Sussex


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2.jpg" alt="Araminta Hall Sussex author" class="wp-image-67338" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/1-2-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p><em>Credit: Charlotte Graham</em></p>



<p>Strong female characters who defy stereotypes and go against the grain are the sort of women Muddy wants to know more about, which Is why when we heard about Araminta Hall’s genre of fiction we were all ears.<br><br>The women’s-magazine-journalist-turned-author enjoys turning the conventional thriller novel style on its head and creating empowering women characters where she also challenges the expectations of men and women especially around traditional narratives of women as victims.</p>



<p>This is something she performs again in her latest book, <em>One of the Good Guys, </em>set on the Sussex coast. It follows the relationship of Cole and Lennie whose respective marriages have ended. When two young women go missing locally while on a protest against gendered violence, it transpires that the new couple don’t know each other as well as they thought. What unfolds is a lesson in what happens when women have had enough.</p>



<p>Gosh! To find out more, Muddy caught up with Araminta about her style of writing and to get her best for local life.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2.jpg" alt="one of the good guys araminta hall" class="wp-image-67339" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/4-2-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-are-your-favourite-spots-in-sussex-to-write-nbsp"><strong>Where are your favourite spots in Sussex to write?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>My favourite place to write is actually at home, which is still in Sussex as I live in Brighton. I would love to be able to write in coffee shops, but I am ridiculously easily distracted. I can’t even have music on when I write. Even folding washing sometimes feels preferable to getting words on the page. Although, that said, I do love walking and find that’s often when my best ideas emerge. In the week you’re most likely to find me stomping along Brighton seafront, and at weekends I go further afield to places like Firle, Alfriston, Shoreham and Cuckmere Haven.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-you-love-about-sussex-and-why-did-you-decide-to-set-a-book-here"><strong>What do you love about Sussex and why did you decide to set a book here?</strong></h3>



<p>I moved to Brighton from London about 23 years ago and have loved it ever since. I sometimes can’t believe that I live in such a vibrant city with the sea on my doorstep, the Downs a short drive away and London an hour away on the train (well, when they’re running). I’ve always been fascinated by the sea, the way it’s both so inviting and so dangerous and I’ve long wanted to centre it in a novel. I suppose in a way it’s the ultimate metaphor and our wild coast line also lends itself so brilliantly to fiction.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-there-any-local-spots-that-inspire-your-writing"><strong>Are there any local spots that inspire your writing?</strong></h3>



<p>I love walking along the coast by Hope and Birling Gap, or along the river at Cuckmere Haven and I’ve always been fascinated by the coastguard cottages there. The setting for my book isn’t an exact replication of there, but it was completely in my mind when I was writing and I walked there a lot. I just love that juxtaposition of how the cottages are so visible and busy in the day and so isolated at night. It made me wonder about who lives in them and also how I would feel alone there at night. Which then made me wonder if, in fact, I feel any safer walking alone at night on the streets of Brighton and how female fear isn’t necessarily confined to a location.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-local-hidden-gems-you-can-share-with-us-nbsp">Any local hidden gems you can share with us?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Well, not secret, but I love visiting Charleston and the church at Berwick, painted by Duncan Grant and Vanessa and Quentin Bell. The woods at the top of Stanmer Park are amazing for walking, especially in spring when they are carpeted in bluebells. I love all the coffee shops in the Lanes, but my favourite is Wai Kiki Moo Kau for the best vegan brunches. Shopping at the Sunday boot fair in the Marina is always fun, as is watching the Seagulls play at the Albion!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-you-find-jarring-about-current-portrayals-of-women-and-the-concept-of-nbsp-victimhood">What do you find jarring about current portrayals of women and the concept of&nbsp;victimhood?</h3>



<p>I think fiction is a space where women are generally portrayed very well and with nuance. My real gripe is with the media, especially social media. I think the idea of victimhood is damaging because it makes us appear weak. Although it’s a fine line to tread because of course women are often the victims of violence. I don’t agree with idea of pretending that it doesn’t exist or not including it in fiction, I just think we have to be careful about the idea of the ‘beautiful corpse’ or women being saved.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-needs-to-change-and-how-are-you-doing-this-in-your-work-nbsp">What needs to change and how are you doing this in your work?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>I’m far from the only person using fiction to change perceptions at the moment. There are a whole host of brilliant writers doing the same thing. I guess it all comes down to characters and giving women a voice in our stories. Thrillers are often political spaces and at the forefront of societal shifts. The women I’m putting on my pages at the moment know what they want and aren’t afraid to try and get it, however dangerous or outlandish that might be. Female characters so often get criticised for being unlikable, which saddens me because it says so much about how we want women to be. As men my characters would be called brave, but I think some readers balk against women taking action.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-you-re-creating-modern-female-characters-what-do-you-do-differently-nbsp">When you&#8217;re creating modern female characters what do you do differently?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>In fact, I think female novelists have been creating strong female characters for centuries. Think about books like Rebecca, Madame Bovary, Jane Eyre, A Dark Adapted Eye. I am following in these traditions in creating characters who challenge both the fictional world they inhabit and the reader. The women I know are strong and opinionated and clever and those are the women I want to put on my pages.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1.jpg" alt="one of the good guys araminta hall" class="wp-image-67340" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/3-1-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-have-other-female-characters-in-fiction-shaped-your-writing-nbsp">How have other female characters in fiction shaped your writing?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Like I said, I don’t think we can ignore the idea of the victim as it’s a fact of life. I also think there is something very powerful in seeing a victim realise their strength or take revenge – in fact that is often at the very heart of thrillers. But there is also something very powerful in women who are in control from the start. For me every character needs to have shades of everything to make them work as fully rounded, believable individuals – the truth is we all have moments of victimhood in us, we’ve all felt defeated at times, which is why the idea is still so potent.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-would-you-like-to-see-fiction-go-next">Where would you like to see fiction go next?</h3>



<p>I really do believe that a change is happening. There are so many strong and complex female characters on the pages of novels right now. I’m sure someone cleverer than me will imagine a whole new world, but for me one of the beauties of fiction is the way that fundamentally it doesn’t change. Every good story ever written always has and always will explore humanity through the intricacies of our minds and relationships.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-have-you-any-advice-for-people-wanting-to-explore-these-themes-more">Have you any advice for people wanting to explore these themes more?</h3>



<p>If you like <em>One of the Good Guys</em>, try <em>The Trap</em> by Catherine Ryan Howard, <em>Missing White Woman</em> by Kelleye Garrett or <em>Bright Young Women</em> by Jessica Knoll. Otherwise, I think it’s so important to stay up to date with politics and news stories. Sometimes it can seem dystopian out there, but it’s important to know what people are saying and to understand how women are seen. When I was researching <em>One of the Good Guys</em> I spent a bit of time going down some Reddit rabbit holes and it revealed a whole new level of misogyny to me that wasn’t pleasant to read, but was useful to know about. I really think though it comes down to being brave by not shying away from difficult topics and complex characters.</p>



<p><em>One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall is published by Macmillan, out now.</em></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2-1000x667.jpg" alt="one of the good guys araminta hall" class="wp-image-67341" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/01/2-2.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p><br></p>


Muddy Meets: local author Araminta Hall

You may also like