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Being a police officer wasn’t easy, being an author is never so.
When I set out to write Hayefield Manor, I wasn’t expecting it to teach me so much but, like Sophie, I felt as though I became a steward of the story and its characters.
I had set out to write romance with some crime for the market but the more I worked on the novel, the more I felt that I didn’t want to mould myself into a box but to be free to tell the story I felt passionate about.
I had never used my prior policing experience or legal knowledge in a novel, simply because I was always told that the crime genre is filled with experts and readers are quick to disbelieve anything but “the correct procedures” but, as a former police officer, I always found this baffling because anyone who has been through the training, worked alongside the professionals or even read about cases, would tell you that every officer has a tale or two that would make you roll your eyes.
English and Welsh law is complex and ever evolving and officers must know the correct aspects of hundreds of laws, powers and procedures, know how and when to apply them, when to use discretion and often do this in high-stress situations during long shifts under intense scrutiny. My intention was to depict how hard the job is and how no Senior Investigating Officer finds it easy and so I allowed the detectives to get it wrong, to be human, but I hope that it is clear that Morgan’s respect for them remains intact because, like all officers and former officers, she knows what it means to wear the uniform.
Writing Hayefield Manor made me realise that, unlike many crime writers, I have worn a police uniform, experienced the pressures, the psychological changes and the sheer pride that being someone who serves their community instils. I took an even braver step to use my own experiences (although not the same as Morgan’s) to show what it is to have to leave a career you love and how hard it is to become disabled. It was painful to depict sometimes but I wanted to show the human side to the force.
During the process, I had to deal with how brutal being a writer can be and that due to my unique way of writing (which comes in part from my own disabilities) that I faced how others could see me as “lesser than.”
Then, I had to keep the faith in a character who is wholly unlikeable, stubborn, distant and every wonderful “undesirable” trait that Sophie has. I have always loved how Jane Austen took unlikeable characters such as Mr. Darcy and turned them into those which audiences have adored for hundreds of years.
This book has taught me to stand up and have faith in myself and my writing; to ignore those who find fault, rediscover those who have believed in me all along, and rejoice in the fact that Hayefield Manor is a book about faith, love, hope, and seeing the beauty in others when no one else can.
So, I hope that you are swept up by Morgan’s journey, fall in love with the estate, Sophie, and enjoy a very heart-fought story which I hope makes you smile.
Big Smiles
Jody