The Idol

“The Idol” is my first novel. I wrote it back in 2005/2006 and wanted to write about a village with a physical resemblance to the one I grew up in (Eckington) and possessing a certain atmosphere, which I have to admit has been rather changed for dramatic effect!

Dani Thomas, the heroine, has grown up in a tiny house back in Bangor, North Wales, with a humourless Dad and an ever-busy Mum. She fears that her father’s apparent homophobia will destroy her life once he realises her own sexuality, and this is an underlying theme throughout the book - of a fear that by sticking up for herself and for what she believes she will be crushed. In her home life this would be a psychological destruction, but in the village of Radlington, set among the deceptively-tranquil riverside lushness, gently-slanting fields, rolling hills and rural lifestyles of Worcestershire, when faced by the sheer murderous hostility of the villagers, it would be an all-too-physical destruction, too.

I wanted to show a community that could turn from apparent normality and cautious homeliness to a savage rage upon perceiving a clear threat to it. This isn’t full of larger-than-life characters - small villages like Radlington often aren’t - and the village elders remain low-key throughout - and they, like Dani’s Dad, feel their traditions and history could be wiped out if they allow her to take their Idol, the entitled but weak-willed Sissy, away. Whether this act from Dani is driven by reckless, fearless decency, a sheer hatred for the bullying she perceives Sissy as enduring or simply something more desire-driven is debatable, perhaps all three reasons combined. Yet Dani ends up finding reserves in herself that she never thought she possessed. Her tiny frame, underdog mentality, foul mouth and lack of money or respectability have all contributed to her sense of being seen as inferior, and her closeted nature also gives her the ‘cornered rat’ approach to life, though ironically this may be what gives her a chance of survival.

Having originally written the book some time ago I was undecided whether to leave it as a standalone novel or develop a series, and I am currently in the early stages of creating a sequel. It will focus on the aloof, sneering and mysterious out-of-towner who haunts Dani like an androgynous ghost, and finding out what her agenda is and whether Dani could fit into this. But above all, if you like a book with thrills, scares, bad language, cliffhanger chapter-endings and a touch of black humour then please buy this - and if you’d like to do this, or read a sample first, please go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/714374