To: Patrick Knight <[email protected]>
From: Felicity Knight <[email protected]>
Subject: Mission accomplished
Dear Patrick
It’s a pity you’re on the other side of the world and unable to carry out your own rescue mission.
I only say this because Molly Cooper is charming, and I thoroughly enjoyed a highly entertaining afternoon with her. It seems to me that your taste in women improves considerably when you change your selection criteria. Perhaps you should try choosing your girlfriends by their houses.
Molly may not be a pint-size blonde, as most of your girlfriends are, but she can hold up her end of a conversation. She’s very smart, Patrick, and you should see the way her blue eyes sparkle. They’re breathtaking.
Darling, thank you for sending me on a very pleasant errand. I must say I was very curious about the girl you’d swapped houses with. Now that curiosity is happily satisfied.
I hope you’re having as much fun with writing your novel as Molly seems to be having here in London.
Love
Mother xx
Private Writing Journal, Magnetic Island, April 30th
Note about character development: it might work quite well if I give my heroine a private fear that she must overcome.
To: Molly Cooper <[email protected]>
From: Patrick Knight <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Thank you!
Hi Molly
Your map of the island’s reefs arrived today. Thanks so much. The information will be very helpful, and your request that I don’t show the location of these reefs to too many tourists was duly noted. I’m honoured that you’re sharing some of your island’s secrets with me, a mere visitor.
I also enjoyed very much your drawings of the coral fish and the other weird and wonderful creatures that I’m likely to encounter when I finally enter the Pacific Ocean.
Your artistic efforts made me smile. Have you ever thought of a new career as a cartoonist?
I’m very keen to see a Chelmon rostratus (thank you for the helpful labels). Those fish are gorgeous, with their bright black, yellow and white stripes and their long snouts. And I’m fascinated by the anemone fish.
You were right about the crocodile. He was caught in Florence Bay—six brave fellows from the National Park manhandled him, trussed him up like a giant Christmas turkey and relocated him further north. Apparently he won’t come back this way now that we’re approaching the winter. Thank God.
So I can’t wait to start diving. You’ve certainly whetted my appetite for discovering what lies beneath. …
Molly, I’m very pleased to hear that you’ve got the Tube business sorted. I know my mother enjoyed meeting you. Well done.
It’s getting a little cooler here at last. Today it’s hard to believe it’s autumn. The temperatures are almost down to those of an English summer’s day.
If you’d like any help with looking for your father’s birthplace, do sing out.
Best
Patrick
To: Molly Cooper <[email protected]>
From: Patrick Knight <[email protected]>
Subject: PS
Molly, another thought. You might be surprised to know that you could quite possibly help me with this novel by sharing your reactions to London.
You were worried about sending me extra-long messages but I’ve enjoyed the descriptions in your e-mails … and I’ve found them helpful.
I’m still learning the ropes, so to speak, and it would be extremely useful to see my home town described through a fresh pair of eyes. In fact your reactions to life in general could be helpful, as it’s hard for a fellow to get inside the female mind. In other words, feel free to continue sharing your discoveries and insights. Positive or negative—you won’t hurt my feelings.
Just if the whim takes you.
Warmest wishes
Patrick
To: Patrick Knight <[email protected]>
From: Molly Cooper <[email protected]>
Subject: My London eye
Dear Patrick
I’m more than happy to rattle on to you about my London adventures, and please feel free to use anything I say in your novel. Wow! What an honour.
I’ve been thinking that writing must be a lonely occupation, so I can imagine you’d enjoy getting e-mails at the end of a long day at the keyboard.
But if I get too carried away, flooding you with too much information, please tell me.
I had to laugh at a sign I saw today in a Tube station: A penalty fare will be charged to any passenger who fails to hide true emotions fully or makes any attempt to engage with other passengers.
That is so what it’s like. I do love the way the British poke fun at themselves.
Yesterday I spent the loveliest morning checking out the Kensington Roof Gardens. They’re gorgeous. Have you been there? It’s amazing—one and a half acres of trees and plants growing thirty metres above Kensington High Street and divided into three lovely themed gardens.
There’s an English woodland (which I think might be my favourite), with curving lawns and surprisingly large trees, a stream and little bridges, even a lake with ducks and pink flamingos. I’m so glad it’s spring, because there were also lovely flowers everywhere, but unfortunately I don’t know their names.
There’s also a Tudor garden, with a courtyard and creeper-covered walls and brick paths laid in a herringbone pattern. It’s filled with fragrant flowers—lilies, roses and lavender. And the Spanish garden is very dramatic, with its stunning white walls. Apparently it’s inspired by the Alhambra in Spain.
By the way, thanks so much for offering to help with my family history research. My grandmother kept a box of papers that belonged to my parents, including their marriage certificate. When I was younger I used to take it out often and read every word. I haven’t done that for ages, but I’m almost certain I remember that my father was born in Clapham. I used to want to call it Clapham. I know the year he was born was definitely 1956.
Molly
PS Would you like to send me a list of questions that might help you with getting inside your female character’s head?
To: Molly Cooper <[email protected]>
From: Patrick Knight <[email protected]>
Subject: Questions
It’s very generous of you to offer to help with my female character. I hesitate to make these kinds of demands on your time, but authors do need to know an awful lot about what’s going on inside their characters, and I’d truly appreciate your input.
My heroine is Beth Harper and she’s a bank teller, about your age, and I’m supposed to know about her likes and dislikes—her favourite kinds of clothes and jewellery, favourite colour, music, animal, etc; her least favourite of these; her spending habits; her most prized possession; her talents (piano player, juggler, poet?); nervous habits. Any thoughts along those lines would be welcomed.
I’m hoping to create a girl who feels