21st January 23
When I first thought about writing Missing You, before I even wrote a word I had to decide who I was going bump off! Now I love anything technical, beam engines, pistons, clever designs etc Heath Robinson is one of my anti-heroes. So the first time we visited the lifeboat station at the Lizard, I knew at some point it would figure in the series. A funicular to transport goods up and down a precipitous ramp, a boat house almost sitting in the sea below my beloved coastal path, and a launch down the ramp that is spectacular. It was an obvious place to start. There are numerous jobs, mostly voluntary, on land and on sea. The training is full on and once committed, (I have heard this many times), the lifeboat becomes family.
So I took a deep breathe and thought, this is where the story is. Of course I then had a wonderful year researching the life of the lifeboat crew, and even managed to talk to head office about some of the technicalities. Thank you Tim Evans. I had a wonderful half hour checking facts with him, even down to whether you can make a hot drink on the Tamar class. You can! Which was handy, so I didn’t have to rewrite one of my scenes. I did discover that the Y-boat, hidden at the back of the larger vessel was too small to carry a body! Oh, well, there must be an old dingy lying around somewhere!!!
So on publication, the dedication will be to the RNLI, no doubt about it. Thank you, for all you do!
