Dear Reader,
The hardest thing when writing a story about loss or bereavement is that
people automatically assume it will be horribly depressing. And perhaps
it might have been had I stuck rigidly to my original idea for The Seven
O’Clock Club: take four very different stories told by four very different
protagonists and intertwine them to create the grief-centred equivalent
of a murder mystery novel. Only instead of a whodunnit, the focus would
be on what on earth happened to each of those people to make them
feel so incapable of moving on.
The problem was, about a third of the way through my first draft,
I realised I didn’t want the spirit of my book to concentrate on a series
of gradually unfolding tragedies. I wanted the book to be hopeful,
uplifting, enjoyable and even funny. So, I changed tact entirely, dropping
one character altogether and came up with another. That character
happened to be Callum.
I’ll be honest with you. I became slightly infatuated with Callum. Not only
because I’ve always been drawn to lost souls. But also, because I was now
writing a strong male voice whose personality traits and life experience
could not have been more different from my own. I was nervous to try
– he could quite easily come across as, at best, horribly unlikeable or at
worst, totally unauthentic. But the more I pictured him and the role he
would play, the more determined I became to do a good job. I did what
any passionate writer would do, and I researched as much as I could and
I interviewed people who knew way more than I did about very sensitive
subjects, and by doing that I became totally caught up in his backstory
and his demons.
Callum gave me two important things which I think completely changed
the essence of the book. Firstly, the opportunity to write a unique love
story. And secondly, he provided the inspiration for the twist.
When reading early reviews for my book, there is a lot of focus on the
twist. It’s strange to think now that it didn’t exist in my head when I
first started writing. Because as soon as I thought of it (on a very boring
train commute into work) as well as all the implications something that
dramatic brought with it, the story really took off in my head. From that
point on, I didn’t really have a social life. I wrote and I wrote, morning and
night, instinctively and often obsessively, and in every spare moment I
had. Right up until I typed out that satisfying “The End” wording several
months later.
I very much hope you choose to read The Seven O’Clock Club and, even
more so, that you enjoy it. I hope it ensnares you from the start, grips you
until the end and ultimately leaves you feeling good about the world.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.
With love and best wishes,
Amelia
