Sarah Ann Juckes went above and beyond when researching for her first novel by volunteering for the NSPCC. Simone Hellyer finds out how that experience helped her find hope in the darkest of subject matters.
As with most things in life, great things happen when you least expect it. This was certainly true for Pevensey-based author Sarah Ann Juckes when Ele, the character for her first published novel, sprang into her mind on her morning commute.
“The idea came to me on a 20minute train ride from Brighton to Lewes. It was at a time in my life that I really needed to come up with an idea because I had written three books which hadn’t really gone anywhere and I really wanted to get something published,” Sarah says.
“And then, a girl who was trapped in a room with these creatures just came to me and I have spent the past four years working through why she would come to be trapped in this way. I spent a long time speaking to childhood development psychologists and nailing down her story.”
The resulting novel is called Outside and was published by Penguin in January this year. At the centre of the story is Ele, a young girl who has been trapped in a room she calls The Tower her whole life. Despite the protestations of three strange companions who live with her, Ele is convinced that there is more to life than the dark room where they are kept at the mercy of someone she calls Him.
This story is from the March 2019 edition of Sussex Life.
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This story is from the March 2019 edition of Sussex Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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