I'd love to say X is for XTC, a longtime favourite of mine but they really wouldn't be to Dave's taste, so they don't feature in Dead Man Singing. It's also tempting to go for El Rayo-X, David Lindley's band (and an album that makes the list of Dave's 100 records), but I've already raved about his brilliance here. So...

X is for ex-wife. Cath, Dave’s long-suffering former spouse, makes a couple of brief but significant appearances in the book. It was important for me to present her as a strong figure, not just the victim of an unfaithful husband. She got out of the relationship on her own terms, and when we meet her it’s clear that she’s in a good place without him. She is also a fine device for ramping up the pressure on Dave in the second half of the book, but… spoilers.

There’s a contrast at the heart of the book between what we know of Dave’s past treatment of women, including Cath, and the way he treats them when we meet him. Part of the story is about Dave finally growing up and accepting his responsibilities towards other people, and his growing relationship with Cindy is one of the main outworkings of that. Of course, none of that comes without bumps in the road, though again I’ll leave it at that rather than give too much away here. If you want to know more, go and read the book!