Sweet Little Lies (Cat Kinsella #1)(121)
Having spent my working life in office environments, the team also came alive pretty quickly and I loved writing the incident room scenes. While none of the characters are based on anyone I’ve worked with, I had lots of experience of office life to draw from – the laughs, the sniping, the tea-runs, the boozing, the occasional boredom – and again, I wanted to create a team that the reader recognised. Maybe even one they’d like to work in. In terms of specific characters, Parnell was conceived as being the polar opposite of Cat’s dad and Steele is basically the woman I’d love to be – sharp-witted, self-assured and feared and loved in equal measure. It’s fair to say I have a huge girl-crush on Steele.
Location was important on a personal level. As the idea for Sweet Little Lies was starting to form, I was actually in the process of leaving London after many years, and I think basing the novel there was my way of dealing with the initial homesickness I felt. It was also important to set the story somewhere it’s easy to feel anonymous, and while we often think of London as the place people go to make a name for themselves, it’s actually very easy to slip under the radar in the capital. Could a ‘baby-factory’ exist without people noticing in a small Warwickshire town? Probably not. Could it exist in the middle of Central London? Shockingly, yes.
I chose the west coast of Ireland as it’s the area I know best, but I decided to keep the exact location deliberately vague. As the Ireland chapters serve as quick flashbacks, rather than as a fully developed second timeline, I was conscious I could never do justice to the beauty of the real villages and towns within these very short scenes and therefore the town of Mulderrin is entirely made-up.
At the risk of sounding grandiose, I’ll finish by quoting Pablo Picasso, ‘Inspiration exists, but it must find you working.’ I think the main thing I’ve learned while writing this novel is that inspiration isn’t confined to the beginning phase of the process, and it’s rarely the trigger that gets books written – in fact, if you sit around waiting for THE idea to somehow present itself, you’ll probably never write anything. In reality, all you need is an image, a cracking opening line, a vague pull in a certain direction, and once you start writing, you’ll be surprised how the inspiration comes.
Writing = inspiration, not the other way around!
For Your Reading Group
If you were in Cat’s position when Alice’s true identity is uncovered, how would you react and what would you do in that situation?
Do you think Cat’s predicament at work – the secrets that she is keeping from her superiors – will have repercussions in her future?
Which character do you feel closest to, and why?
What do you think about Cat’s relationship with her dad? Do you think her suspicions justify her behaviour towards him?
Cat is a compelling character, not only because of the plot, but also because you can easily identify with her. How important is a character’s voice to your reading experience, and why?
The power of forgiveness is at the heart of the book – are there some issues that are raised in the book that you wouldn’t be able to forgive?
Was there another character whose story you would also like to know more about? What drew you to them?
How important do you think the locations of Ireland and London are to the novel?
To what extent do you think the events in Cat’s past influenced her career choice?
Trust is one of the major themes of the book. Why do you think books that focus on the ambiguity of trust in relationships are so popular right now?