Looking back at ... The Revenge of Rose Grubb, Part One
After I'd finished The Governess, I was casting around for a subject for my next story. I was determined not to be a one trick pony; I think it's a mistake to stick to one genre, and had already decided that historical fiction wasn't for me.
Three concepts came together at just the right time. My partner's mother mentioned that she had gone to school with a well known actress, and she'd been a snobby, bitchy bully. I was intrigued by the thought you could be a "national treasure" but a horrible person. I'd long considered writing a book about girl on girl bullying, drawing upon my far from glorious school days. How much worse would it be if your tormentor grew up to be a ubiquitous TV star?
Around the same time, bullying was never far from the news. Suicides caused by bullying were at an all time high, with tragedies either side of the Atlantic. In one horrifying case, a bully somehow convinced her parents to burn down her victim's house; her target was the sole survivor. These stories gave the lie to the oft heard view that bullying is a rite of passage and victims "bring it on themselves".
So I had a plot - victim seeks revenge against their bully, now a celebrity - and even a motive. I hoped to refute the common perception that it's "only" bullying, that the victim ought to have moved on with her life and not raked up business the bully can't even remember. (Though what does that say about them?)
The last piece fell into place while I was rereading Carrie, of all things. Carrie's able to pull off a devastating revenge thanks to her telekinesis; I saw a heroine with magical powers could be a distinct advantage. Rose is the anti Carrie, if you like: she has a loving mother, she embraces her gifts, and rather than some muddled hate mongering version of Christianity, her family are friendly sweet shop owning Satanists.
Thanks to watching far too many Seventies horror films, I knew revenge wasn't simply a matter of popping out of a dumb waiter and shooting somebody. Since Frances lives in the spotlight, it's only fair she should die in the spotlight. And what better career for someone who can genuinely do magic than an illusionist like Derren Brown? Using this template, I had the perfect final act in mind; in fact, I'm sure I wrote it first.
Next time I'll look at characters, structure and themes. Buckle up your seat belts - it's a roller coaster ride of revenge, and it isn't going to be pretty.
Three concepts came together at just the right time. My partner's mother mentioned that she had gone to school with a well known actress, and she'd been a snobby, bitchy bully. I was intrigued by the thought you could be a "national treasure" but a horrible person. I'd long considered writing a book about girl on girl bullying, drawing upon my far from glorious school days. How much worse would it be if your tormentor grew up to be a ubiquitous TV star?
Around the same time, bullying was never far from the news. Suicides caused by bullying were at an all time high, with tragedies either side of the Atlantic. In one horrifying case, a bully somehow convinced her parents to burn down her victim's house; her target was the sole survivor. These stories gave the lie to the oft heard view that bullying is a rite of passage and victims "bring it on themselves".
So I had a plot - victim seeks revenge against their bully, now a celebrity - and even a motive. I hoped to refute the common perception that it's "only" bullying, that the victim ought to have moved on with her life and not raked up business the bully can't even remember. (Though what does that say about them?)
The last piece fell into place while I was rereading Carrie, of all things. Carrie's able to pull off a devastating revenge thanks to her telekinesis; I saw a heroine with magical powers could be a distinct advantage. Rose is the anti Carrie, if you like: she has a loving mother, she embraces her gifts, and rather than some muddled hate mongering version of Christianity, her family are friendly sweet shop owning Satanists.
Thanks to watching far too many Seventies horror films, I knew revenge wasn't simply a matter of popping out of a dumb waiter and shooting somebody. Since Frances lives in the spotlight, it's only fair she should die in the spotlight. And what better career for someone who can genuinely do magic than an illusionist like Derren Brown? Using this template, I had the perfect final act in mind; in fact, I'm sure I wrote it first.
Next time I'll look at characters, structure and themes. Buckle up your seat belts - it's a roller coaster ride of revenge, and it isn't going to be pretty.
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