‘So it’s time to start writing novels as well as plays,’ he thought. ‘That’s always been the dream, anyway. And surely book writing’s just a case of adding narrative to dialogue, anyway! How difficult can it be?’
In Chris’ mind, the only obstacle to this fantasy was the small matter of, ‘What to actually write about?’ Crime fiction had always been his favorite literary genre (as evidenced by ‘Murder-plays’), but he knew that he didn’t know anywhere near enough about police procedure to write a conventional police drama. ‘So,’ he thought, ‘if I can’t write a crime story about the police, what do I know enough to write one about?’
The answer was obvious... education!
‘Education’s been my life,’ he thought. ‘I know about ‘school’ inside out, so... I’ll combine my skill at writing whodunits with my knowledge of ‘school’ and hopefully write a line of books that will prove popular with both the students and their teachers alike! I mean, I have enough experience to put everything in there... all the kids, the teachers, the daily routines... plus all the general mayhem! I’ll make it modern, but not too modern. No mobile phones!! And I’ll also make it creepy, too. Sinister. Gothic!’
Having established this premise, Chris’ thoughts immediately turned to the detective figure who’d be central to this new line of novels...
‘He’ll be a schoolkid, naturally! A teenager. Male, like the majority of my fictional heroes. And like them he’ll be some kind of misfit. An outcast. Only with razor-sharp intellect and an inbuilt talent for solving crime. He’ll be sullen and dark-eyed, dressed almost head to toe in black. A crusader for the truth. A righter of wrongs. Ruthlessly loyal to those who enlist his services... yet relentless in his pursuit of those who oppose him.’
Enthused, Chris scrabbled around for a suitable name. ‘I need something dark-sounding... Something mysterious...?’
And then, all at once, he had him. Oddly, the name which sprang to mind combined that of his first family pet (a black rabbit) with that of a life-long friend, (Steven). And, before the thought could disappear, he’d found a pen and paper and scrawled the following words...
‘Inky Stevens the Great School Detective’
And Chris’ journey as a novelist began...
Chris duly left teaching in July 2013 by which time he’d already started work on the first of the ‘Great School Detective’ novels. Relishing this new lease of life, the words flew quickly onto the page. What emerged, he found, was a parody of traditional crime fiction. His writing retained the gritty style of the modern crime writer, yet by switching the focus onto a modern-ish high school inhabited by a cast of oddball characters he found he was able to introduce a hefty dose of black humour. Now free of teaching, Chris felt alive once more. He was up and running...!
Yet despite Chris’ early enthusiasm, finding a publisher who was interested enough to print his work really showed his naivety. In a hugely over-crowded market Chris struggled to make any impression at all. Rejection, followed rejection, followed rejection. And after three years without any success, Chris reluctantly set the Great School Detective aside in order to re-focus on Murderplays. But then, as luck would have it, he and June returned from holiday in 2016 to see a light flashing on the telephone answering machine. Chris pressed ‘play’...
“Hello,” said a polite female voice, “my name is Karen Stevens from Hogs Back Books. Your idea of a schoolboy detective sounds rather intriguing and I’d be interested to see more of what you’ve written. Have you anything else to send me...?”
That one phone call changed everything and set in motion Inky’s journey from page into print. Chris signed a publishing contract with Hogs Back Books the following year... and the Great School Detective finally had a home!
