Another book finished…
- draft cover of Tabinda’s story
At 9.00 am this morning I posted the manuscript to the eighth book in my Girls FC series to my editor. The relief! I was determined to get this book finished by the end of January (having hoped to have it submitted before Christmas) so I worked all weekend to make sure I met my deadline. My poor daughter wished she hadn’t bothered coming home I was in such a state. Writers - or any artist I guess - don’t make the best parents. We are self-centred, always in another world and at times have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the real one. Total immersion in your book makes you snappy and irritable and unapproachable. Things like cooking and even dressing feel like too much of a distraction to a writer, let alone engaging in conversation. Ask a writer who is in the middle of a book something as basic as: ‘Fancy a cup of tea, Mum?’ and they will stare at you blankly for at least a minute while they filter out all their head stuff. It’s not good.
I’m glad Tabinda’s story is in the post though. It’s my first attempt at writing a character with a totally different culture and background from mine. Tabinda is a British born girl, half Muslim, half Sikh. Although neither her religion nor her culture is an issue in the book I felt it was vital to make the story ring true by including cultural references when describing food and clothing, for example. I hope I got it right - if not, it’s not from want of trying. Like my friend Gwen Grant said when I described the storyline to her the other day ‘You don’t make things easy for yourself, Helena!’
I do hope girls with an Indian and Pakistani heritage will enjoy seeing a girl who looks like them on the cover of a football book and relish reading about a main character with a similar background.
I must thank the girls from Forest Fields Primary School in Nottingham again for all their help and Karmjeet Kaur, the book rep at OUP, for helping me with those important little details. No pressure, you guys but if it bombs, it’s all your fault!
- Thank you Sangeeta, Mujgana,Mahfuza, Hadia and Sangeeta. I owe you!