Drawing Inspiration from Life

When I started writing my first novel almost twenty years ago I had no idea what direction my writing would take. Initially Slur had a chic lit feel to it but as I headed towards the halfway stage I felt that the novel wasn’t really going anywhere. I put it to one side for a while then asked myself the question, ‘What If?’ 

What if something catastrophic should happen to the two main characters, which would completely change the course of their lives? Once I had asked myself that question I knew I had the answer and the novel took on a new lease of life. It became a crime novel and, whilst writing it, I found myself drawing on my life’s experiences and things that had happened close to home. 

I don’t want to alarm you by suggesting that I have a dark, criminal past – I haven’t, but I did grow up in two tough Manchester neighbourhoods and my time spent there has definitely influenced my writing. 

The first place I lived was an area called Gorton, famed as the original setting for the TV series, Shameless. We were a family of seven crammed into a two up two down until the slum clearance of the 1970s when we moved to Longsight. I spent my teenage years on a tough council estate which had more than its share of crime. There were many interesting, entertaining individuals on the estate who have shaped a lot of the characters I write about.

When I wrote Slur the story involved Julie as my protagonist with Rita as her sidekick. Julie is from a law abiding, aspirational family, regarded by many in their neighbourhood as working class snobs. Rita, on the other hand, is from a family who aren’t quite as law abiding. She is feisty and mischievous but essentially a good person despite her upbringing. 

As I drew towards the end of the first book, Slur, I realised that Rita was a far more interesting character than Julie especially as I had alluded to her father who was a petty criminal and her sister who hung about with some dubious characters. I therefore decided that these characters would form the basis for two further novels. 

Apart from the characters, there were specific events that occurred on the estate. In the 90s criminal gangs moved into the avenue where I used to live and the area was constantly in the press due to gang violence, shootings and drug dealing. It is against this background that I wrote A Gangster’s Grip followed by Danger by Association, and the three books together form The Riverhill Trilogy. 

Other major gangland events in 90s Manchester involved the Door Wars where gangs would take over nightclubs, moving in their own security teams to manage the doors. This would enable them to control the drugs being sold in the club and take a mark-up from any profits made. My Manchester Trilogy centres around these events although for the first part of book one, Born Bad, I have drawn a lot on my childhood growing up in Gorton. 

The idea for the first book of my third series, The Mark, actually developed from a detective series I watched on television back in the nineties. There was a particular scene involving a female DI who was interviewing prostitutes in a rundown pub. She was very well-dressed and refined, and she stood out against the street girls who she was interviewing. Nevertheless, she had an affinity with them. 

The scene stuck in my mind and I remember thinking, firstly, how brave she was to go into such an insalubrious establishment looking for information. Secondly, I thought she was leaving herself open to all sorts of danger from some of the unsavoury characters inside the pub. In The Mark I have replaced the DI with my journalist, Maddy, who is followed home from the pub by evil pimp, Gilly, and is then targeted by him. 

Whilst I was researching The Mark I watched a lot of online videos about the world of prostitution. A particular series was a real eye opener although quite distressing in parts. It showed the world of prostitution through the eyes of the girls working the streets. Many of them shared similarities such as coming from broken homes or brought up in care, abusive relationships, drug and alcohol abuse etc. but they each also had a distinct story to tell.

The idea took root in my mind that each of these girls was an individual with her own set of circumstances and problems. Once I had latched onto that idea I began to think of stories for the other girls. Currently, the series is in three books, The Mark, Ruby and Crystal. 

Book Two, Ruby, follows the life of the book’s namesake who sets out on a life of prostitution at the age of sixteen and eventually becomes the Madame of her own brothel, with all the risks that that entails. In book three, Crystal is on a mission to exact revenge on past clients who have maltreated her but she is dealing with some very dangerous men.

I am currently working on outlines for two more books in The Working Girls series and am hoping that it will become a series of five books in total. My career direction after that is not yet decided but with so many things happening in a big city like Manchester, I have the basis for many more novels. 

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Heather Burnside grew up in Gorton, a working-class area of Manchester famed as the original location for the TV series, Shameless. She moved from Gorton to Longsight and spent her teenage years on one of the toughest estates in Manchester. Heather draws heavily on this background as the setting for many of her novels. To date she has written nine novels and is currently working on her tenth. You can find out more about Heather’s books by signing up to her mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/CP6YP to receive regular updates, or by viewing her website: www.heatherburnside.com. 

 

RUBY

THE PAGE-TURNING NEW INSTALLMENT OF THE WORKING GIRLS SERIES FROM THE QUEEN OF URBAN CRIME.
THE STRONGER SEX.
Ruby has always been strong. Growing up with a feeble mother and an absent father, she is forced to fight the battles of her younger siblings. And when a childhood experience leaves her traumatised, her distrust of men turns to hatred.

ON THE STREETS.
With no safe place to call home, Ruby is desperate to fit in with the tough crowd. She spends her teenage years sleeping around and drinking in the park, and by the time she is sixteen, prostitution has become a way of life. But Ruby has ambitions, and she soon moves up the ladder to become the madam of her own brothel.

THE BROTHEL.
But being in charge of a brothel has its down sides, Ruby faces her worst nightmare when an enemy from the past comes back into her life, and gang intimidation threatens to ruin everything. Can she find a way to beat her tormentors? And will she be strong enough to see it through?

Heather Burnside is back with this breath-taking, heart-racing series, perfect for all fans of Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips