As I have been editing Christopher, Running this year prior to its publication in August, I have been reminded of the similarities between this book and Murmuration, which came out last May.

As writers, I think we have certain themes or obsessions that we keep coming back to. Sometimes we have to write around a subject for a while before we get to the heart of what it is we actually want to say.

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Looking at my books in terms of marketing, they are quite different. One is a YA dystopian thriller and the other is literary fiction/psychological thriller, but I have realised that there are a few things my books both feature...

1. A perceived lapse in caregiving leading to severe consequences: Jay's mum can't forgive herself for what happened to Zoe in Murmuration and there is a similar moment for Alice in Christopher, Running. Having a daughter with Type One diabetes, a lapse in caregiving is one of my deepest fears. If I screw up, her life is at risk. If I miss an alarm she could be in danger. I think this deep fear has made it into both books and probably will make it into many more... Both books also feature people becoming caregivers unexpectedly, something I find interesting as a mother. I am interested how things wash up on the shores of a person's life and sometimes it feels as if there is no choice but to say yes. Both books feature this sort of happening.

2. I used the symbol of a static caravan in both books. In Murmuration, the caravan signifies Jim's temporary existence (Jay's dad). He can't come to terms with the way things have worked out and living in a caravan lends everything a feeling of impermanence, which is the way he lives his life – waiting for something to change. Similarly, in Christopher, Running, Christopher uses the static caravan hidden in the hedge at his parent’s house as a halfway house. A sort of den, a home but not a home, for the man who is still a boy at heart and won't let himself grow up.

3. Both books feature long journeys on foot. Journeys are transformative and in both of my books, the protagonists undertake a long and unfamiliar journey. For both of them, the journey becomes a doorway to a new and bolder self.

4. Mental health issues and the effect of this on the surrounding cast. In both novels, I have explored the impact on the loved ones of the affected person. They see the suffering close up and try their best to help but are out of their depth. I'm thinking of Jay trying to console his parents after what happened to Zoe. I'm also thinking of Ben, Alice and Marjorie, the ones around Christopher, who try over and over again to help him make sense of things.

5. I'm also thoroughly obsessed with closure, that feeling that we crave of having everything neatly tied up when, in reality, life isn't like that. I can't give too much away about Christopher, Running, but Alice and Esme are left with their lives on pause for a long time, and I'm so interested in this. What happens to those left with unanswered questions, those for whom life just keeps on ticking by, day after day, after day? In Murmuration, Jay couldn't find closure after what happened to his mum (if you're intrigued, you'll have to read the book!) and he couldn't really get any kind of closure until he met Fee, and she revealed something to him towards the end of the book that illuminated his questions and gave him peace for the first time in years.

6. Both books are about the protagonist finding their voice. In Murmuration, Jay is duty-bound, trying to keep his promise to his mum to keep his head down, try hard at school, and get off the island. When his life turns upside down, it becomes more important than ever for him to find his inner strength and speak up - for the kids, and wider than that, to the government. In Christopher, Running, the main character, Christopher, grew up weighed down and burdened because of what happened when he was seven years old. As he grew, there were so many voices telling him what to do/what to think/how to get better that he didn't know who to believe, and it was only as he walked out of the village that he started to hear his own voice for the first time.

7. A touch of the supernatural. Obviously, my books all have to have something out of the ordinary! I love to play with possibility. I love things to happen that are otherworldly. I love magic, so you'll find a little of that sprinkled throughout both books.

8. Questioning what was true and what was not true. Both books have central characters questioning the truth of events they actually lived through. This is a result of being told what to think and the necessity of the protagonists to find their inner strength and hear their own voice.

9. Moody setting. I am slightly obsessed with the fens as I went there often as a child (You can read more about this in last week's post.) The flat horizons and rolling clouds have all settled into my subconscious and become a rich seam of memory. Likewise, I knew Murmuration was set on Sheppey before I had even set foot there. I described the setting to a friend who said, 'That sounds just like Sheppey.' When I went to visit, it was wonderfully moody, the cloud clinging to the island as I imagined it would. Picking up the atmosphere of a place is hugely important for me in my writing.

So, you see, there is a little bit of me in everything I write. But this is not autofiction. None of these characters are me, and I have not lived the things they have lived, but when I write their lives, I feel them and feel what they have been through, which is why I believe empathy is the greatest gift of the writer. I feel myself into the character with the greatest joys and deepest fears that I know. And that is why I delight in the calling of writing. I get to put feeling into words. I get to craft with empathy. I get to make magic, and there is no better feeling.

If you're intrigued by the sound of Murmuration or Christopher, Running, go and look them up. Don't forget, ebook preorders are now live for Christopher, Running HERE!

And if you want an ARC, you can apply for one HERE!

Thanks so much for reading Miners, and tell me, what are your creative obsessions?

Elisabeth

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