When I first thought about doing this blog, I discarded the idea because ‘everyone’ does it. But then I decided that my choices are different from anyone else’s, and you might just be interested in them. I don’t read exclusively in my genre — psychological thrillers — or even particularly in the broader crime genre. I read (fiction) widely, hoping that I will learn from other authors, no matter what they’re writing about. I’m interested in compelling stories, because that’s w

There are some authors who have a gift for creating a setting in their novels that truly resonates with readers. In writer-speak, ‘setting’ includes both place and time. For example, in Joanna Cannon’s wonderful novel, Three Things About Elsie, the names of her characters are subtly evocative, as is the inspired reference to Battenburg cake on the cover. You know just from these things what era you’re in, or what generation the characters belong to. In The Truth Waits, I men

When my debut novel, Dare to Remember, a psychological thriller, was published in February 2017, my second book, called The Truth Waits, was well under way. I’d started writing it in that nerve-racking period when I was waiting for responses about my first novel from agents, then from publishers, so, as all that takes quite a long time, I was some way down the line with book two when the excitement of actually having a book published (number one) kicked in and I was thoroughl