While I can identify with Samira in many respects (same profession, mixed race, fertility issues, home city), it is Rory I truly connect with in The Boy Toy.
Like Rory, I have a speech impediment.
I’ve stuttered since I was a child and, like Rory, went through many sessions with various speech therapists. I can empathize with his feelings of frustration, embarrassment, and that bone-deep mortification when you stammer in front of a crowd.
Like Rory, I’ve had to deal with people “helpfully” finishing my sentence for me, providing a word I’m stuck on, and the slightly impatient look they get on their faces when it takes me longer to enunciate. And like Rory, while I try to master my stutter most of the time and put techniques I learned many years ago into practice, having to speak in front of a large group or in an interview always terrifies me.
Being an author is the perfect introverted profession for me. And while I’ve never done any drama training, I understand Rory’s confidence when he mentally rehearses before speaking because I do that too.
I hope you enjoyed The Boy Toy and had as much fun with these characters as I did creating them.
Nicola x