Guest Post: The Power of a Woman by Nigel May

Anybody who has read one of Nigel May's exciting and addictive bonkbusters will know that he has created some incredible female characters, female characters who feel real and leave an impression long after you've finished reading. Today I'm excited to be sharing a guest post from Nigel where he discusses his female characters. Nigel's latest (and greatest) book, Deadly Obsession is released this week and I've got one hell of a review for it coming up later this week.

What would you do if you saw your husband killed right in front of you … identified his body … had him cremated … then six months later received a letter written by him two days ago?

Amy Barrowman grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. So when she falls in love with millionaire Riley Hart and he asks her to marry him she can’t believe her luck. She has found true love and her happy ever after.

Riley Hart is a Millionaire Man about Town. Men want to be him and women want to bed him. But to achieve Riley’s status, you have to tread on a lot of toes and make a lot of enemies.

When Riley is gunned down at the nightclub they own, Amy is determined to avenge his death. She receives a mysterious letter detailing a list of suspects including Riley’s sworn enemy, actor Grant Wilson. But with an obsessive passion brewing between her and Grant and a dangerous assassin trailing her every move it would seem Amy has opened a deadly and tempting Pandora’s Box. In settling the score for her husband has Amy put herself into terrible danger?

 The Power of a Woman

I love writing female characters. All of my novels have been driven by women at the forefront of them. There was Nush, Regan and Evie and their tested friendship in Trinity, the four glamorous women of Addicted, Georgia, Nova and Mitzi in Scandalous Lies and now Amy, Genevieve, Laura, Lily and Caitlyn in Deadly Obsession. I love writing for women and, for me, that means writing female characters who are totally believable. I think I have always been obsessed with female characters for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I was a huge fan of TV shows like Dynasty and Dallas, the big over the top American soap operas, where the women were always larger than life and immersed in a world of riches, glamour and celebrity.

Characters like Alexis and Caress on Dynasty and Sue Ellen and Pam on Dallas were always my favourites as they could be powerful and ball-breaking but they would always have a vulnerable side too. People have said that some of my characters are bitches. I don't always agree with that as a character like Portia in Addicted or Caitlyn in Deadly Obsession may be a touch cutting with some of their words and they may have an acidic tongue at times but underneath there is always a soft centre. They will be vulnerable and have the same chinks in their armour as we all do - worries about health, family, love etc. I always like to think that my female characters would make very good friends. They may live in a much more decadent world than most people could ever dream of but yet I would still like to spend a night down the pub with each and every one of them. I think they would be a real laugh.

The females in Deadly Obsession are a mixed bag. Amy, the heroine of the novel, is a young woman with pretty much a rags to riches story as she had married millionaire Riley Hart, but sadly their love isn't to last as he is gunned down in front of her. She is dealing with the misery of widowhood months later when a letter arrives from Riley completely out of the blue saying that he is still alive. Amy needs to find all of her inner strength to solve the mystery behind the letter even though she is beyond distraught. She is aided by her best friend, Laura, who is a man-hungry woman who loves being in the spotlight. She is the opposite of Amy yet their friendship is tight. We also meet Lily who is a feisty young woman with a real ability to put people in their place with her harsh words, but yet she is very insecure underneath the surface too. Then there's Genevieve, the fashion guru who is trying to balance her professional and personal lives. And Caitlyn, Lily's mum who is the perfect mix of being incredibly maternal and highly demanding in her diva ways.

In my life I am surrounded by females and I used to write for women's magazines as a journalist so I have written with a leaning towards the ladies for many years. I do enjoy writing male characters too but for the vampiness and the campiness and the best one-liners I don't think anyone does it better than a brilliant woman! Long may they reign.