Goodreads asked Charles Heathcote:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Charles Heathcote Our Doris originated at a writing group I attend. The leader gave us a writing burst and I could not think of anything to write. We had twenty minutes to write and at the fifteen minute mark I still hadn't written anything - in a fit to have something to read I wrote, 'Our Doris has developed an unhealthy obsession with slugs.' I then used the method for each writing burst, beginning with 'Our Doris ...' and highlighting her schemes. Eventually folk asked for a book of the character, but I didn't have a plot. I returned to the original paragraph I wrote about the character and decided that there must be a reason she wants rid of the pests in her garden. A writer friend of mine, Margaret Holbrook, mentioned that she took part in a garden safari and the two ideas clung to each other. Now there's a book, so really we need to thank the Macclesfield Creative Writing Group and Margaret.

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