This week I’m joined by Claire Sheldon who writes for Ruby Fiction as she tells us about what she admires about Jen the fictional heroine of her latest novel The Silent Child. Over to Claire …
What I admire most about Jen my main character is how she has developed as a person, and since returning to her original police team and now Nottingham special ops team, she hasn’t returned to being a super bitch. She has managed to find a place in her life for family, policing and dealing with the past she left behind.
Jen didn’t have a great time growing up, her parents never wanted her and made sure she knew this at a very young age. They continued partying, leaving her in her room while they had their partying friends round.
As Jen grew older, she turned to sex, drugs and rock and roll, until she woke up one day coming down from a high, surrounded by people she didn’t know and knew she needed to find a better life for herself. She found her way into police training and then into Max’s team and he became the father she never had. She thought this was where she was destined to be for the rest of her life until she met James, who changed her again, because here was man who didn’t just want her for sex and a one night stand. He cared about her and finally she moved to Nottingham with him and out of the service. Having an adventurous sex life with James made up for all the highs she used to get from tracking the bad guys down.
We meet Jen in Perfect Lie as the perfect wife and mother until her past comes back to haunt her. She returns to her original police team to find out who killed her former bestfriend, Chloe Seaward and by the end of the book she returns home in the hope James and the kids will have her back. (PLOT SPOILER ALERT)
At the beginning of A Silent Child, which is approximately six months later, Jen is still trying to re-build the trust that has been lost between her and James. When DI Chris Jackson comes to her door and tells her that a child called Mikel has been found and is asking for Lisa Carter, Jen’s alter ego from when she was in the service, her whole life gets thrown into a tail spin yet again. Except this time she doesn’t do a runner, James recognises how much she needs to go back to find out what happened to this child and his mum.
In this section of Jen’s story, she doesn’t just click back into operation mode and the more she learns about what Mikel has gone through, the more it affects her, thanks to the person she is now. At several points in the story, we see her in tears and being comforted by James and Hannah. She can no longer take on these missions and turn the other cheek, because she has changed and become the one person she may have never become without having James and Max in her life.
Jen is one of the ultimate comeback girls, but she isn’t just coming back, she is coming back as a changed person from her days in the field.
About A Silent Child
The streets are no place for a child …
After a traumatic event that almost ripped Jen Garner’s family apart, life is finally starting to get back to normal.
Then a woman’s body is found in the river. Shortly afterwards, a young boy is discovered wandering the streets. He refuses to speak to anyone, just repeats one name over and over, to the confusion of most of the local authorities –but Jen knows exactly who he’s asking for, and it’s enough to make her blood run cold.
Buying Links
Perfect lie is now in print via On Demand printing and will hopefully be in trade print in July…https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Lie-gripping-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B088ZQ3DSJ
Ruby Fiction for other retailers
About Claire Sheldon
Claire lives in Nottingham with her family, a cat called Whiskers and a dog called Podrick.
She suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and as a result of the disease had to reduce her hours working in insurance for an Insolvency Insurer. This spare time enabled her to study a creative writing course which inspired her to write her debut, Perfect Lie.
When Claire isn’t working she enjoys reading crime novels and listening to music – the band Jimmy Eat World is her biggest muse! Claire is also an avid reader and book blogger. The inspiration for her novels comes from the hours spent watching The Bill with her grandparents and auntie; then later, Spooks and other detective programmes like Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost and Midsomer Murders.
To keep in touch with Claire, you can use the following links:
Twitter @ClaireEESheldon
Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/clairesheldonauthor
Thank you for joining me on my blog Claire and good luck with your new book! Mx
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