1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?
Stage Call is the fifth in my Hannah Weybridge crime thriller series set in London in the 1990s. It begins and ends at The Old Vic theatre (one of my favourites) in Waterloo, London, when the leading lady, Joan Ballantyne, is found dead on stage. The initial police response is that she ended her own life but Hannah who had been working with the actress on her memoir isn’t convinced. Neither is her son, famous TV actor Leo Hawkins, and he begs Hannah to help him prove she was murdered. However the investigation puts friends and family at risk as Hannah races to finish the book and solve the mystery.
2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?
Definitely a panster although I do try to organise my work! I print out calendars so I can plot dates and major events in the novel. Initially I don’t number chapters (they often get moved around when I don’t write sequentially) but I add the day, time, characters and location in the heading to keep track.
3 – Savoury or sweet?
Savoury but I am partial to chocolate.
4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!
Such an unfair question! I don’t suppose there’s a time limit on the island? Okay so the complete works of Baudelaire – studied him for my degree but only scratched the surface. A French dictionary so I could try to translate some poetry. And a How to Survive on a Desert Island type book.
5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars.
6 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Throughout my life I have dreamed of flying but I’m always just a few feet off the ground! Then a while ago I dreamed I jumped off a high rise building (impossible for me to be that as I have a fear of heights!) and sored into the sky. So flying for me.
7 – Music or Silence when writing?
Mostly silence. Sometimes 90s music to get me in the right frame of mind.
8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?
I love living in London where I was born. Maybe if I could transport the city to a warmer clime by the sea?
9 - Your favourite karaoke song?
I have never tormented people by singing karaoke!
10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?
Don’t be put off by criticism. If you think critical comments are justified work to resolve the problems, be it structure or characterisation or whatever but remember that some judgements may not be justified. Go with your gut feeling.
11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?
Easy to choose the charity – Water Aid. No one can thrive without clean water on tap and many young women in third world countries are vulnerable to attack when collecting water or using outside latrines. With the rest I’d sort out the problems with my house, take an amzaing holiday and give what’s left to my daughter for a deposit on a house.
12 – Horror films, yes or no? If so, any favourites?
I was brought up on horror movies but watch them less frequently now. The Omen is still an all-time favourite and more recently The Haunting of Hill House.
13 - What are you currently working on?
I started a psychological thriller during lockdown based on a short story I had written but found it difficult to concentrate. Then I had a “vision” of an actress dead on stage and Stage Call was born and was published by Red Dog Press earlier this year. The thriller still gets worked on from time to time but I am concentrating on the sixth Hannah Weybridge plus another project but that’s little more than an embryo.