BLOG TOUR: Chris Higgins author of The Day I Met Suzie, Interview!

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'My boyfriend could get into trouble if he gets caught. He could go to jail.' I moan softly. 'So could I.' 'Anything you tell me is completely confidential.' I sigh deeply. What have I got to lose? 'I wouldn't know where to begin.' 'At the beginning?' she says. 'In your own words.' So that's what I do. I start at the beginning like she says. The day I met Suzie. Indigo (Indie) rings the Samaritans. She is frightened and desperate with no one to turn to. Over the course of one long night, Indie tells her story to the person on the end of the phone. She realises that her friend Suzie has taken over her home, her friends, her work, her boyfriend - and her life. After every few chapters we are brought back to the present moment, and see how piecing the story together helps Indie progress towards resolution.


Tell us about The Day I Met Suzie, in 140 characters Twitter style!
Beware of people who take over your life and bleed you dry. Suzie’s on the prowl. @hodderchildrens

Indie finds that Suzie slowly takes complete control of her life. What inspired you to write
such a story?
I am always intrigued by the way we tend to divide people into good or bad. I wanted to explore the characters of two seemingly completely different girls of the same age. Indie is pretty, popular, motivated and successful; Suzie is a sad, lonely loser. Indie wants to rescue people; Suzie needs to be rescued. Indie has a social conscience, Suzie has no conscience whatsoever. Suzie goes through life exploiting people for her own ends and then, having got her way, moves on leaving a trail of devastation in her wake, with no feelings of regret or remorse. Some might say she’s a psychopath. But she meets her match in kindly, law- abiding Indie who eventually manages to turn the tables on her. So, who is actually the good girl/bad girl in this story?

There are many twists in The Day I Met Suzie. Did you cross any difficulties in the writing process?
I had to make sure I got all the legalities correct and up-to-date. It got very complicated with the cars and the loans and the repayments and even more so when Scott and Logan appeared on the scene. The character of the Samaritan was really helpful in keeping me on course and pulling everything together.

Mystery is also a vital part in The Day I Met Suzie. How did you try to maintain the suspense or does it just flow naturally from you?
I sometimes think I live in a state of permanent bewilderment at the ways of the world. I am constantly surprised by events in the news where people seem to be living perfectly ordinary lives but actually there is far more to them than meets the eye. People choose to present a face to the world but often they are far more mysterious than they appear on the surface. I tried to reveal Suzie’s character slowly so that she draws in the reader and fools her (or him!) just like she fools Indie.

The Day I Met Suzie deals with a lot of issues. What valuable message did you hope readers to gain?
It’s so easy to fall into debt and so hard to get out of. Don’t always take people at face value.

Which books are you most excited for this year?
“After Eden” by Helen Douglas.
“Night Witches” by L J Adlington
“Fractured” by Teri Terry

1 comment:

  1. BookAThon Freak6 March 2013 at 16:15

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