Brink was written in the middle of an intense heatwave. It was a special, new time in my life. I felt as though I’d woken from a deep sleep into an exciting world. I was a tourist in my own city. There was sunshine everywhere, for days and weeks, and everyone seemed happy. It was like the world had overdosed on Vitamin D.
I was definitely on something. I’d walk to the library every day, write my words, and then walk ~15k steps to the gym, where I’d work out for almost three hours. Yeah. Wild, sunny times. Something I learned while writing Brink is that mega-famous musicians have gyms purpose-built for them at every leg of their tour. I thought this was so OTT that I had to include it.
The soundtrack to Brink is The 1975’s Give Yourself a Try. I couldn’t escape it. It was everywhere at the time. And it also felt, fittingly, like a small nod of encouragement to my writing. That intro takes me straight back to climbing up and down hills to visit the library, with sunshine beaming and flowers blooming.
I hope the book manages to evoke similar feelings for you as that song does for me.