Ah, Pip the clown. I had to persuade a lot of people that she wouldn’t be a scary clown – I couldn’t believe how many people actually have an aversion to traditional clowns! The Clown Doctors were fascinating to research and shadow – very humbling too, not least because I was pregnant (with my second child) whilst writing this book. The Clown’s Gallery in Dalston, east London, was a fascinating place – not least for their extensive collection of painted eggs, on which clowns can ‘copyright’ their make up. This was to be the last book in the McCabe series – not written as a trilogy, but interlinked nonetheless. By the time I finished this novel, I knew, though, that I’d revisit the sisters. But I needed some space from them first. And a posse of brand new characters needed my attention in the meantime. So Love Rules was next.

Read the first chapter of Pip

Read a brief synopsis of Pip

See what happened next to Pip

Tags | Love Rules, McCabes, Pip, research, Titles