Be sure to check out We Watch You!

Interview:

1.      Paperback, hardback, audiobook?

Definitely paperbacks, they are cheaper and more lightweight than hardbacks. I don’t listen to audiobooks, I haven’t got the attention span for them.

2.      Pick a genre, any genre!

I can’t choose one … classics, thrillers, science fiction, memoir! Those are the genres I read the most.

3.      What is the first book you remember reading?

I remember looking at Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak in the infant school library and being both entranced and frightened! 

4.      When did you first start writing?

I used to make little books by folding and stapling sheets of paper. I’ve been writing stories pretty much since I learned to write!

5.      What made you want to write? Does it still hold true?

I wanted to write, partly for myself – enjoying crafting a plot, inventing characters, choosing what words to use – and partly for other people, as it’s a great feeling to have people enjoy what you write! That still holds true for me. 

6.      What book/poem are you most proud of creating?

My debut novel We Watch You is an achievement I’m very proud of! I worked at it for 3 years, on and off, changing the genre and adding another ending! Then I formatted, published and marketed it myself.

7.   What genres do you write in (or hope to)?

My usual genre is ‘thriller with a speculative twist’! I like to write a domestic or psychological thriller but with something unexpected and unusual to the genre. Science fiction and psychological horror are also a trademark with me. 

8.   Do you do research for your writing or is it all in your head?

I do a bit of research as required to make the details plausible. The internet is a great help!

9.   To plan, or not to plan your plot?

Absolutely have to plan it, I have a synopsis of each chapter to work from. It can change along the way, but I need to know where it’s going.

10.   What route of publishing have you chosen? Do you plan to stick with it?

I self-published my novel on Amazon, as I hadn’t managed to get any literary agents interested in it (very few of them bothered to reply at all) and I wanted to put the book into readers’ hands this year (2021) rather than keep trying to go through the ‘traditional’ route and getting nowhere. I’m really pleased with how it’s worked out. I plan to stick with self-publishing as it’s a great way to get my work out quickly and have control over it.

11.   If you could live inside another author’s universe, which one would you pick?

I’d want to live in the ‘Railhead’ trilogy by Philip Reeve, which is set in the far future where sentient trains travel across the universe. It’s not a perfect future but it’s not a dystopia either and just imagine being able to visit so many planets!

12.   Do you currently have a WIP?

Yes, I’m working on my 2nd novel, which is a mystery thriller with a music theme.

13.   Do you listen to music as you write? Recommend a favourite writing song.

I find that the best kind of writing music doesn’t need much attention paying to it, so I’m not distracted. I can’t recommend a specific song but I would suggest classical music, film soundtracks, chill-out or instrumentals of any kind.

14.   If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?

Keep going! Don’t worry about getting it perfect, just get the story down and you can refine it later.

15.   Who are your top 5-10 favourite writers?

Classic writers I love include Stella Gibbons, H G Wells, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Daphne du Maurier and Thomas Hardy. More recent writers whose works I love include Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Lucy Worsley and Anthony Horowitz.

16.   Link us your book/twitter/goodreads or wherever we can best connect with you!

You can find my Twitter, Instagram, Amazon page, Goodreads and blog here.