top of page
Search
  • Writer's pictureleachjuice78

Lucky 13 Interview With Fiona Erskine

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


Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects was published by Sandstone Press in June 2021. The story opens with the discovery of a body during the demolition of a Scottish factory. The corpse is encased in a carapace of phosphate rock and is surrounded by ten unusual objects. Each object links the previous activities in the factory with the identity of the deceased. The police inspector calls upon a retired shift foreman and together they unravel the mystery.


2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?


I’m a plotter; I know where I’m going and who I intend to travel with. As an engineer, I’m a big fan of spreadsheets and project plans. However, writing is an escape from the day job, so I never know exactly how I’ll get to my destination or who will survive the journey. The real joy of writing starts when my characters take control, dashing off in unexpected directions, making new friends and enemies along the way.


3 – Savoury or sweet?


I do have a sweet tooth. I adore hot puddings, things I grew up with like Denver chocolate pudding or rhubarb crumble with cream, but I couldn’t live on deserts alone. Happiness is about variety and balance.


4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!


Only three? Don’t be absurd. Can I take my kindle and an internet connection instead? No? Well, if you insist.


1) A reference book: Perry’s chemical engineering handbook (6th Edition) contains lots of useful tables that would enable me to desalinate sea-water, ferment alcohol, and build a structurally pleasing shelter while I designed, constructed and fuelled my means of escape.


2) A book I haven’t read yet: AmberGris by Jeff Vandermeer was a birthday present but I’ve barely scratched the surface. It’s so big and beautiful that I’d love to have some uninterrupted time to dive in and wallow.


3) A book I’d love to re-read: Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the perfect snowy, crowded antidote to heat and isolation. It’s also the book I was reading last time I got stranded on a desert island. In 1982, after finishing a voluntary project in Sri Lanka, I went travelling and ended up on Delft, a tiny island off Jaffna: quite magical.


5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?


Star Trek. My brother used to record the TV episodes on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, holding a microphone up to our grainy black and white TV, while my sister and I hid behind the sofa at the really scary bits. The three of us would re-enact the episode later, using the poor-quality audio tape and buckets of imagination.


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


Photosynthesis. To channel solar energy, absorb giga tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into something useful and stable in order to avert a climate crisis.


7 – Music or Silence when writing?


Anything except music. I can deal with noise when I’m writing; I tune everything out and disappear into my own world. I can (and do) write on trains and planes, in stations and airports. But I love music and it’s the one thing that distracts me.


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


I’m very happy right where I am right now, thank you very much. The North-East of England is a beautiful, friendly place to live. So long as I can be with the people I love and have access to country walks with trees and swimming water, I don’t really care where my house is.


9 - Your favourite karaoke song?


Julie London – Cry me a River


10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?


Find your tribe. Don’t ask your partner to read your writing, that’s a bit like introducing them to your new lover and expecting them not to be jealous. When you want honest feedback on your writing, reciprocate by reading just as much. It takes time to find people whose writing you admire and whose judgement you trust, but they are worth their weight in gold.


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?


At the start of lockdown, I discovered an online literary salon – Leap in the Dark – run by David Collard. It introduced me to new poets and filmmakers, writers and musicians, translators and boutique publishers. The ticket price for each online event was a donation to the Trussel Trust and it opened my eyes. It is shocking that in a country as rich as Britain we still have people making a daily choice between shelter and transport, warmth and food. So that’s where my donation would go.

As to the rest. I’d invest in seed capital to kickstart a chain of outdoor swimming pools – giant fresh and sea-water pools warmed by waste heat from northern industry and accessible to all.


12 – Horror films, yes or no? If so, any favourites?


No. I was terrified of Star Trek and I still studiously avoid horror films. I’ll make a single exception for The Rocky Horror Show because it’s such fun.


13 - What are you currently working on? Current book


I’m dabbling with a rewrite of the first novel I ever wrote which has been languishing in a drawer for ten years. It’s set in India and contains a piece of my soul.

My next book to be published is set in Brazil. The Chemical Cocktail, the third in the Jaq Silver series published by Point Blank, sees our intrepid engineer turned crime fighter surfing the Atlantic coast and blowing things up to keep people safe.

27 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Lucky 13 Interview With Natalie Marlow

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your current book? Needless Alley is a literary noir set in 1930s Birmingham. My detective is William Garrett who, unlike Philip Marlowe, only takes on d

Lucky 13 Interview with J.M Simpson

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your current book? My current book is ‘Sea Shaken’, which is the third in the Castleby series. The Castleby series came about when I set my debut suspens

Lucky 13 Interview with Alexandra Benedict

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 ta

bottom of page