Getting back to ideas for The Angel, I think I may have plugged a bit of a hole in the plot and balanced out the characters a bit by considering introducing a male admirer of Kim when she moves to The Angel. This chap will be actively sought out and encouraged by Emma (in some matchmaking activity reminiscent of her Austen namesake). Emma won’t rest until she’s paired Kim off with someone. Of course, the person she tries to pair Kim off with will be totally unsuitable, although the relationship will develop to an extent which will make James terribly jealous — and when James thinks they’ve slept together then he’ll be extremely agitated. It will be something of a dip in their relationship when he sees Kim having some sort of a relationship with someone who he used to think of as a friend but, in this context, sees as something of an arsehole. He’ll realise how trapped he his himself.
This person will probably have been a friend of James’ but they’ll fall out — and, because James is ostensibly a happily married man — he’ll have to find some other reason to vent his fury. Emma will try and coach the relationship on regardless — she’s the sort of person who thinks any outcome is possible, given the right sort of motivation.
Kim will confide a few things to James about how this chap is an utter philistine but that she’s initially flattered by his attention. Then Kim will start to notice a few suspicious danger signs that maybe the new boyfriend’s attention is beginning to wander — perhaps to someone who’s more receptive of his charms?
I’ll need to flesh this chap out — any suggestions as to his name and other personality features would be gratefully received. Perhaps with this character another piece of the jigsaw is falling into place?
He is called Christian (irony in the name). He did not do well at school but has survived in life by his charm. Which is huge. He is a journalist for a living and interviews Celebrities for Hello magazine and the ilk. He is constantly telling stories about the celebrities he’s met and interviewed. Why is Fiona Phillips on the Olay advert when she does not have great skin? (I knew her in London). He has a big need for sex and enjoys the chase and conquest but is not into proper, serious long-term relationships. He is adept at managing relationships on his terms and reeling the girl in like he is catching a fish. Once he has made his conquest, he becomes elusive until he wants sex again a couple of weeks later. He fancies Kim but is also carrying on with another married woman in the village. He is relatively discreet but not that so rumours abound. He really wants Kim but that is mainly because he can’t have her because she keeps saying no. But it is hard work for her because she finds him exciting and physically attractive and he is so charming. She has to remain cool-headed and be logical (not something that comes easily) so she does not wreck her relationship with James.
Yes, I agree with giving Kim some extra love interest will enrich the plot. How about an additional love interest for Emma too? After all, she’s getting a bit annoyed with James – he’s not the high-flying financier she married; she might well be on the lookout for some wealthy type. Then you’d have a full classic ‘love hexagon’…
Ah, Guy, I was trying not to give too much away in terms of the plot but I think Emma’s additional love interest could be found in part of the existing set-up. I think she’ll try and set up Kim with the character Kathy has Christened Christian but then she’ll start to wonder why she doesn’t get the benefit of his charms instead — which may also bring in Kathy’s suggestion of him being discreetly involved with another woman in the village at some point.
I also thought of bringing in Will, the chap who fired James and who perhaps James and Emma know socially, as a bit on the side for Emma. I wondered if Emma might have a penchant for having sex in public places and so I had it in my mind that James might be walking home past midnight through the dark churchyard when he hears some very strange noises emanating from the gravestones?
I’m not sure a man who knows lots of celebrities would really go for Kim — I’ve been prompted to think about her physical appearance again over the past couple of days (see tweet and perhaps an imminent posting). She’s one of these women who’s quite attractive but in a way that’s not very obvious — she can look bloody awful just as well as look very alluring. Emma, on the other hand, is quite a model of female beauty and attracts men’s attention all the time. Realising that he finds Kim more attractive than Emma is part of the journey of change that James will go through in the novel.