Saturday 6 August 2011

More Impressions from Harrogate Crime Festival 2011



Given that my debut novel BLOOD TEARS will be released next May (2012) I was especially interested in the author sessions at Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.  How would I answer that, was the thought that ran through my head several times a day.

One session homed in on the subject of violence against women in fiction. Why we read it and why writers write about it. In the past I’ve heard opponents of this argue there is misogyny at work here.  This is too facile an answer and doesn’t account for the fact that women write roughly the same amount of books as men, read 70% of fiction and make up 85% of the publishing industry. If women really thought this was a form of misogyny would they read/ write/ publish it? Don’t think so.

A prime facet of reader interest in thriller/ crime fiction is tension and my own theory is that this issue raises the stakes. If the subject is male I don’t care quite so much. Harsh but true. If the potential victim is female or a child then my anxiety levels are raised so much higher.

Val McDermid spoke eloquently about it and explained her view that women live with the threat of violence all of their lives. She said that women are warned from a young age to not walk alone in certain areas, to be aware of how they dress, or behave – and these warning have a strong impact – and one of the side effects of this is to enjoy the violence in novels. It’s a vicarious fear and thrill when on the page. A woman may not be able to feel safe walking home in the dark, but she can read about it in the safety of her bedroom.

In another session Tess Gerritson words chimed with my own opinion. She said that she polled her readers for their views on this subject. She was amazed by the response. Her readers told her they don’t want to read about male victims of violence because they simply didn’t care.



That same evening I had talked myself out at the bar. Thinking it was around 11pm, I checked someone’s watch to see that it was gone 2am. How the feck did that happen? I said my goodbyes (I know, I’m a wimp) and set off on the half mile walk to my hotel. This was around about the time I regretted wearing a brand new pair of shoes. Which is what you do, innit? Wear new shoes when you are going to be on your feet for a good chunk of eighteen hours a day for three days. I had a bruise on one heel and a blister on the other as I negotiated the narrow, poorly-lit, tree-lined streets.

Around the first corner and a young man was energetically emptying the contents of his stomach over a hedge while his girlfriend rubbed his back.  I gave them a wide berth, in my strange double limp while offering the woman a smile of sympathy. She shook her head slowly and mouthed the word “wanker”.

Did she mean me, I wondered as I turned the next corner into another quiet, dimly lit street that swung round in a slow stretch to the left.  Just ahead of me was a young woman, tight jeans, strappy top, clutching a handbag to her side.

The way she tightened her grip on her bag and held it tightly to her side reminded of Val McDermid’s comments earlier. A young woman was ahead of me in the dark, alone in a quiet side street. I stopped walking as if I’d walked into a wall. I was the guy. I was the potential threat to this girl. How could I re-assure her I only wanted to peel off my shoes and get into my bed?

I started to hum. Loudly. Music is cool right? I was making noise. I couldn’t possibly be planning to run up and attack her. I stopped. I sounded deranged. I began to walk again. In a tip-toe. Now she would be worrying I’d gone silent, so I walked with a heavy tread. Which really hurt my blister, so I slowed down. Heavy and slow, that was how to do it. Right?

At this point she crossed the road. Jeez, I was freaking her out.  Should I shout a hello? Would that be friendly and non-threatening? I picked up my pace and placed my feet on the ground, leading with the ball of my feet. 

Quiet and fast that would be better, no?

I was drawing level with her now and gave myself a mental shake. I’d been in this situation plenty of times and I usually just minded my own business and forgot about the other person. So, I picked the pace up more, trying to disguise my limp which I’m sure made me look like I had taken a dump in my trousers.

As I kicked off my shoes in my hotel room a memory of a writers’ event at my local writers club popped into my head. A visiting CID detective informed us that statistically a young man is much, much more likely to be a victim of a violent crime (from other young men). So ladies, I would always be fully aware of safety concerns, but if there is a lone male behind you on a quiet street it is very possible he is going through the same pantomime I was.

20 comments:

  1. Ha! That was great. I'd have jumped in the next road if I saw a limping, humming man tip-toeing on the sidewalk and coming toward me at two in the morning. Mostly I wouldn't be out walking alone at two in the morning, though. It's not safe.

    And the shoes thing -- I learned that lesson the hard way at a conference too. :)

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  2. Sounds like you had a whale of a time, even if some poor girl thought you were Jack The Ripper !

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  3. L.G. - never again. I'll be the guy wearing slippers the next time.

    Ricky, more like Jack the Tripper. That sounded better in my head.

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  4. ah, that Michael, wherever he goes there's always some adventure waiting :)

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  5. And that's about all the excitement I can handle, Dez.

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  6. I'm surprised you didn't think of making Hannibal Lecter's funny lip-sucking noise to show her you were just a harmless satirist out for a stroll (or a limp).

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  7. Very funny account of your walk home. For future reference I'd overtake the girl so that puts you in her full view which would lessen her anxiety (or not so much in this case with the limping going on...)Interestingly I have felt safer walking by myself or with female friends late at night than with male friends as they seem to attract the attention of drunken idiots looking for a fight(completely unprovoked.)

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  8. Bill, had I the mask I would have done just that.

    Vicki - good point. Shoes allowing, I shall make myself more visible the next time.

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  9. Very cool of you to be aware of that young woman's uneasiness. I didn't know that guys thought about stuff like that! Vikki gives good advice, and fist bump for being aware that you might be scaring the girl!

    Congrats on your upcoming novel!

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  10. Hey, thanks for my first virtual fist-bump, Jennifer. Right back atcha!

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  11. Very interesting on lots of counts - and I do agree that young men seem to be more in danger from attack (good point about walking with females, Vikki). Yet the fiction is better when it's a woman in danger!

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  12. Fascinating post, Michael, although I must be in the minority according to Tess Gerritsen's poll. I prefer reading about a male victim or let's say both. I didn't learn my lesson obviously because at the last conference I was told I had the best shoe there but I couldn't walk the next day. Was it worth it? Have to say yeah!

    As far as the late night scene, I remember just before I moved from the D.C. area to the south, I used to walk home alone at night after work with a heavy flashlight. Every now and then I'd spin around in a karate kick - I was a green belt don'tcha know - and put the fear of God in whoever was lurking. Or giving them a good laugh.

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  13. Marley, I'm thinking if the flashlight was heavy enough it would make an effective weapon. clever doubling up of your tools there. And liking the image of you doing a Bruce Lee.

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  14. I hate walking alone at night, I feel like I have to keep looking around. It's not that I expect to be attacked, but I expect to be attacked if I'm not paying attention. Oh Paranoia, my old friend.

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  15. So long as you stay safe, Libby. Thanks for popping by.

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  16. I read horror to raise my fear threshold. I think of it as a form of cognitive therapy. I highly recommend. On another point, re Val McD's point that we women are taught the fear of the lurker at an early age, I'd also say that we are also taught to ignore our fear instinct because we don't want to be thought not 'nice'. So we're taught to be afraid, we are afraid, but we don't want anyone to know we're afraid, but we should be afraid, but we don't want to live our lives afraid. It's why I get why some women really push the envelope sometimes.

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  17. Eeesh, that would be mighty confusing, Thea. So, who's your fave horror writer?

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  18. Stephen King, of course! Read Salem's Lot, you'll never be afraid of vampires again. Or if you worry about you child dying, read Pet Semetary. Or if you are really afraid to be alone, The Stand. After you are through with his books, your fear threshold will be so up there, hey, what's a midnight walk in Central Park?

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  19. Michael, be grateful you weren't wearing new high heels on that trek to your hotel. One thing about being a middle-aged woman: comfort is more important than looking good--I haven't had to worry about the shoe thing for years!

    Like Jennifer, I applaud you for being aware of the possibility the lone female walker might be nervous by your presence behind her.

    I also agree with Val about women being physically afraid to a greater degree than men are. Also, once a woman experiences, or knows another woman who has experienced, physical violence at the hands of a man/men, she tends to be jumpier when out walking alone--day or night.

    Unfortunately, everyone has to be concerned when out alone. We might all want to take a page from your book and act like a crazy, deranged person when out walking: everyone [I hope] will avoid the crazies.

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  20. Hey Linda, good to hear from ya. Here's to The Crazies!!!

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