Featured Author: Karen Hamilton

"There are many thousands of crew working for the larger airlines, so it's likely that they will never get to meet all their colleagues. I thought this would be a good place to hide an unstable personality."  

Now based in Hampshire, debut author Karen Hamilton has spent a childhood split across several countries, in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy. She couldn't shake the travel bug as she grew older, and worked as a flight attendent for a major airline.

Now, she says she satisifes her wanderlust through exploring the world by writing. Her first novel, The Perfect Girlfriend, is a psychological thriller that explores obsession. We aked Karen about her sociopathic character, Juliette. 

The Perfect Girlfriend kicks off as Juliette trains to be a flight attendant. After working as a flight attendant for many years, what about the profession made you think it would be interesting to create a character working as an attendant?

There are many thousands of crew working for the larger airlines, so it's likely that they will never get to meet all their colleagues. I thought this would be a good place to hide an unstable personality. I tried to create a – hopefully – authentic and glamorous airline world based on questions I'd been asked about my flying career over the years. When I first thought about the character of Juliette, I imagined someone who hid behind a uniform. Someone who could remain professional at work, yet was totally different in their personal life.

At what point in your life did to make the decision that you were going to commit to writing a novel?

When my middle son was a year old. I realised that it was going to become harder for me to continue to work as cabin crew, especially as I preferred long-haul routes. It became more difficult for me to leave my children and I decided to return to another dream, to become a writer. I set a word count, (a thousand words a day as much as it was possible). I wrote a (really bad) novel, entered competitions, and learned as much as I could by attending writing festivals, reading magazines and articles and taking online courses. When I gave up flying after my third son (I took voluntary redundancy), I took a risk and used the money on the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. There, our tutor encouraged us to experiment and I wrote the first draft of the The Perfect Girlfriend on the course.

Juliette is described as a sociopath; how did you go about writing from the perspective of someone so twisted?

I sensed her as lonely and desperate to fit into social situations which would always be elusive to her, due to her damaged background. I wanted to place a dangerous character in 'real life' and hide her in plain sight.

What inspired you to tackle the consequences of unbridled obsession in The Perfect Girlfriend? 

This came naturally as I developed her character. Juliette makes a decision that love will save her (like a fairy-tale, believing that a mysterious, handsome prince will rescue her). She never doubts that she will succeed in her mission; there is never a Plan B. I thought that this single-mindedness would make her more dangerous and frightening. 

What forms of research did you undertake to help craft and plot the characters of The Perfect Girlfriend? 

I read a lot of self-help books and I tried to imagine someone who, instead of wishing to heal or improve their lives, instead used the powerful advice as self-justification. I also read a lot of books about psychopaths, sociopaths and articles on nature versus nurture. I spent time in Richmond, where the character Nate lives, imagining what Juliette would see, hear, think and feel while she was spying on him. I researched spy apps, tourist locations and some legal aspects. 

"She never doubts that she will succeed in her mission; there is never a Plan B. I thought that this single-mindedness would make her more dangerous and frightening."

What books hooked you when you were younger, and what are your reading tastes now? 

Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, The Odyssey, Agatha Christie. My reading tastes now tend to favour psychological thrillers, but I will give anything a go, especially if it's recommended. Authors I enjoy are Kate Atkinson and Kate Mosse. I also love all the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

A flight attendant is obviously quite an intrepid profession, and you grew up between Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy. You've said that you stave off wanderlust by exploring the world through writing – where do you take us in The Perfect Girlfriend?

Juliette travels to the places I visited and enjoyed as long-haul crew. She visits Vegas, San Francisco, New York, Saudi Arabia, Barbados, Thailand, Tokyo and Vancouver. I tried to create an authentic flying world by showing how varied the life of crew is.

Were any books or authors particularly influential when it came to the writing of The Perfect Girlfriend? 

I've always been a huge fan of Emily Barr, who blends thriller and travel writing. Psychological thrillers are the books I read the most; I enjoy the exploration of the darker side of human nature. 

Which section of the book did you most enjoy writing, and which was the most difficult to pull off? 

I enjoyed it all, I loved thinking about what Juliette could do next! The part that was hardest was the prologue as the thought of a couple of seconds’ inattention leading to such a tragedy was horrible. The other scene that was tricky was one set in Vegas. I spent a long time trying to make it as plausible as possible. I also put a lot of work into the ending, some of it was written on location.

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton is published by Hachette, rrp $29.99.