The novel began life one Friday lunchtime in Henry’s, a restaurant in Sheffield that I used to frequent.
Seated at a small table by the window, was an old woman with fine white hair fashioned into small shell like curls, and a man, whom I took to be the old lady’s son. He had a deformed back and walked with a stick. 

​

They both dressed with great style.  I was entranced by the ritual of how they ate their lunch, especially the old lady; each mouthful was exquisitely devised and carried daintily to her mouth. I was so fascinated by the performance that the image stayed with me.

​

I do not know who they were, and neither do I want to know. The characters in The China Bird, Edward and Rachel, have now taken on their own characteristics.

​

At first, Rachel, Edward’s mother, was the main protagonist in the book, but gradually Edward gained his voice and pushed Rachel into the background, justly so, as the story reveals.

​

Where did Angela, the third main character, come from? I don’t know. Maybe there is a bit of me in there. I remember as a student being very lonely and thinking, this is not how it is supposed to be - but I think it is for many students. So the loneliness I portray in Angela’s life is proabably the loneliness I felt as a student.