A throwaway comment on Sunday in the wannabe chatroom about the General Strike in 1926 and one of the sub-plots in ‘Sunlight’ has thrown up a new minor character for me to weave into the story. It all started when I decided to check dates for the history of what actually happened around May Day in 1926 and I discovered that the General Strike started on Monday, 3rd May. As a result I knew I had to put something about it in the story, because there is no way my family would have had a little jolly on May Day, which was on a Saturday, and not been thinking about the General Strike on the Monday.
(Fiona knows who he is)
Well, this very nice young chap has been whispering in my ear constantly. He’s very proud at appearing in the book and appears to fancy Rose. He was absolutely gutted when he found out that she was spoken for. Now, I have a problem. Rose is getting married and this rather handsome young student doctor has the hots for her. What will she do? She can’t run off with him because that would mess up the entire trilogy. She can’t say to him ‘take me and do what you will with me’ because she’s been there and done that with her fiance, and Rose is too much of a nice girl. This character is giggling in my ear as I write this. He’s nudging me with his elbow ‘go on …’ he’s saying. ‘Be a devil.’
Hmmm. It appears my sensible, prim and proper Rose is about to be sorely tempted.