Characters

I'm planning my new series for Puffin, The Squad. It is about spies and football and comes out in May 2012. I've got the plot sorted. I was working on characters today.

I need a sort of a master spy. He's going to be called Jim. He is based on two Jim/James I know. Clear-minded. Fair. Kind. Ready to tell you the truth, even if it's not so nice to hear.

I like basing my characters on real people. It helps me make them more real.

I'm also working on a spy called Lily. She's based on someone else. As is Marcella. But I'd best keep their real identities secret... for now.

I have a week to sort out the characters and plot in full, then I'm off to Ukraine and Poland in a hire car to find some settings. Woods full of wolves. Gas pipelines. Football stadia.

I can't wait.