The Unexpected Book Group Guest That Changed My Life by Angela Clarke

In 2017 I was giving a talk to a book group in a library, when a woman arrived late. She came in, all apologies, clutching my book in one hand, and holding on tightly to her thirteen-month-old daughter with the other. Her child tottered in that slow, Thunderbird-puppet way that signifies one who’s just learnt to walk. Her soft face, gap-toothed grinning at this new skill. It was obvious why they’d been delayed; the little girl’s tiny shoes unformed on her feet, waved in the air with each unpractised and dawdling step. Everyone made room for them. Cooing over the little girl. Budging up. This would have been a cute but fairly unremarkable moment, had the library not been within a prison. And the woman clutching the child’s hand a prisoner. It took a second for me to process: mother and baby were both living behind bars. 

There is something genuinely shocking in seeing the sweet guileless, curl-framed face of a toddler, in the harsh, institutional backdrop of a prison. And as soon as I got back to my smartphone (no phones, computers, or electronic devices are allowed inside), I started to dig into the facts. 

There are an estimated 1000 women who are currently pregnant in the UK prison system. Estimated, because no one keeps proper records. And there are only 64 Mother and Baby Unit (MBUs) places available. The Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings make for further concerning reading. 

Women make up only 5% of the prison population in the UK, with 82% have committed a non-violent offence. But the use of custodial sentences for women has still halved in the last ten years. 79% suffer from mental health issues. 10% are foreign nationals, with many known to have been coerced or trafficked into offending. And the rates of self-harm of female prisoners are the highest among the prison system. Twelve female prisoners took their lives in 2016. 

And this is before you consider the number of women (and men) in prison who are on remand. They’ve been charged with a crime, but are yet to go to court. They could be innocent. Regardless, many still find themselves separated from family and children on the outside. And, if the timing is bad, and they are pregnant, they face the realistic prospect of having a baby behind bars. 

Part of the issue with women entering the penal system, is that they are still predominantly the heart of the family on the outside. Research carried out by the home office (Caddle and Crisp, 1997), suggests that 61% of female prisoners are mothers to under 18s. I have overheard female prisoners – who have queued to use one of the only working phones available to them – reminding family members back home that it’s football this term at school, and where to find Jimmy’s kit. They are still running the home from inside. 

Alternatives to incarceration should be sought for women. And if we do imprison them, we should seek to not break up families and separate mothers from their new born babies. Despite the apparent disparity between supply and demand, many of the 64 MBU places available in the UK are not utilised. An expectant mother must present her case to a board (usually comprised of the governor, prison officials, and social services) without access to legal aid or assistance. If she fails to secure a place, and most do, the baby is removed at birth. The child is then either given to a family member outside, or passed into the care system. The mother is returned to her cell, usually with no access to counselling, and required to resume normal prison duties. 

Despite writing crime procedurals and thrillers for a number of years, and being a long-term reader and consumer of crime fiction, I knew nothing of the plight of expectant and new mothers within the UK prison system. When that little girl toddled into my book group she brought with her the kernel of an idea. What if you were pregnant when you were framed for a crime, and sent to jail? How would you prove your innocence from inside? How would you protect your unborn child? And what would you do, if you failed to get a MBU place, and believed your baby was to be given to the very person who framed you? On My Life tells the story of Jenna, who faces this very real nightmare scenario. 

Angela Clarke’s fifth book and debut psychological thriller On My Life is published by Hodder 11 July 2019.

Jenna knows she didn't do it. But she is running out of time to prove it...  Framed. Imprisoned. Pregnant.  Jenna thought she had the perfect life: a loving fiance, a great job, a beautiful home. Then she finds her stepdaughter murdered; her partner missing.  And the police think she did it... Locked up to await trial, surrounded by prisoners who'd hurt her if they knew what she's accused of, certain someone close to her has framed her, Jenna knows what she needs to do: Clear her name, save her baby, find the killer.

Buy the book here.

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Angela is a broadcaster, screenwriter, and The Sunday Times bestselling author of the Social Media Murders, including Follow Me, Watch Me and Trust Me. Angela has appeared on CBS Reality’s Written In Blood, on stage for BBC Edinburgh Fringe and on BBC News 24’s Ouch comedy special, at Noirwich, Camp Bestival, Panic! (in partnership with the Barbican, Goldsmiths University and The Guardian), City University, at HM Prisons, and hosted BBC 3 Counties Radio show Tales From Your Life. She won the Young Stationers' Prize 2015 for achievement and promise in writing. A sufferer of EDS III, Angela is passionate about bringing marginalised voices into publishing. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Research links for this article: 

Birth Companions: https://www.birthcompanions.org.uk/resources/48-safeguarding-children-when-sentencing-mothers

Prison Reform Trust Bromley Briefings: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Bromley%20Briefings/Prison%20the%20facts%20Summer%202019.pdf

Caddle and Crisp, 1997 https://hubble-live-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/birth-companions/attachment/file/55/Motherhood_disrupted.pdf

Angela Clarke & Casey Kelleher in Conversation (With Added Gin)

The air was thick with heat, anticipation, and hairspray. The sultry blonde poured the bottle of gin slowly, seductively drawing out every moment of liquid joy. The ice cracked like a smashed phone screen. The sweaty blonde skidded on a stray lemon slice and fell over.

Well, when the fabulous Casey Kelleher and the slightly less fabulous me, Angela Clarke, met up over the magic of the internet it went something like that. With more laughter. And swears. Here’s what we talked about:

Casey: Huge congratulations on having the first book in the series, Follow Me, optioned for a TV series. If you had unlimited budget, who would you cast to play your central characters DS Nasreen Cudmore and Freddie Venton.

Angela: That’s such a difficult question! Like it should be easy, but when you actually think about it, it’s so hard to choose. I’m gonna go for Lena Dunham five years ago for Freddie. With a British accent, obvs. And Freida Pinto five years ago for Nas. (I really need to brush up on my actors in their early twenties.) How ‘bout you? Your books are full of feisty characters and gritty urban backdrops, which would you most love to see made for the screen?

Casey: I think The Betrayed would make great TV. It's a really gritty story about a crime family set in the underbelly of society. Ultimately the story is about family loyalty and betrayals, hence the title.

Angela: Ohhh, and who’d be in it?

Casey: I'd pick my all-time favourite actor, Ray Winstone to play Jimmy Byrne. He'd be perfect for the role. A real old-school gangster type. Ruthless, but a lovable rogue too.  I absolutely love Kierston Wareing from Martina Cole's The Take too. She'd be a great Colleen Byrne. She's so fiery and feisty, but she has an inner vulnerability too that people really champion. 

Angela: I can totally picture it!

Casey: Ha! So, tell me about your latest book, Trust Me.

Angela: What if you witnessed a serious crime, but no one believed you? Except the attacker. That’s what happens to Kate, a teacher, when she accidentally stumbles across a live stream showing a serious assault. By the time she’s got the police there, the account’s been deleted. At the same time, my protagonists, DS Nasreen Cudmore and wannabe-journalist Freddie Venton, are looking for the missing daughter of a gangland criminal, and they begin to think she could be the one Kate saw on screen.

Casey: Dark. So, between publishing books, presenting radio shows, attending book launches and broadcasting live audience podcasts – and that's just this week going by your social media account - do you ever get a chance to just relax?

Angela: Says the woman who writes a book every six months and has three kids! I think we’re as bad as each other. I’m very good at sleeping, and I love a day nap – that’s my relaxation. That and painting, when I get the chance. What about you?

Casey: When I'm not slogging away over the hot MacBook, I spend time with my family and friends. Have nice meals out. Walk our little dog and pop into my local pub. Just chilling out really and having some real quality time with people. I love to read too and I'm also addicted to watching The Real Housewives or whatever the latest box set is that people are raving about.

Angela: Oh god, me too. Both to books and television. I’ve got a bit of a YouTube habit too.

Casey: TV is total escapism for me. You don't have to think, you can just switch off.

Angela: Exactly! I need something to actively distract me from work. To hold my attention.

Casey: Though catch me on the week of my deadline and I'll be lucky to have had time to brush my hair, let alone catch up with watching any TV.

Angela: I’m the same. I don’t usually get dressed when I’m on deadline – it’s a waste of valuable typing time. That sounds unhinged, saying that. Right. That’s it. I’ve decided we work too hard. We need a break… maybe. Who keeps you going, like, who inspires you?

Casey: Martina Cole. No question.

Angela: Good choice.

Casey: She's such an inspirational woman. Not only because of the huge success she's had in her career but also because she's extremely supportive of other authors too. I first read one of her books when I was just fourteen and to say it was an eye-opener would be a huge understatement. I'd never read anything so gritty and captivating before and from then on, I was completely hooked on her work. Total Fan girl. 

Angela: We need those people though, those ones that inspire us and make us try harder. I’ve got a raft of people who inspire me, from good friends, to family members, to people I’ve never met. I’m gonna say Hilary Mantel, in terms of writing. I’ve got a quote from her taped above my desk. It says: “The inner process, the writing life, it doesn’t change at all. Every day is like the first day, it’s like being a beginner. There’s no time for complacency. You need to be extending your range all the time.” I try to live by that.

Casey: Do you extend your range when it comes to research, too? The research that you've done for the Social Media Murder series must have lead you to some pretty harrowing, graphic experiences from the real-life victims of the similar crimes that you have covered in your books. Do you ever get nightmares about the subject matter that you cover? Has any part of your research really stayed with you?

Angela: Yes, I’ve had moments where I’ve researched, and in some cases witnessed, some dark things (online). After I just need to be alone with my thoughts. It’s a lot to process sometimes, what humans are capable of. You feel like you need to emotionally recharge, before you can pick work back up and get on with it again. You know what I mean?

Casey: A hundred percent. When I wrote The Taken, I did a lot of research on The Jungle - the migrant camp in Calais and people trafficking. There was a lot happening at that time in the press too and some of the stories about what people endured to escape from countries they were fleeing from, and some of the things that they'd encountered on their journey were just unthinkable. The most harrowing moment for me was seeing the image of the little Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, when he was found washed up on a Turkish beach. Utterly heart-breaking. That still haunts me now. 

Angela: That poor boy. His poor family. And all the other faceless and nameless ones who’ve gone through similar things. I feel that writing fiction is often another way of bearing witness. It’s the old thing about crime fiction holding a mirror up to society. Yes, it’s an entertaining medium, but I can’t help but try and slip a few flags in there to try and make people think. Like exposing the ways in which social media dissects with misogyny. It’s a theme that reoccurs in my work. That and how we ought to behave better online. Someone said to me, you shouldn’t post anything online you wouldn’t be willing to shout in the middle of a packed bus, and I think that’s a pretty good guide.

So, what’s next? The Betrayed is out this week, isn’t it?

Casey: It is! And I'm back to doing what I love, focusing on the female characters and their roles in the notorious crime family. Colleen and Nancy are incredibly strong characters and can be just as ruthless, if not more so, than their male counterparts.

Angela: I love that! I’m all about the strong ladies. Though Nas is quite a straight-laced cop, she’s still a total badass. And Freddie’s just off the scale. She’s ended up working alongside the police, but has never made any alterations to her character or actions: she does what she believes to be right. And consequences be damned. Do you reckon Colleen and Nancy would get on with her and Nas?

Casey: Colleen and Nancy couldn't be more different from Freddie and Nas! They’re from completely different worlds. The Byrnes family don't let anyone in. They don't trust anyone, not even their own. 

Angela: I think Freddie and Nas have a sisterly relationship, the way young women in their twenties often do. They’re tied together in so many ways, despite their differences. They bicker constantly, but if anyone else dares say a word against the other, they’ll be the first to defend them.

Casey: Do you want another drink?

Angela: The answer to that question is always yes. Let’s do it!

The conversation then becomes somewhat blurred around the edges, so to find out the rest you best pick up our books…

Trust Me (Avon) by Angela Clarke is out now. The Betrayed (Bookouture) by Casey Kelleher is out now. Click the links to purchase from SHOTS AStore at discounted prices!

You can find Angela Clarke on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @TheAngelaClarke.  You can also find Casey Kelleher on Facebook and on Twitter @caseykelleher

Balham Literary Festival - 8-11 June 2017

Balham Literary Festival returns this year with a striking line-up of speakers, including founder of Wahaca and 2005 MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers, distinguished neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, former ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock, and Mercury-nominated singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams. “Happy, Healthy, Home?” is this year’s theme, and the Festival’s topical programme will explore modern living both at home and abroad. All events will take place at The Bedford pub, an historic landmark of London’s nightlife, where there will be a pop-up bookshop throughout the weekend run by Festival organisers Dulwich Books.

Commenting on the Festival programme, Susie Nicklin, owner of Dulwich Books, said: “This summer we turn our gaze to the concept of home. How do we create a space - both within and without - that will nurture us and enable us to thrive, rather than simply to survive? What happens when that space is threatened by war, displacement, colonisation, annexation? Without a sense of ease, or with disease, how can we achieve the peace that a successful home offers?”

“We’ll look at mental and physical health, life-enhancing activities like eating, swimming and singing, present events for children and even prescribe books to make you feel better. Enjoy a warm welcome, music and poetry, browse our pop-up bookshop and relax in the cosy, shabby chic atmosphere of The Bedford, a legendary venue and a home from home for all Balhamites.”

The broad scope of this year’s Festival programme will offer a variety of approaches for healthy, proactive and fulfilling living. Thomasina Miers will talk about her distinguished career, and her fuss-free style of home cooking as presented in her new book Home Cook. Alexandra Heminsley and Jenny Landreth will extol the healing and liberation they have found in swimming. Henry Marsh will look back at his life in brain surgery, Jay Griffiths will unpick manic depression and the pilgrimage to Spain it sent her on, and Susan Elderkin, author of The Novel Cure, will prescribe literary remedies at her afternoon tea to audience members who have submitted their dilemmas by email ahead of the event.

As the dust settles from the general election, the Festival will seek a broader political perspective, and will venture into questions of nation-building, national boundaries, and international relations. Sir Jeremy Greenstock will discuss with the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour his incendiary insider’s account of Britain’s role in the Iraq War, which was banned from publication by Jack Straw in 2005. Balham is hosting The Palestinian Festival of Literature (Palfest), which this year has four outstanding writers – Jeremy Harding, Rachel Holmes, Sabrina Mahfouz, and Ahdaf Soueif – who have contributed to a powerful new anthology, This Is Not a Border. And Joshua Jelly-Schapiro will explore the cultural and ethnic histories of borderlands and contested islands with Kapka Kassabova and Jan Rüger.

Families will feature prominently in this year’s Festival programme, with an outstanding event bringing together Howard Cunnell, Jonathan Dean and Ed Docx to discuss fatherhood explored through their fictional and real-life accounts of fathers and sons. Docx’s newly published Let Go My Hand is set to be one of this year’s outstanding novels, while Cunnell’s moving memoir explores masculinity and family through his experience having an absent father, and as a father whose daughter became his son. Dean’s account of multi-generational family migration will speak to the challenges modern families face. And specifically for children, there are events with Jane Clarke’s chameleon creation Neon Leon, and Sarah Driver, author of The Huntress: Sea, the first book in a brand new seafaring fantasy adventure trilogy.

Drawing on the pub’s infamous history as the site of a Victorian murder trial, the programme will include a blockbuster line-up of crime fiction authors- Angela Clarke, Annemarie Neary and Anna Mazzola - who all have crime novels set in South London. The event will take place Saturday 10th June @ 1:30pm, and celebrate its legendary reputation as the springboard for artists such as Ed Sheeran, The Clash and U2 with an evening of songs by Mercury Prize nominated singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams.

For tickets and further information, visit - https://balhamliteraryfestival.co.uk/