A Derry author has revealed how her latest book came from a "creepy" online trend.
Claire Allan said the idea for her new book - The Nurse - came to her during the first lockdown in 2020.
The Nurse, which is released on March 17, is a chilling, gripping read and has already received a number of rave reviews ahead of its debut on St Patrick's Day.
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Speaking to MyDerry , the bestselling author revealed how her latest release was born after watching "one of the creepiest trends she had ever seen".
She said: "I was on Twitter one day and I noticed that there was a really creepy post that had gone viral.
"This post was about this guy who said he had been out walking and there was a woman in front of him and he noticed that she was nervous. He said that he realised that she was uncomfortable and that she was scared.
"He described how he felt like he had power over her, and how he got a bit of a kick out of it. He suggested that people should go out a try it on purpose because it was a bit of fun.
"You can imagine the reaction that this got online," Claire added. "That's when I decided that I should take this idea and run with it.
"So, I actually have a male character who happens to be walking and realises that there is someone in front of him. He notices that she is quite scared, and because he is feeling powerless in different aspects of his life, he gets a sense of power from this action.
"He decides to start a viral trend online but it very quickly spirals out of control."
Ms Allan said the idea is part of a wider conversation about the lack of safety women feel and the efforts they take daily to try to decrease their chances of being assaulted or abducted.
"I can say with my hand on my heart that there isn't a woman in the world that hasn't felt scared when out walking alone," Claire told MyDerry.
"Whether that is coming from a perceived threat or a real threat, it's there in the forefront of women's minds all the time.
"When you're a young girl, you are brought up from no-age and warned about men, and you're told not to walk home alone. That sort of fear is drummed into girls more than it is boys.
"I honestly don't know a single woman that when she has been walking to her car, for example, doesn't have her key in her hand primed and ready, just in case. That's a really sad situation.
"And something that the book looks at is whether women have some responsibility or does this all lie with men, or are they getting an unfair touch?"
"The other side of this is that women should be able to walk home alone and be safe, but a man should be able to walk down the street and not be seen as a threat. That is not right either.
"But without a doubt, a huge part of being a woman, unfortunately, is that you are forced to think of every outcome when you're put in a situation like this."
Claire told this publication how one reader, who had read the author's best-selling book 'Her Name Was Rose' in 2018, made contact with the Derry novelist to say how it had made her realise she was in an abusive relationship.
"I was taken back by it all," she said. "Her Name Was Rose is about a woman who is in a relationship that is controlling and abusive and this one reader had made contact to say how she was in a similar situation.
"She left her husband after reading the book and she had begun building her new life. She wanted to thank me for opening her eyes to it.
"That is better than anything else that I could ever get from writing as an author. It's unbelievable, and that's what is amazing about doing what I do.
"The connection that you build with the reader and the wider audience is just second to none."
Meanwhile, the former journalist, who bases all of her books in the city, said there was "such rich pickings" about the place she calls home.
"Why not Derry?" Claire added. "The community that we have here is just so rich for writing.
"We have been through so much collective trauma, but we have this dry sense of humour and that is what helped us get through such terrible times.
"Derry is a city, but it feels like a village at times. Everybody knows everybody, and in terms of writing crime, it adds a certain layer because there are things surrounding how you're supposed to behave and how people will judge you.
"I couldn't not write about Derry, that's what I know and it's the pace that I love."
And as release day approaches, Claire, laughing, told us she was "bricking it" but "hopes everybody enjoys what they read".
Claire will be signing copies of her book in Waterstones Foyleside on Saturday, March 19 at 2pm.
If you would to get a copy of her tense, pacey, and unputdownable new book 'The Nurse', you can order it HERE.
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