Carol Randall asked Clare Mackintosh:

Hi Clare! When you were writing "I see you" did you spend a lot of time researching the journeys on the Tube? The descriptions seemed very accurate and convincing.

Clare Mackintosh Hi Carol!

Thanks so much for your question. Yes, I spent a lot of time on the London Underground, and can share a funny story that happened as a result of this research...

I was sitting on the Circle Line one day, spending a couple of hours travelling the Tube and making observational notes on passengers. It was as much a creative writing exercise as a research one, as I wanted to practise detailed character descriptions. Anyway, I was writing a pen-picture of the passenger sitting opposite me, when I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, as though I was being watched myself... Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the woman next to me was staring at my notepad. She looked at the passenger opposite, then down at the page again, then looked at me in horror. I suppose it must have looked horribly creepy! I froze, terrified she was going to denounce me to the whole carriage, then I moved my hand to the top of my page and wrote 'Don't worry. I'm a writer.' I'm not sure it made things any better, but she kept quiet!

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