Elle Machray’s enthralling debut came to life in an unconventional way. They were on the sofa with their partner playing a game of “what if” and landed on the idea – “what if someone tried to recreate the gunpowder plot?” After finishing the first draft within three months, a friend messaged them out of the blue and suggested that they enter a pitch competition on Twitter (now X) for writers in Scotland. “I sent my pitch out. The tweet was liked by a couple of agents, and also by HarperNorth. So I sent them my first three chapters and they offered me a contract.”

Born in Birmingham, Machray, 29, studied politics at Leeds University and graduated in 2017 before moving to Scotland with their partner. They work in cybersecurity for a supermarket, and only began writing fiction in May 2020. “I expected to be writing and trying and being rejected for a really long time before I got anywhere, and for it all to happen so quickly was just unbelievable.”

Set in London in 1770, Remember, Remember is a cautionary tale, based on a real one, which follows the resolute Delphine, who works tirelessly to free her enslaved brother through Britain’s court system. The story is inspired by the real life 1772 Somerset v Stewart case, in which it was ruled that an enslaved black man on English soil could not be forcibly sent to Jamaica to be sold. When justice falters, Delphine plots to burn the whole empire down.

How did you come up with Delphine?
Delphine was one of the hardest characters to write. So many of the other characters are inspired by real people; Delphine is a little like all of the different matriarchal women in my family. She is a healer. She’s the person that has the cup of tea. The person that is always there and rooting for you. I was also very aware of how black women have historically been told to suppress their anger, and yet anger is used as a tool against us. I wanted to create a character that was fiercely compassionate. Someone who really values human life. Someone who wants to do the right thing, and I wanted to show how far they can be pushed before doing something terrible.

How did you manage the historical research?
It was hard. We are not taught an accurate history [of the transatlantic slave trade]. It’s so hidden. [But] what has been written about that time period, the reports of people being bought and sold and transported, was really difficult [to read]. Initially, the novel was a lot darker, but I wanted it to be a story of resistance, not trauma.

How do you navigate writing as someone with ADHD?
I’ve always been able to hyperfocus on things that I am interested in, but in terms of being able to sit and do something for a really long time, I struggle. ADHD can sometimes feel like a superpower, sometimes a curse. You see every step that you need to do to be able to complete a task and it stops you doing anything. But the thing I love about writing is that it is one word at a time. I can break it down into a sentence. I can break it down into a paragraph. I can’t do things like write 1,000 words a day or write five pages a day, but since learning that I have ADHD, I’ve been able to build structures and trick my brain into doing things more successfully.

What are some of your favourite debuts?
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris and The Familiars by Stacey Halls.

What are you working on next?
A reimagining of Miss Havisham’s life. What if Miss Havisham’s heart was broken by someone else? And what if that person was a woman?