In the Beginning…

Every story has its genesis. Sisterwives began when I was listening to a radio interview with an escapee wife from a Mormon compound in Utah. She’d been practically imprisoned by fundamentalist faith, a repressive system and a dictatorial husband. And yet: there was something about the way she spoke of community and female friendship which fascinated me. The interview had that ‘stop me in my tracks’ quality. The whole situation was laden with passion, tension and conflict. It was years before I came back to that idea but the complexity stayed with me. It informed the development of Sisterwives, which will be published later this year. I’ve tried to capture that complexity, and that the novel explores the light and the dark of what it means to be in a community; for two women to live in proximity, sharing both a home and a husband. What’s the story of your story’s beginning? I’d love to know.