How much of Kristina – is ME?

Published: March 21st, 2026

I found myself asking this fascinating question after I had written a scene in the third novel of my trilogy, ‘Legacy of Deceit’. My previous blog, ‘A Novel Idea’ outlined my experiences in a cotton mill that had become a handbag factory after it had, like most mills in the fifties and sixties, ceased traditional cotton production. Working in that old mill, it was as if ghosts from the past appeared, spoke to me of their experiences, and encouraged me to turn them into fictional characters.  

So, to my key question above. As fiction writers, how much of ourselves – views and opinions about society, as well as our own life experiences, ends up being featured in our novels? More, I suspect, than we might imagine. 

A number of scenes in my first and second novels (A Lie Never Dies, and Love, Lies…and Loss) feature my main character, Kristina, engaging in argumentative dialogue with characters who have very different views on how society should treat people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This modern, more respectful, term was, of course, not yet in use during the Edwardian era about which I write. Such individuals were referred to as ‘feeble minded’ or ‘mentally deficient’. My own primary school in Darwen had previously been a special school for children labelled as ‘educationally sub-normal.’

Ugly, isn’t it! But this is how past society regarded people who were so afflicted. In 1910, Kristina gives birth to such a child, and spends much of her life fighting such inhumane attitudes – told through her son’s story. 

Where did these novel ideas stem from? Much of my teaching career has been spent working with children identified with SEND – for example, children with specific learning difficulties, such as Dyslexia or Speech and Language: as well as those with more generalised, cognitive learning difficulties – at a moderate (MLD) or more severe (SLD)  level. A significant part of my career was spent in a special school, in Blackburn: split between class teaching, and visiting mainstream schools – as an ‘outreach’ teacher – advising staff on how best to support their children with various types of SEND.

But back to the novels. In my story, Kristina is definitely me! Angry with a society that looks down on people who are ‘different’  – yet not necessarily ‘deficient’. I have enjoyed making my views felt through the words and actions of this strong and resilient character. 

Other incidents throughout the book also reflect my own experiences, for example, domestic and sexual abuse: having fled my first marriage in the early seventies, to become a single parent of two young girls. 

I have just finished reading an excellent novel by Angie Thomas, ‘The Hate U Give’: on the theme of racism in Mississippi: still, sadly, an issue in today’s society. Her anger at the killing of black people, stemming from her own experiences, was initially   influenced by seeing a picture of the mutilated face of Emmett Till, killed in the 1950’s. This author’s feelings come through strongly in her novel. I recommend it.

This is why I enjoy reading novels about ‘issues’. Such stories invite all readers to reflect – and perhaps, to strive to improve society’s negative views and behaviours. My recent non-fiction book, ‘Becoming A Reader’, builds on this idea, echoing Descartes, ‘I think, therefore I am,’ with my own philosophical reflection, ‘I read, therefore I think.’

So, does my fictional authorship echo the ‘thinking’ side of me? 

Yes – most definitely! 

 

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