This week’s Friday Fiction Feature
showcases Sheila Bugler’s I Could Be You
My latest book, I Could Be You, is a crime
novel set in Eastbourne. It’s the start of a new series, featuring jaded
journalist, Dee Doran. I’m originally from Ireland, but I’ve been living in
Eastbourne since 2013. I moved here, with my family, after spending over twenty
years in London. Having grown up by the sea, I was desperate to escape the
city. By sheer good luck, we chose Eastbourne as our new home.
Nestled between the coast, with far reaching views
across the English Channel, and the start of the South Downs National Park,
Eastbourne is stunning. From my house, on the edge of town, I can walk to the
beach, across the south downs and along the jagged coastline of majestic white
chalk cliffs to Beachy Head and beyond. It’s an area steeped in history and
beauty.
I’ve always believed location is a key part of what
makes a good crime series. My previous novels are all set in south east London,
where I lived for many years. Now I was in Eastbourne, I wanted to make this
the location for a new series.
As it turns out, I wasn’t the only person who
thought the location was perfect for crime! The recent TV series Flesh
and Blood is set in Eastbourne. In fact, the family home is on the same
stretch of beach where my protagonist, Dee Doran, lives. If you’ve watched the
series, you’ll already know how gorgeous it is.
Dee is an investigative journalist in her early
fifties. She’s taken a career break following the end of her marriage. I’m
often asked why I chose a main character who’s a journalist, not a detective.
The simple answer is I felt like a change. I’d already written a series
featuring a female detective.
Like me, Dee is in her early fifties. This is also
deliberate. I’m in my early fifties and I wanted to write about a character the
same age. I love women my age – we’re old enough to know what we want, and
young enough to still enjoy life! We’ve aged and are well beyond the first
flush of youth, but we have a wealth of life experience behind us and plenty
more years ahead of us.
Dee’s fifth decade hasn’t got off to the best start.
Her marriage has broken up and both her parents have died. The only thing
that’s kept her going has been her neighbours – single mother, Katie, and her
two-year-old son, Jake. Then one hot summer’s day, Dee finds Katie’s dead body
on the road outside her house. Beside it, Jake’s empty buggy. No Jake. He’s
disappeared.
As the murder investigation gets underway, Dee’s
determination to find Jake is the only thing that keeps her going. But the more
she learns about Katie, the more Dee realises she never really knew her
neighbour. Katie was keeping secrets. Because of that, one woman’s already
dead. If Dee’s not careful, she’ll be next.
Website: www.sheilabugler.co.uk
Twitter: @sheilab10
Instagram: sheilabsussex
I Could be You on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xNFttE
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