The idea of a doll that causes problems was something I first used for a Sarah Jane Adventures story, with Maria being the one affected by the doll. Having decided on a story featuring a doll I noted that there were two possibilities. A doll that made things happen, causing accidents, etc. or a doll that drained the energy of the doll owner for some reason.

I decided to go with the first option with Maria, and the story became about a doll possessed by a spirit that thought it was protecting Maria by harming people who upset her. But the idea of a doll that drained energy from its owner seemed a good idea, too, and it occurred to me that Julia was about the same age as Maria, so the idea could easily translate to a Theta Sigma story.

The opening scene is a very similar one to the Sarah Jane Adventures story. It is a birthday party for a fifteen year old girl who is still young enough to want a party with food and cake and candles and presents like dolls. With Maria the fact that some of her birthdays were spoiled by the break up of her parents was a reason for her wanting such a birthday. With Julia, some of her childhood birthdays were nightmare days on board the vampire ridden ship Chrístõ rescued her from. Both had reason to want to treasure a birthday like that, and to like being given a doll.

The difference with this doll is its empathy suit. I introduced empathy suits earlier in Theta Sigma with Camilla, so their function should be fully understood. They change according to the wishes of the wearer. The doll copies the clothes of its owner, so that when Julia went to bed it was in a flannel nightie, in the morning it wore her school uniform, and then her leotard for gym. What it should look like when she was taking a bath was a bit of a puzzle.

Chrístõ does have a couple of embarrassing moments. When he undresses the doll, he feels more than a little bit sheepish. I don’t know, but I think a man would feel strange doing that. If they don’t, they certainly should. And the scene where he breaks into the bathroom where Julia is drowning absolutely had to have a large bath sheet involved.

WHY this was happening was actually a late idea. I wrote quite a lot of the first part of the story in advance and then came back to it once I had an idea where it was going to go, and how the issue was going to be resolved. The idea of a woman with a sick child, desperate in her own way, who deserved sympathy as well as censure, went through a bit of an evolutionary process before I finally worked it out. When I did, I made a last minute change. I was going to have the little girl die. But it seemed a bit too cruel, so the woman gets a happy ending, even if she gets Chrístõ’s wrath and a warning against doing anything like that ever again. I don’t think Chrístõ would have wanted the child to die in order to save Julia. As much as he loves her, he is too kind to let that happen without trying his best.

http://www.pearsecom.co.uk/sarahjane/07_01nina.htm