As far as I’m concerned all I want from my car is reliability, energy-efficiency and heated seats. I don’t really care what it looks like, or how fast it goes and all the other things that matter to dedicated drivers.
There have been one or two cars that I’ve owned in the past that I’ve been particularly fond of: Ping, my yellow Renault Five, because it used to belong to my sister and Little Blue, the Yaris had a charm of its own, but general, so long as they go when and where I want them to, that’s all I want.
Cars in my novels, however, are a different thing all together and last week saw me trawling through page after page of cars to find the right one for my character. In my current WIP Thea is a successful young lawyer. Living in Bristol, she has to drive a city car, but one with just enough, but not too much, glamour that suits her personality.
Initially I gave her a Mercedes SLX, only to have it pointed out to me by the annoyingly wonderful Jem Shaw that Jo, in “House of Shadows” drives the same car. The two women are very different and what is right for Jo is not for Thea, hence the research.
Luckily, Renegade writers came to the rescue and the choice narrowed down to two, a Range Rover Evoque or a Fiat Abarth. Armed with more information about both than I could possibly want I made my decision.
Why does all this matter? Because like clothes, hairstyle, choice of house, or food, you choice of car reflects who you are, your age, your status, how much you earn, what interests you and so much else.
In the case of “Bevedere Crescent” Thea was finally give the Fiat: the convertible in metallic blue is perfect and I can go back to a state of blissful ignorance…until the next time.
Misha Herwin 