As a writer, I try to make plans but I’ve learned that, sometimes, such plans can very quickly go out of the window. I was halfway through Mac Maguire’s fourteenth adventure, A Murdered Crow, when a new idea hit me pretty much out of the blue. It was all Mac’s fault really as I had him reviewing some crime novels as part of his investigation into a murder and, in order to give him some clues, I had to invent a couple of authors and their fictional detectives. One of these fictional characters was called Detective Inspector Biddie O’Sullivan who works out of Cork City, Ireland. As I say, Biddie was invented just to help Mac’s plot along but, somehow, she stuck in my head.

Then things started coming to me and this included Biddie’s entire back story. I have learned not to turn down the ideas that come to me and this one came on as strong as any I’ve ever had. So, I started writing. I’m now well over halfway through Biddie’s first book Murder At Shark Island and I’m looking forward to finishing it in the weeks to come.

So, who exactly is Biddie O’Sullivan? Well, she’s 33 years old which is young for a Detective Inspector, but she is, of course, really good at her job. She’s an empty nester with a son at university (read the book to find out) and she’s also a black belt at Tae Kwon Do. Her best friend, Bernie MacBride, also happens to be her sergeant and the two of them make for a good team.

Oh, and Biddie’s also six feet three inches tall.

So, why did I make her that tall? I didn’t, that’s just how the story came to me. I’ve thought of shaving a few inches off her but, on giving it some thought, I didn’t. As a writer, I feel that I have to trust whatever comes to me. Mac is different because he has a disability, Biddie is different because she was born that way. Of course, if she had been a man then her height would have been no problem as people would have (literally) looked up to her. However, with her being a woman, a certain type of man just doesn’t know how to react and some might even find her very existence and physicality a threat to their own masculinity. Sad but there it is.

Yet, somehow Biddie will rise above it all.

In her first adventure, set in West Cork, we find her sent off to the remote island of Cape Clare, known as Shark Island in the Irish. A tourist has been brutally killed and Biddie and Bernie have to get to the bottom of it.

So, what do I know about West Cork? I’ve been there once but, until I did my research, I didn’t know a lot about it. Even so, I would be a little wary of publishing something based solely on research. Luckily, I’m hoping that two of my cousins, who happen to live in West Cork and who also read my books, will be able to sanity check them for me.

So, does this mean the end of the road for Mac Maguire? Absolutely not. As soon as I finish Biddie’s first adventure I will be returning to A Murdered Crow with hopes of publishing it later this year. However, I have found writing about different faces and places quite refreshing and I’m hoping that, going forward, I can run both series together.

Wish me luck.