If I looked at your internet history, what would it reveal about you?
That I am a master at procrastination and frequently abandon half-filled shopping carts in various online stores. In the amount of time I’ve spent carefully choosing items, only to desert them just prior to checkout, I could’ve written two more books. Despite this, I have not learned a thing and continue to fill carts willy-nilly. It would also show that although I’ve worked in policing for fifteen years, I second guess myself all the time. I am terrified of getting something in that realm wrong just in case someone outs me as having no idea. (Spoiler: sometimes I have no idea).
Do you write about people you know? Or yourself?
All of the above! I think that writers are great observers and pinch things from their environment all the time. And I think that’s how characters become relatable. There’s little bits of many people in Lenny Marks and her ensemble cast. An example of this is my grandmother who would always set up two scrabble tile racks and play against herself, never favouring one hand over the other. Lenny Marks does this exact same thing, imagining her opposition as Monica from Friends. If I played in this manner, I would 100% cheat one hand out of winning even though I would only be cheating myself. I’ve also stolen quite a few names of people I know to pepper throughout my books. Although in the case of Lenny’s foster mother, Fay, I actually pinched her name back and gave it to one of my new twins as a middle name – I just loved it so much.
What’s some great advice you’ve received that has helped you as a writer?
Firstly, I find the book and author community so generous and kind. They hand out wisdom and tips and I could not be more grateful because I love to follow instructions. And in general, writing a book can be a bit of aimlessly wandering about hoping the character arc is heading the right way and avoiding a saggy middle! But above all, I think it comes back to just getting the words down. You can’t edit a blank page and the first draft is just a first draft! Neil Gaiman put it better than me when he said: ‘This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.’ I 100% plan on stealing that exact quote and claiming it as mine, sorry Neil.
Who are some of your favourite authors? Or favourite books?
This changes constantly – but there are some favourites that have stuck with me. Up there as my favourites of all time are The Book Thief, Fahrenheit 451, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Boy Swallows Universe. I’m not even throwing in Ray Bradbury’s classic to sound well read, I genuinely love that book.
Others that I have adored of late include Jacquie Byron’s Happy Hour, Lisa Ireland’s The One and Only Dolly Jamieson and Claire Fuller’s Our Endless Numbered Days. I’m hanging out for Jessica Dettmann’s new one (and banking on it being hilarious) as well as Pip William’s next book.
I love books that can make me think and laugh and adore characters that make me think about them long after the last page is turned.
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