Freezer Blocks, a Grumpy Nation, and an Impossible Choice for Erin

All night I’ve had a fan running, blowing hot air on my face.

The covers kicked off.

No air conditioning because we just don’t have it in our homes in the UK (more famous for its grey skies and rainy days!)

The temperature inside the house has been pushing 30C for a week now.

I’m going through two t-shirts a day and expelling moisture faster than I can drink.

I’ve had to improvise an AC unit using a desk fan and two freezer blocks.

My homemade AC unit

Meanwhile, everyone you bump into on the street is grumpy.

We’re losing our minds here.

Even our politics is going crazy in the heat. Count Binface, I’m looking at you…

The thing is we’re just not geared up for heatwaves in this country.

We’re all just doing what we can to survive.

But it’s what people do when their backs are against the wall, isn’t it?

We improvise. Reassess. Work out a way forward.

It’s what our protagonists in psychological thrillers thrive on.

Take Erin in my latest novel, The Good Bad Wife.

She’s moved on from her abusive husband.

She’s met a new best friend and they’re getting on famously.

But then Vanessa asks the impossible of her.

To kill her violent partner to save her unborn baby 😧

If only it was just a heatwave she had to contend with.

It’s a binary option.

Agree to murder.

Or put an unborn’s life in danger.

Writers call it putting a character in a crucible.

That is a contained situation with no easy exit which forces them to reveal who they really are while under enormous pressure.

If you want to find out what Erin does in an impossible situation – you’ll have to grab a copy of the book.

It’s still at its launch price of 99p / 99c and free with Kindle Unlimited.

I’m off now to pick up my mum from the train station.

She’s braved the train in the heat to visit for the weekend – but is currently stuck somewhere outside London 😱

At least my car has excellent air con.