How I got started

Having always been fascinated by books, I would often find myself in Waterstones, Piccadillly, after market to browse through the latest titles.

On more than one occasion, I would find myself drawn rather intriguingly to one particular book: My Sister, the Serial Killer, written by Oyinkan Braithwaite. A fictional book, just to be clear, I would often think to myself, what an impressive title!

Anyway, in twenty twenty I had to fly to Jamaica following the sad passing of my dad. Accompanied by my older brother, I asked him whilst at the airport if he had any books he could recommend for me to read during the flight. It was a slightly strange request from me as I haven’t known him to be much of a reader of fiction books. However, much to my surprise, he suggested the same book! A friend had mentioned it to him.

With the long build up to eventually getting hold of this particular book, I found myself paying greater attention than usual to the characters, flow of the story and working out the plot. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read and it was here I began to feel the first stirrings, even surprising myself, of turning my hand to become a writer. Something that I had traditionally assumed was for others, I was beginning to see myself becoming a part of.

However, the real clincher was to come on the return flight. I selected to watch the film Queen and Slim, starring Daniel Kaluuga and Jodie Turner-Smith. The physical look and chemistry between the lead characters had much in common with two particular individuals I know in real life. Roughly half way during watching the film, it suddenly dawned on me with a sense of certainty: I was going to write a book.

Within a few weeks of arriving back in London, I roughly sketched out the whole story using a series of text circles, linking each one with arrow lines. After several drafts, being distracted to write the first draft of a second book (I know, I just found myself needing to complete the flow of ideas), and dealing with the demands of life, I finally managed to get She Who Was over the line. Getting to hold the physical paperback copy was a moment of immense pride.