OUR DOUBLE LIVES

While these women may have normal day jobs, you might be shocked by what else they're up to

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH 

'It was nothing like Fifty Shades'

Sue Bordley, 50, is an author and teacher from the Wirral. As I arrived at school on a Monday morning in 2018, no one could mistake me for anyone other than Sue Bordley, the English supply teacher. That is, unless they spotted my car's number plate in the car park -JE55 XYZ - the only hint of my alter ego, steamy novelist Jess Molyneux...

Two years earlier, I'd been sitting in front of my classroom when I overheard some girls excitedly chatting about a book they were reading.

As an English teacher, I'd usually be elated to see my students enthusiastic about reading, but the book was Fifty Shades of Grey, EL James' chart-topping erotica. 'Definitely not appropriate for 15-year-olds, I thought. The more I heard them chat, the clearer it became that their knowledge of real physical relationships was shockingly poor.

I wish there was something more positive out there for teen girls, I sighed to another teacher in the staffroom. And that's when I realised that if nothing out there existed, I'd have to write it myself.

From then on, once my sons, then nine and six, were in bed, I'd start writing. As a teacher by day and explicit novelist by night, my bizarre double identity was born. The book, XY, Z, began to take shape, following the coming-of-age experiences of my protagonist, 17-year-old Zoe.

Along with her classmate-turned-boyfriend Alex, she navigated all the fun and awkwardness of a normal sixth-former, including having sex for the first time. I wanted .XY, Z to be informative and positive.

I'm writing an explicit book for teens,' I told my friends. Most of them loved the idea, but I did get a couple of raised eyebrows.

 

COVER BLOWN