So, how was I planning on writing this story? Funnily enough I knew straight away how I would approach it - not simply by reenacting his crime, because I felt there was more to the story than just that, but instead from his earlier life, intending to discover if events from his childhood had effected the decisions he had made later in life. I told Normie this in my next letter and he liked the idea - so it was decided. We were going to do it. I felt both the anticipation of the challenge ahead and the trepidation of what writing his story would mean, both for him, and me. This was a serious, emotional, personal proposition and I thought long and hard in the following months about all the aspects of it and why I wanted to write it. There were many doubts in my mind - Was my writing good enough to do it justice? How would people react to it? Could it make a difference?

I had always been interested in 'real' people stories. Had in fact spoken to a few people previously about writing their stories, so the idea wasn't new for me. But this was a murder case, it involved people I knew personally, and it involved so much emotion. In my mind I wanted to give people some answers, I knew the Albany grapevine was running hot with rumour, and I knew that there were a lot of innocent people getting hurt by the gossip. I wanted to write it because I felt it could make a difference. I wanted it to make a difference. I wanted it to give answers where there seemed to be none, and to give closure where it was needed, and if within that process it helped Normie to address what he had done, then surely that was a good thing too. It was the biggest challenge of my life and I was going to give it everything I had.

#MethAmphetamine #Ice #ShardsofIce #Normie #AlisonSampson