Happy International Women's Day to ALL women, including the messy, untamed and "unlikeable" ones.

I accidentally read a review of someone calling Olive "one of the most unpleasant women in fiction" and I felt a confusing sense of pride.

In the lead up to writing my first novel, I read lots of writing advice on ‘how to build your central character’. Many ‘How To Write Your Novel’ guidebooks and podcasts say that you have to create a main character that your readers want to root for. This I understand. In some capacity, you should want to feel on their side. Then I read on, one of the bi…