Friday Five: Five details that never made the book.

Happy Friday!

Only seventeen days to go until Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions is released, and I've been poring over the proof, making sure everything is perfect for you.

It's been lovely to read the proof as a book, rather than edit it (although I have spotted and corrected a few clunkers) but one thing that struck me was how much of the story is not actually on the page.

J.K. Rowling famously wrote detailed and elaborate back-stories for all her characters, and so did I- although not in as much detail, obviously. These are short (ish) stories, after all! But, for my Friday Five this week, I'd like to share a few details with you. These won't make one jot of sense until Monday 27th May, but here you go.



1. Debs
Debs settled in Singapore and raised four children, the eldest following his father into the navy. She wrote to her mum every month, although her mum never mentioned this to Jimmy. She kept the photos Debs sent of her grandchildren tucked inside a Bible her own grandmother had given her.

2. Tim
The song the busker plays that Tim likes so much is "Pictures of Matchstick Men" by Status Quo. Tim's dad used to play the tape in the car when they drove to their caravan in Norfolk. Tim used to go crabbing rather than fishing there, because he thought it was more humane to catch the crabs and let them go again.

3. Mia
Mia is a size 8 and only 5 ft 3" tall. She loves watching 80s movies and secretly wishes she were more like Ariel in "Footloose". The perfume she is wearing the night of the concert is "Black XS" by Paco Rabanne. Her handbag is a Radley knock-off, as she's too scared to take one she really likes.

4. Laura
Laura left Sussex when she was nineteen to go to University in Leeds. She has a History degree, and wanted to follow it up by becoming an archaeologist. She loves listening to Madeline Peyroux, and her favourite perfume is "Sunflowers" by Elizabeth Arden.

5. The Teacher
The unnamed teacher's marriage broke up because she couldn't have children. Her now ex-husband said he didn't mind, but she knew he did really, and it broke her heart. She let him go because she wanted him to be happy. He still misses her.