WHERE THE IDEA OF PRETTY EVIL CAME FROM

I started writing Pretty Evil in 2018. At the time, I was known for writing romantic comedies, with several published both traditionally and independently. Although I enjoyed the genre, I had started to feel creatively restless and wanted to write something darker and more representative of the realities of modern dating.

Around that time, conversations surrounding toxic behaviour, power dynamics, and women’s safety were becoming increasingly prominent in public discourse as part of the MeToo movement, and I was keen to explore those themes in fiction.

The initial spark for Pretty Evil came during a research trip to New York for one of my rom coms. It happened to be New York Fashion Week during my visit, and I was rereading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. I began wondering what Patrick Bateman might look like as a glamorous female fashionista — a sort of murderous Miranda Priestly. The idea immediately captivated me and I knew I wanted to explore it further.

I thought it would be fascinating to write about a woman who targets appalling men — abusers, predators, creeps — the kind of men increasingly being called out during the MeToo era. A Dexter-style antihero, but aimed at “bad guys”.

My heroine, Camilla Black, was born, and her story became my debut thriller, Pretty Evil. Published in October 2020, the novel was an early entry in what has since become the hugely popular “female vigilante” thriller trend, and I’m proud that the book was at the forefront of that movement.