1. Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?
Murder on the Christmas Express (out November 10th from Simon & Schuster) is a contemporary tribute to Agatha Christie’s classic and takes place on the sleeper train from London to Fort William on December 23rd and 24th. Ex-Met detective Roz Parker has to get back to Scotland as her daughter has gone into premature labour. She’s retired, and does not expect her skills to be crucial in discovering what happens when a passenger dies in a locked cabin overnight. With the train derailing in a Highland snowdrift, Roz must track down the killer that is stalking passengers. It’s a who-and how-dunnit, with Christmas quizzes, Kate Bush and surfacing secrets!
2. Are you a plotter or a pantster?
I am what I believe is known as a planster, basically a bit of both. Or a plaster, which is appropriate given that plastering is exactly how it feels when editing, especially if I haven’t sufficiently plotted. I like to have all the acts and beats set out, along with character arcs, themes, imagery and setting. I leave myself room, though, to change scenes and events, which helps keep me open to surprises and twists that I hadn’t anticipated.
3. Savoury or sweet?
Sweet. So, so sweet.
4. Three books to a desert island
Bleak House.
A La Recherche du Temps Perdu.
The Sea, The Sea.
5. Star Wars or Star Trek
I shall not choose. No!
6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Teleportation. I find travelling a sensory nightmare and incredibly tiring, so I’d love to just turn up in marvellous places.
7. Music or silence when writing?
It really depends on what I’m writing and where. In a café, I always have noise cancelling headphones and listen to music appropriate to the story I’m writing – often choral music or film soundtracks. I’m listening to the Devs soundtrack a lot at the monument, but I always come back to Clint Mansell. At home, sometimes I listen to music or maybe have the TV on with a film I know really well, just chuntering at me, encouragingly.
8. If you could live anywhere in the world and take everything you want with you, where would you choose?
Whitby! In a big house overlooking the sea.
9. Your favourite karaoke song?
Let’s Dance by David Bowie
10. One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?
Savour and celebrate every win, from the tiniest achievement to the most humongous. Writing is a very long game with lots of disappointments, some slight, some devastating, so celebrating wins helps you keep going!
11. You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you choose and what do you do with the rest of the money?
Having almost lost my life, and our baby’s, when I had pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, I’d give it, and more, to the Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust. The Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital looked after Verity when she was premature and I was very ill, and I’m incredibly grateful.
12. Horror films, yes or no? If so, any favourites?
YES! Halloween, Don’t Look Now, Hellraiser, Dead of Night, Dawn of the Dead, Carnival of Souls, The Omen, Hammer and Universal Horror, Amicus portmanteaus and all the Corman Poes…
13. What are you currently working on?
I’m writing my 3rd Christmas crime thriller, The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, alongside a high-concept thriller, Little Red Death, which will come out under my AK Benedict alias in 2024 from Simon & Schuster.