Lucky 13 Interview With Bryony Pearce

1. Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?

This year was meant to be my year, career wise. I actually have three books out … but covid … (no more need be said). So, 2021 will be all about lockdown launches and online sales for me!

I started as a writer of Young Adult novels and I have one YA urban fantasy (Raising Hell) out in June and a YA horror (Cruel Castle) out in September.

Raising Hell is set in an alt-reality London, where magic works for imaginative teenagers. Our heroine, Ivy, has to battle hell hounds, zombies and goth witches, while dealing with her dead grandmother who has come back to life in the body of a cat.

Cruel Castle is the sequel to award winning Savage Island, about teenage psychopaths and the tests that their ‘mentor’ sets for them. The first book was set on an island, the sequel is set in a castle, with plenty of puzzles to solve and twists and turns to face.

The big news for me this year though, is that my Adult debut is coming out on April 15th. This is called The Girl on the Platform. It is about a young working mother who is battling exhaustion and post-natal depression. On the way home one evening she witnesses a kidnapping – a little girl being taken from a train platform. She is the only one who sees anything and, with no missing girl reported, it soon becomes clear that no-one believes her. Bridget becomes obsessed with finding the kidnap victim and, in the process, risks losing everything she loves. This book is very close to my heart, as I suffered from PND and I’ve put a lot of myself into Bridget.

2. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotter, definitely. An extreme plotter, in fact, if that is a thing. When I come up with a story idea, I write out a one-page synopsis, highlighting the high points of the narrative (introduction, inciting incident, mid-section, false dawn, rug pulling moment, nadir, turning point, climax, resolution). I also write character sheets, which can be two or three A4 pages per character including full backstory, history etc. Then I complete a chapter outline (one or two paragraphs per chapter), ensuring that all red-herrings and real clues to the twist are seeded. Only then do I start writing. I once wrote a book that was half-plotted and half-pantsed, mainly because I was impatient. Feedback from my agent was that the first half was great, but the second was terrible. Lesson learned!

3. Savoury or sweet?

Sweet. Although I am a huge fan of the mix – salted caramel, ready salted crisps with chocolate or apple, chocolate coated pretzels …

4. Three books to a desert island? Go!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom.

Jingo, Terry Pratchett.

Welcome to Temptation, Jenny Crusie.

I’ve read these three books over and over again and I’ll read them a lot more before I’m finished!

(I was going to say complete works of Shakespeare, Chaucer or Conan Doyle, but that felt like cheating!)

5. Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Trek if I have to pick between the two (I’m very much enjoying Picard and Below Decks at the moment). I was never a Star Wars fan – it takes itself very seriously. However, it’s about the only sci-fi I don’t love. I’m obsessed with Firefly, Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, The Matrix trilogy, Bladerunner, Guardians of the Galaxy …

6. If you could have any superpower what would it be?

Teleportation. Travelling is no great love of mine (I love visiting other places, just not the process you have to go through to get there).

7. Music or silence when writing?

Silence. I can’t write constructively when there is noise. Anything with words or a tune you can hum, and I end up tuning into the music and singing along!

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you where would you choose?

I adore the Mediterranean – Italy and Spain. Our favourite family holiday has been travelling with backpacks around Italy. One day I’d love an apartment somewhere like Lucca or Vico Equense. This year is our 20th wedding anniversary and I wanted to do a vow renewal in Vico Equense. But … covid. Sigh.

9. Your favourite karaoke song?

I have never karaoked in my life! However, if I was forced, at gunpoint, it would be something like $1,000,000 dollars (Bare Naked Ladies), All the Small Things (Blink 182) or Sometimes (James). Not necessarily my favourite songs, but I could sing along to those without causing ears to bleed I think!

10. One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

If you’re writing children’s or YA, then join SCBWI, which are a fantastic organisation. If you have the money, use a resource like Cornerstones or The Writing Coach. And keep reading and writing. The best way to learn is to see and do!

11. You win £1m but you must give half to a charity. Which do you choose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

Just ONE charity? Yikes. I’d be picking between PANDAS (who offer support for parents affected by perinatal mental illness – an issue close to my heart), Save the Children (the world’s first global charity for children) or Greenpeace (to defend the natural world).

With the rest of the money, I would pay off our mortgage and invest in my children’s futures. I think they’re going to need all the help they can get over the next ten-fifteen years!

12. Horror films, yes or no? And if so, any favourites?

Yes, although I don’t get to watch many, as my husband is a very firm no! I love Cabin in the Woods, Aliens and The Faculty.

13. What are you currently working on?

I’m working on my next adult thriller, which is out Spring 2022. This is written from three points of view and is about a girl who goes missing from a small village. All three women, whose viewpoints are central to the plot, are doing everything they can to protect their children, but how far will they go, and how long before they lose sight of what is right?

To find out more about me and my work, do check out my website www.bryonypearce.co.uk

Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @Bryonypearce