As many of my readers will know, I moved aboard a sailing yacht last year with my husband and Welsh terrier to embark on a journey around the UK. Little did I know that voyage would inspire a DCI Cooper novel.

Eco-thriller, The Bridge, is set in Odin’s Gale, a fictional wind farm off the coast of Northumberland. While Odin’s Gale may not exist outside the pages of my book, the inspiration behind it is very much rooted in real locations and experiences.

As we ventured down the east coast we passed numerous monumental wind farms, each contributing not only to the grid but to my imagination. We got up close to Humber Gateway and Greater Gabbard to name just two.  I recall being struck by the vastness of it all. The size of the turbines, the length of the blades. Even viewed from a distance, they made us and our boat feel small and fragile. Then there was the size of the field. These wind farms cover such huge areas they can coat the horizon. Sites such as London Array are bigger than the size of Greater London - a line I use about Odin’s Gale a few times in The Bridge.

Then there was the entire industry set up around these windfarms. From turbine jackets made in Wallsend, transition pieces spotted in Northern Spain, to countless support vessels outside Lowestoft. It was interesting to think of the logistics. Hotels booked out for technicians, supply chains for parts etc. I know how much planning goes into provisioning our sailboat; I could hardly imagine what goes into catering for sixty people who are onboard for weeks at a time

But aside from size and logistics, it was the remoteness that got me conjuring plots and twists. Miles from shore, out of sight of land, floating on our fibreglass island, I could relate to the steel islands towering ahead of us. The feeling of being surrounded by 360 degrees of water is alien and unnerving but also awe-inspiring. 

I vividly recall the number of seals around these sites and was interested to find out more about the artificial reefs created by the wind farms and how they encourage the growth of marine plants which in turn attract fish and therefore seals.

Putting Cooper in the middle of Odin’s Gale, I hope to transport readers to those same eerie days in the North Sea that I experienced with row upon row of turbines rising out of the fog. I hope I capture the odd contrast of both exposure (the sea) and claustrophobia (the boat). Hop on board, readers. Welcome to Odin’s Gale.