All books in a series need new and exciting characters to propel them along. The same set of characters talking about the same set of things is boring. If your characters are going somewhere, it’s likely there’ll be new people taking the journey with them.
To take a step back into the Harry Potter universe for a moment (as I frequently do), think of the different characters who emerged as the series progressed. Without the likes of Remus Lupin, Dolores Umbridge and Luna Lovegood, the books wouldn’t work, but a gentle layering of characters was necessary for the plot’s sake – and the reader’s too. Very few people like to be inundated with a character roll call right off the bat.
So, when writing Amy, I was aware that new characters would be elbowing their way into the story and they needed to feel as real as Valerie, Max and Amy do. The focus on Westminster also meant that a proportion of these would be politicians – and, as any political cynic will tell you, trying to make a politician appear human can be a tricky task.
There are three major new characters in Amy: Oliver, Robert and Adiba.
Oliver
Oliver is Valerie’s Constituency Office Manager, so he deals with the day-to-day constituency work including community liaison, diary organisation, and overseeing the other staff within the office. At the start of Amy, Ollie has been working with Valerie for around nine months. They’ve establishing a close working relationship, but is it tough enough to withstand a few home truths?
Robert
Robert’s an old friend of Valerie’s who appears just at the wrong time. There’s no love lost between them, and he’s not the kind of person she wants in her life anymore.
Adiba
Adiba is the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – not exactly the most senior role in the UK Government but one she’s made her mark on. She’s also the MP for one of Valerie’s neighbouring constituencies, so they have plenty in common.
As well as these three new major characters, John Foster from the first novel has more of an odious starring role. It isn’t unfinished business so much as opportunities colliding – and who would turn that down if they were aspiring to the highest office in the land?
Amy will be released on Friday 13th September.
Read more about Valerie, the first novel in the series, here.
