Sunday was International Women’s Day – an important celebration that allows women to really be recognised. I’ve spoken about this before in my feminism blog, but since writing more books, I want to revisit the topic.

I’ve never really written from a female perspective – I find a lot easier and more natural writing from a male one, but one thing I’ve always wanted is strong characters – female or male. In A Long Lost Time, this is really highlighted and in fact, probably takes hold of the last part of the book. We all know Luke’s a feminist, but giving strong female characters their moments has always been part of my plot.

And it all stems from reading books where the female characters weren’t strong. When I was slightly younger, books like Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey were coming out and I felt saddened by the fact these are the supposed female role models that are coming out of literature. So much so that when I started writing a book from a female character’s POV, I had to stop myself before it became like that. Was that because the kinds of characters I knew were like that and that influenced how I felt I had to portray them?

I’ve noticed recently, a shift in plots as well in young adult – for a long time it was awkward or needy females after confident males, now it’s almost swapped. I don’t know whether it’s more realistic or more appealing, but I do find it samey. It was before and it is now. Can’t women and men be equals in the plot? I’ve tried my best to do that with Luke and Vi, and hopefully it worked. That’s what I see as a compelling story. Not some weird Grease style power imbalance (hence why one of my first projects when I was very young was Grease 3 – two geeky kids who masquerade as confident ones, always on the same level).

All I can say is, it’s important to readers, especially in young adult fiction, to have relatable, realistic characters that they can admire and look up to. Strong characters. Female or male. Because that’s who we learn from. I want people to read my books and look at my female characters and really get them, understand them and realise this is what women should be like. I know I have a long way to go, especially with regards to writing female perspectives, but it’s something I will certainly be focusing on in the future. Happy belated International Women’s Day all!

Atlantic Split, At Liberty To Live and An Undercover Dream, the first three books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! The final book of the series A Long Lost Time will be released in 2020!

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N.A.K