Blogger's Blag: Gus McGuire, Mothers' Day and more

Tomorrow is my youngest son's birthday and it's also nearly Mothers' Day and these two things together got me thinking about the theme of motherhood in my writing.
Each of my kid's birthdays are the days when I wonder about myself as a mother. Have I done a good job? Could I have done better for them? What could I have changed?

In many families throughout the world, mothers will be celebrated, spoiled and remembered ... as they should be. But, hey, I write crime fiction, so, not all the mothers in my stories are ones you'd want to celebrate, spoil or remember. That's not to say that I only write about 'bad' mothers - I don't. Some of the mothers in my books are brilliant! Nor is it to say that all 'bad' mothers are one hundred per cent to blame for their actions. Nor do I blame mothers (parents) for their children's actions. 

So... in the world of DI Gus McGuire, motherhood raises its head in a variety of ways and with a variety of results. 
Gus' own mum is a force to be reckoned with; nurturing, caring, quirky, useless at cooking, embarrassing and with a tragic backstory, she is the woman at the centre of Gus' life. He would lay down his own life for her ... and may nearly have to do just that. The way she has brought up her son is testament to the man he is today. It is she who has instilled in him his deep moral code and need for justice. It is through her example that he has developed deep loyalty towards his friends and those he loves. It is her strength that he relies on when things get too bad ... that is the power of motherhood. 

Here are just a few examples of 'Mothers' in my DI Gus McGuire books.

Available here

Book 1 Unquiet Souls is mainly about abducted and trafficked children. However, where you have children, you also have parents. Two mothers feature in Unquiet Souls. 

The first is a single parent, a drug addict who is forced to do despicable things in order to feed her habit. She's that mother who all the other parents avoid in the school playground, the one the shop keepers chuck out of their shop on a regular basis, the one whose kids have nits and smell of wee, the one who screws men in graveyards for a few quid to feed her addiction ... the one who ends up murdered. For her children, she is not a mother to be proud of, yet she's all they've got. When her kids bring home mothers day cards from school, they'll be lucky if she notices them.

The second is a mother with the courage to report her paedophile husband and fight to take her child out of his reach. A mother who re-creates herself and her life for her daughter. A mother who risks her own life to save her daughter.

Available here

Book 2
In Uncoiled Lies, absent mothers play a very important role in how they live their lives.
These two mothers, both dead before the start of the novel, influence their daughters from beyond the grave and this has far reaching consequences. 

The first daughter is down on her luck, but determined to seek justice for her murdered mother. Her love for her mother, combined with grief fuelled by lack of closure, affects every aspect of her life from her career choices, to her friends, to her actions. From beyond the grave, the loss of the mother she loved so dearly sets in motion a series of events that soon spiral out of control.

The other daughter is brought up by a father who carries a deep secret concerning her mother, one that smothers his relationship with his daughter.  Pressurized by her father's grief and her desire to fulfill her mothers hopes, the daughter feels pulled in different directions.


Book 3

Available here

Untainted Blood  has three very different mother role models and explores how mothers react under very extreme circumstances.

The first mother lives a lie in order to protect her son. She is prepared to sacrifice her own happiness for her son and yet she isn't strong enough to do so completely ... she is a very human mother with weaknesses as well as strengths.

The second mother has mental health issues which make it impossible for her to care for her children effectively. It doesn't mean the love isn't there ... but rather that her illness makes it difficult to express it. She is a mother who loves her children, but without the right, she help could end up destroying them.

The third mother is pregnant with her first child and must face an almost impossible situation. Yet, with dignity and poise, for the sake of her unborn child, she does just that. 

Available here

Book 4
Uncommon Cruelty explores the nature of motherhood from birth mothers to adoptive mothers. The bond between mother and child is strong ... but is it always unbreakable? Is a blood bond stronger than an adoptive bond? Is love enough? Can childhood trauma be eradicated? Can nurture overcome nature?
Through traumatic events involving a house party gone badly wrong all of these themes are explored. 




Book 5

Available here

Unspoken Truths has a few examples of mother child relationships.
One notable mother child relationship is a flawed one where the mother rejects her child, expressing no interest in her achievements or in her happiness. She is emotionally barren to the child, although the child has everything she needs on a material level.

Another mother child relationship involves a degree of role reversal. The child has always taken on the adult role and this is now second nature to her. Although there is a deep underlying love between her and her parents, there is a gulf brought about through lack of understanding. 

The third mother child relationship is one where the trust of the formative years is broken. A secret is revealed that alters the child's perceptions of her mother and brings the entire premise of her life into question. 

Book 6 
Ungraven Image (not released till later this year) considers mothers who enable their children to behave badly and explores the tight bond between a parent and child when the child has to take on the caring role for the parent. 

As you can see, the theme of mothers or motherhood comes in many forms and is rarely missing from my novels. I must say that I can't think of one novel where a parental bond/ role of some type has not been apparent to a greater or lesser extent. 

So, Happy Mothers' Day to all the mothers out there and long may the role of 'the mother' be a feature in fiction.