By Louise Sapphira.
Brooke Hardwick’s debut thriller, The Fog speaks about the manipulation that can take place in relationships, through the journey of the protagonist, Kate. The reality of Kate’s marriage emerges with a series of flashbacks. These memories occur while on a ten-day writers’ retreat on the remote Island, of Rathlin in the Irish Channel. Other characters intertwine with Kate’s recollections, and, throughout, the reader remains uncertain about their true motives. A spiral in events keeps the audience enthralled in the novel until Kate’s reality unravels. When we met, Brooke discussed the crafting process of her debut novel, including the inspiration for the setting Rathlin Island.
Throughout the novel, Brooke keeps the readers on edge with the idea of who Kate can trust, but how did this develop in the crafting process? She explains it is about giving each character a secret that creates a situation where the audience starts to suspect them. This secret is often introduced at the beginning of the novel and maintained throughout. She adds, ‘Perhaps give a little hint there, a little red herring there, to make the audience wonder, what is it that the person’s hiding.’ This secret could be that the character is a ‘psychopathic killer, or perhaps, it’s something a little less intense.’
Kate is trying to discover the truth of her past while on Rathlin Island. Brooke says, ‘At the outset of the novel…the truth is hidden from her, just as it’s hidden from the reader.’ As Kate uncovers her past, it is also revealed to the reader through memory. Brooke had to consider how memory does not come to someone in a linear way. She says, ‘Maybe something bubbles to the surface because something triggers it, a smell, or a certain incident, or a sound, or a person,’ and with Kate, it happens ‘in a kind of haphazard way.’ Brooke discusses that Kate’s memories don’t always make sense at the beginning. But then they connect as the novel progresses through each day on the retreat. Along with Kate’s memory being revealed, so are the supporting characters’ own internal conflicts and histories. For Brooke, the characters develop like holograms. ‘They start to build solidity…and the more I wrote them, the more solid they became.’
Brooke discovered Rathlin Island in her early twenties when living in London. At this time, she decided to go backpacking to a remote location. She says, ‘We arrived on the island, and the captain of the ferry knew our names.’ There were and still are only around one hundred and twenty people on the island, and Brooke felt like she blended into the population. Rathlin Island is ‘distinct and epic, with these huge, big, soaring cliffs, and the Puffins nesting along the cliff face, and these gorgeous little cottages spotted throughout…I think I can still feel myself there and still sense the wind, the rain, and the atmosphere.’ Brooke has the photographs of that trip, kept safe in boxes all this time. When she started looking through the boxes, the memories came back. The photographs made her feel like she was back on Rathlin Island. She says, ‘It brings so much more immediacy and emotion if you can actually feel yourself there, and also danger, because the island itself is almost a character.’ From Kate’s own experience on the island:
On foot, I have a better impression of the landscape. The green is closer – enveloping. So far, I haven’t seen a car, tree, or signpost – nothing but a length of black road that unfurls like a gymnast’s ribbon.
When considering the structure of the novel, Brooke used sticky notes and paper that was laid out along a table. ‘Old school with these dual timelines [that included] the ten days of the retreat, then of course Kate’s marriage and what happened from the beginning….to make sure, that all of these flashbacks connect to what’s happening on the island.’ She discusses how the flashbacks are essential to the narrative, but the story is about the retreat and what happens on the island. She says, ‘It had to add to the sense of danger of Kate being at risk’ and connect ‘to what’s happening to her in the now.’
It was not until later, in the writing journey of The Fog, that Brooke began her research. First, she had the idea that was discovered on a writer’s retreat in West Yorkshire, the former home of Ted Hughes, where his poetry was throughout the house. She adds, ‘It was a very moody place, and I thought, I can do this story.’ Brooke always thought she was going to write about Rathlin someday and on this particular writer’s retreat it all started to come together. She says, ‘From that point, I had the concept, the setting, I plotted, I then did chapter by chapter…The research was almost to add colour in a way and life.’ Brooke explains, ‘Rathlin is such a fascinating place historically’. The novel referenced many things ‘that really happened on Rathlin Island in history,’ including the Gaelic mythology.
The tale about Aiofe Murphy in the late eighteen hundreds is based on truth. Brooke says, ‘I changed some names, but that is actually based on a very dark time in Irish history.’ These stories connected with what Brooke was exploring thematically. She says, ‘I wanted to look at coercive control. I wanted to look at how people, not just men, women as well, can use elements of society or norms to actually manipulate people.’ She also considered feminism and how women can be manipulated and blamed for their own abuse. There were also myths on the island that Brooke explored. She explains elements of any culture could connect with the story. ‘When you’re researching, as a writer, you use a little bit of creativity to make all these things meld together, to make a story, and to connect to what you’re trying to say.’
The novel was written through collaboration with an array of people. Brooke says, ‘I really genuinely believe [a novel] takes a village.’ It was such an amazing experience for her to work with many professionals she trusted because they knew what they were doing. She adds, ‘It’s not a negative thing to say that you actually worked with other people to write a novel’. Because even though ideas are being bounced around, ‘It’s still your work…It can only ever be your literary fingerprint.’ Brooke also worked with a group called the Novelry, based in England which was founded by a book-listed author, Louise Dean, and praises their contribution. Whether it be the first draft, the editing stage, or publishing, ‘When you collaborate during that process you enhance what’s already inside you.’
But what drives Brooke toward the psychology of thrillers? She says, with both books and movies she is always surprised by what unfolds and never guesses the ending. She speaks about loving ‘the kind of trickery of it, or the cleverness.’ Even when writing a novel, ‘I’m reading it, I’m also engaged in that way, and I just love trying to solve it for myself.’
Brooke’s next book is another thriller with a surprising setting. She says, ‘I love that sense of place in a novel…so I can guarantee a fascinating, exotic place for most people, most Australian readers.’ Brooke is excited about the journey, and this resonates with her readers. When it comes to The Fog, the readership will be drawn to the motivations and hidden stories of the characters, but also anticipate what her next novel will bring.
Born in tropical North Queensland, Brooke graduated with a degree teaching English literature and left to see the world. Since then, she’s lived and worked in Australia, England, Scotland and Hong Kong and is currently based in an ancient fort town shaped like a snowflake in the Netherlands.
She’s fascinated with the psychology of psychological thrillers and thinks there’s nothing more terrifying than human nature.
When she isn’t writing, Brooke combs fields for shards of Delft pottery and reads thrillers until she’s too scared to sleep.
THE FOG is her debut novel.
(Read our book review of Brooke Harwick’s novel The Fog)