elle's backstory.
* It's set about a year before the trial scenes of Love and Robotics (Robert mentions Josh marrying Claire in passing), so it's approximately 2164.
* This means that the Robotics Code as previously established is still in effect. It goes without saying that over time Summer and Elle break every last rule.
* Princess Azita, the fairy tale that becomes so important to Summer and Elle, is of course a feminist lesbian retelling of the Scheherazade legend. I was so frustrated by her ending up with that murderous git of a Sultan, I rewrote it.
* The novel changed titles a few times before it became The Artificial Wife; in the story itself, it's the title of Robert's ridiculous treatise (though he claims it's metaphorical). Elle was called Colette originally.
* I did write a detailed plan, but as usual I went off piste and all sorts of weird stuff occurred. There are two major plot twists I hadn't initially anticipated, but now it feels like it couldn't have happened any other way.
* It was going to be written in third person, but ultimately I decided that having the main four characters take turns to narrate worked better. I hated writing Robert's sections and deliberately spent as little time in his psyche as possible.
* Found by Amber Run became the book's unofficial theme song.
* It was inspired by the real life case of Thomas Day, an 18th century author who bought two little girls and tried to mould one of them into the woman of his dreams. Needless to say, he failed. Read Wendy Moore's cracking How to Create the Perfect Wife for further details.
* I started writing in June 2017 and finished in February 2018 - practically unheard of for me. What can I say? I was hooked on the story.
* Another incentive was that Salman Rushdie was also writing a book about robots. "I'm damned if he'll get his book out before mine!" I declared the moment I heard.
* It's set within the same universe as Love and Robotics, but with relatively few instances of overlap. The only character who prominently features in both books is the odious bent copper Captain Lucy; he is a major figure in Elle's backstory.
* It's set about a year before the trial scenes of Love and Robotics (Robert mentions Josh marrying Claire in passing), so it's approximately 2164.
* This means that the Robotics Code as previously established is still in effect. It goes without saying that over time Summer and Elle break every last rule.
* Princess Azita, the fairy tale that becomes so important to Summer and Elle, is of course a feminist lesbian retelling of the Scheherazade legend. I was so frustrated by her ending up with that murderous git of a Sultan, I rewrote it.
* The novel changed titles a few times before it became The Artificial Wife; in the story itself, it's the title of Robert's ridiculous treatise (though he claims it's metaphorical). Elle was called Colette originally.
* I did write a detailed plan, but as usual I went off piste and all sorts of weird stuff occurred. There are two major plot twists I hadn't initially anticipated, but now it feels like it couldn't have happened any other way.
* It was going to be written in third person, but ultimately I decided that having the main four characters take turns to narrate worked better. I hated writing Robert's sections and deliberately spent as little time in his psyche as possible.
* Found by Amber Run became the book's unofficial theme song.
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