Publication Day

 

It's eBook publication day for my third psychological thriller My Sister's Child, and I'm thrilled to see it finally out in the world. It's my twistiest story yet, but packed with emotion too, and I can't wait for readers to ... well, read Jess and Rachel's story.

Early reviews have been great, which is always a huge relief, and my editor emailed today to say that The Works will be taking copies when the paperback comes out in February, which is another thrill as there's nothing more amazing to a writer than seeing their printed books on a shelf in a shop. It's also a great way to get more copies into readers' hands, which is the aim after all!

In the meantime, I'm racing towards the deadline for my next book, provisionally titled The Lies You Told. It's the first time I've written a solo book from alternate viewpoints, told in alternate chapters, but I'm enjoying getting to grips with two very different female characters.

Hard to believe we're now in December, with Christmas around the corner. I took some time off writing to put up the tree this week, which involved the inevitable battle with the fairy lights, which still got tangled despite me being sensible and wrapping them up carefully last year! I got there in the end ....

I also took a day off writing (always happens close to deadline, I do anything but write) to meet my lovely friend and co-author Amanda Brittany for a hot chocolate and lots of chat about writing and life in general, and came away feeling motivated to Get On With It, as always.  

                                                    (The polar bear had a lovely time too!)

Whatever you're doing for Christmas this year, I hope it's happy, healthy and stress-free and that 2022 is the year we finally get back to Normal! 

Still writing

September has appeared without warning. Hard to believe we're this far along in the year. It doesn't seem long since I was jamming the Christmas tree out of sight and wrangling the fairy-lights back into their box. 

The weather already feels autumnal, the July heatwave a distant memory. The leaves are starting to turn, and there's a chill in the air. It's hasn't been the best summer weather-wise, but other countries have had it worse - flooding in Germany, wildfires in Greece - so in a way, we're lucky. (I'm still craving sunshine though.) 

I haven't yet received my edits for my latest book - my editor is overworked after a busy summer - but in the meantime have continued writing with Amanda Brittany, enjoying the process of getting words down and seeing them grow at twice the usual rate; a benefit of having a co-author! 

One of the pleasures has been researching prop hire companies as our main character runs one, and we're hoping to pay a visit sometime to see how it all works. 

My next solo book - which I've started well ahead of deadline for once - is set in Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire, so I've been wandering around there virtually thanks to the wonders of Google Maps. I had hoped to visit the area on a recent trip to see my family in Scarborough, but didn't have quite enough time. Luckily, I have vivid memories of visiting the bay growing up, and took my children there when they were small, so at least have something to draw on. 

Robin Hood's Bay

As usual, when working out plots, I seem to spend a lot of time doing things unrelated to writing - baking and gardening in particular - but my mind is ticking over all the time and when I eventually sit down to write, I find the words are there. At least, that's what I tell my husband and children when they see me hacking at the ivy on the garage roof, or making yet another batch of scones. I think I've perfected the recipe now! In the interests of... well, no one really, I think I ought to sample one (or two.) 

Whatever you're doing, stay well, and have a happy autumn.

Writing during a heatwave

Chiltern Brew Cafe Garden

It's thirty-one degrees today and while we've been waiting - it seems - forever for summer to arrive, the humidity makes it hard to do anything but gently perspire. As some Covid restrictions have now been lifted, I've found myself veering back to air-conditioned cafes and coffee shops to write for the first time in nearly two years. A cool blast of air and a pot of tea - maybe a slice of cake - does wonders for my creativity.

Since my second psychological thriller And Then She Ran came out in April, I've signed a contract to write two more with HQ/HarperCollins and have started plotting my third. It's different to the one I initially outlined for my lovely editor Belinda Toor and I'm currently waiting to hear whether I can go ahead with it. It's one of those ideas I don't want to let go of and have presumptuously written the first two chapters.

Alongside that, Amanda Brittany and I are writing our third thriller, spurred on by the success of The Perfect Nanny. As with our last two books, we're thoroughly enjoying the experience, bouncing ideas off each other and writing a chapter a day, motivating each other to keep going. Motivation (or maybe it's discipline) is something I struggle with when writing solo - until two weeks before the draft is due when I write about 10,000 words a day. (Not recommended.)

Lovely Husband and I managed a weekend away last month - the first in nineteen months - to Whitstable, Kent. The weather wasn't great but it was good to have a change of scenery, and I had a wander around and made notes as I'd like to feature the area in a book at some point. Author Julie Wassmer has already written a whole mystery series based there - Whitstable Pearl - which has been made into a TV series and we're currently enjoying watching that, yelling 'We went there!' and 'That's where we ate oysters!' (Newsflash: I didn't eat oysters, but my husband did - I couldn't face them.)

Whitstable

Whatever you're up to this summer, I hope it's a good one in every way.

Cat and Mouse

It's publication day for And Then She Ran my second psychological thriller, described as a cat-and-mouse story as the main character Grace flees America with her baby, but suspects she's being followed.

I've always enjoyed the cat-and-mouse plot element in fiction, the pursuit, near capture and flight, the near misses and showdown, the psychological dance between characters that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I've read and watched many stories on this theme over the years and have picked out a few of my favourites.

1.  Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart

A classic cat-and-mouse tale set in the south of France where a war widow becomes involved with a gang of murderers and a plot to kidnap a young boy and has to figure out who the villains are. Plenty of twists and turns in a story that stands the test of time.

2. The Split by Sharon Bolton

One of the best books I read last year, described as 'a chilling, pulse-racing, emotionally charged thriller about a woman on the run, a deadly cat-and-mouse game at the edge of the world' which I agree wholeheartedly with. Gripping stuff.

3. The Serpent BBC

The true story of the so-called 'hippie-trail killer' Charles Sobhraj, accused of murdering Western tourists in the seventies who plays a long cat-and-mouse game with the police over many years. Great performances - and outfits.

4. YOU Netflix

A stalker/serial-killer series adapted from Caroline Kepnes' novel of the same name, with an oddly charming and likeable protagonist in bookshop owner, Joe (despite him being a stalker/serial killer.)

5. Strangers on a Train 1951

The Alfred Hitchcock film, based on the book by Patricia Highsmith, is a classic cat-and-mouse tale and one of my favourites - a chance meeting between two men on a train, speculating what it would be like to commit the perfect murder, with a private investigator on their case. A brilliantly constructed story.

6. Unsane 2018

A film starring Claire Foy as a woman who tries to join a support group after being pursued by a stalker and finds herself trapped in a psychiatric hospital. It's shot on iPhone, adding to the unsettling atmosphere of being stuck in your worst nightmare fighting to be believed. It veered a little too close to horror at times - I'm a coward - but well worth a watch if you're braver than me.

Published at HQ Stories 28/4/21

Another day, another book.

The end of March saw the digital release of The Perfect Nanny, the second thriller by me and the lovely Amanda Brittany. The paperback and audiobook will be out in May.

In the meantime, I've completed edits for my second thriller And Then She Ran, and the proof copy has been receiving lovely reviews on NetGalley. It's a little bit odd to know the words I've written are being read by strangers, but a massive relief that they don't hate them all.

Now, I'm pressing on with my next book, provisionally titled Her Sister's Child as I like to have a title while I'm writing, even though it will undoubtedly change before publication. My deadline is May 5th and I'm nowhere near finished (as usual) but hoping now I'm getting to know my characters that the words will keep flowing.

I don't know how it's April already, it's been exceptionally cold with a flurry of snow this morning, but things are blooming in the garden and I've been out hedge-cutting and chatting to a friendly robin. I tend not to notice anything about the garden during winter, then one day, when the wind is in the right direction, I zone in, cut the grass, replant the flower pots and declare that summer has arrived (even if it's snowing.)

It's good exercise, considering I've eaten my own body weight in Easter eggs over the weekend. Sadly, sitting about writing doesn't burn many calories though at the rate I'm going, I'll be writing so many words a day for the rest of the month, I'll be a shadow of my former self when I've finished.

Midwinter

The 'bleak midwinter' seems a fitting description of the weather right now - below freezing, snow and ice on the ground, a bitter chill in the air; bare branches etched against a bone-white sky. And we're in lockdown again, albeit with the promise of better things to come in the shape of a vaccine. 

I'm thankful to be in the business of writing, something I can do anywhere though the mindset isn't always right during the current circumstances. Walking helps with that, even when it's snowing - especially if it's sunny at the same time.

A bright spot this month was seeing the cover for my and Amanda Brittany's second thriller THE PERFECT NANNY, due out on March 31st. It's been receiving good comments on NetGalley, where new books go to be reviewed before release.

Hearing what readers think - and that they're enjoying our book - brings home how much we love telling stories, which are needed more than ever at the moment. I'm reading far more than I usually do (and I read a lot!) but I've put that aside, for now, to work on the edits for my next psychological thriller - title and cover to be revealed soon - which will be out in April. I'm hoping by then, the sun will be shining and life will be returning to some kind of normality. 

In the meantime, I feel lucky that my loved ones are safe and well and I hope you and yours are too.

Ooh, and here a few of the books I've enjoyed, if you're looking for recommendations: