Please help me find my blue haired muse.
Maggie Rose is the enigmatic, reclusive protagonist in my latest book, Daisy In Chains. She is a criminal barrister and true-life crime writer and such is her success in getting cast-iron murder convictions overturned that the police dread the very sound of her name. She lives alone, never giving interviews or allowing her photograph to be taken. Few have met her, few even know what she looks like, which is odd because Maggie is rather wonderfully, eccentrically gorgeous.
I honestly cannot remember how and where I came across this photograph. I can only assume magic was at play, because as soon as I saw this strikingly beautiful blue-haired woman, I felt an instant connection. I knew who she was, her name and everything about her. I knew the story she had to tell.
I kept the picture on my computer ‘desktop’ screen, all the time I was writing Daisy In Chains. She has been my constant friend for two years now.
I dislike novels that rely too much on overt description of personal appearance. Show me a scene in which a character looks in a mirror and muses over his/her own hair/eyes/jawline and I’ll show you a book consigned to the bin. I try to avoid ever telling my readers outright what my characters look like, but I have this theory that if I can see them in front of me all the time I’m writing, then a subtle amount of description will creep into my text and the characters will take shape, even become vivid, for the reader too.
Two years now the woman with the blue hair has played a huge role in my life and now, when Daisy is about to be unleashed on the world, her muse is still a mystery.
I’d love to find this woman, even if her hair is no longer blue. I imagine she’s a model, possibly an actress, but I have no real idea. If anyone recognizes her, please let me know.
Spooky fun fact: I did not spot the Daisy brooch on her coat until a few days ago.
