Geraldine Evans

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Geraldine Evans. At the last count, I had twenty novels published as well as four non-fiction books. Eighteen of my novels were traditionally-published (Macmillan, St Martin’s Press, Severn, Worldwide, Hale and Isis (audio).

But in 2010, I took the momentous decision to turn indie. I have now digitally published nearly all of my backlist, as well as two new novels Kith and Kill #16 in the Rafferty and Llewellyn procedural series, and The Egg Factory, a standalone suspense set in the fertility industry. I also published the four non-fiction books myself (How to eFormat Your Novel for Amazon’s Kindle, Palmistry Pointers For Lovers, Palmistry Pointers for Writers and a spoof relationship guide, all but the first of these written under pen names.

Originally a Londoner, in 2010, George, my late husband and I moved to a Norfolk market town. I now enjoy the pleasures of coast, countryside and easily-reached city, while enjoying my tranquil small town idyll.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Kith and Kill, my latest in the Rafferty and Llewellyn procedural series was inspired by the number of murders within the family that were prevalent (and still are) in the media.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Like lounging around in my dressing gown for half the day, do you mean?! Though I don’t think that’s particularly unusual amongst the writing fraternity. If you work from home, as I do and probably the majority of other writers, I see no need to contribute to my laundry pile if I don’t need to.

Other than that, I generally start a book in longhand and then switch to keyboard when I have something worth keeping for posterity (let posterity be the judge!).

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I far prefer crime novelists who can add some humour to the proceedings. The prevalence of endless serial killers I find profoundly depressing. So I would number the late Reginald Hill, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and Ruth Dudley-Edwards amongst some of my favourite British crime authors. American authors I enjoy? Who wouldn’t enjoy the thoroughly engaging Stephanie Plum and Grandma?

Jean Plaidy, the prolific historical novelist, was another major influence on my writing. It was Ms Plaidy who first stimulated my love of history after it was crushed in infancy by a school curriculum that concentrated on Factory Acts and Corn Laws and dates – all deadly dull stuff. It’s people who make history and that’s what I wanted to learn about.

I also love the historical novels of Sharon Penman and Philippa Cregory.

What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m playing catch-up and steeling myself for numerous unanswerable questions about my year-end accounts from my money man. Fun, huh? It’s not all pleasure in the life of a writer, you know. We still have to do the detested figure-work.

Other than that, I’m trying to catch up on my reading on blogs of authors’ interest, trying to get through my email inbox before the torrent engulfs me and finishing my preparations for Christmas.

In 2014, I intend to get on with some more writing. I have two novels planned; the first Asking For It #16 in the Rafferty series and the research for a second historical. The latter on its own, should keep me out of mischief for the rest of the year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t settled on a best one yet. Everything is still so much in a state of flux, I’m just trying to keep up.

But I’ve used a number of sites recently: The Fussy Librarian, ENT, Kindle’s Book Discovery and several others.

I’ve also posted to my own blog and those of others (thestoryreadingape.com is amongst my most recent).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t be afraid to consider all your publishing options, rather than just thinking you need to be ‘validated’ by the Big Six (Five? Four?).

Be wary of firms offering to takes a chunk of your royalties for providing services you could manage yourself. I’m thinking formatting and purchasing covers if you decided to self-publish. There’s no need to pay more than a one-off fee for each book.

Don’t be afraid to ‘fail’. We’ve all failed in our time. And no doubt we’ll all fail again. Not to fail is to not even try.

Try not to be a quitter. If you doubt your ability either talent-wise or time-wise, to complete a novel, try short stories. There are still lots of markets out there for them. Just do your research to find out who requires what.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If at first you don’t succeed…

What are you reading now?
Magpies by Mark Edwards. It’s very good. I’m about a third of the way through. He’s adept at creating the fear that something dreadful is about to happen.

I’m also reading The Wars of the Roses by Peter Bramley, as a refresher on the timeline of events during those tumultuous years in 15th Century England before I start research in earnest for my second historical.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to be pretty well occupied for the next year. But after that, who knows? That’s one of the joys of the writer’s life – the idea that anything is possible.

Apart from anything else, I have a number of finished or nearly finished novels, which I may well give another turn through the keyboard and digitally publish. They encompass romances, romantic suspense, mysteries and the rough draft of another historical. Some may never see the light of day again, but I thought at the time they were worth writing, so they might yet prove worth publishing. I’ll have to wait and see.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible – plenty of stories there.

An Encyclopaedia

A book on Survival Techniques and Self-Sufficiency

A book on food cultivation in different climates

And a VERY LARGE! book – of matches. I can’t see me doing the Boy Scout trick of rubbing two sticks together. Not successfully, anyway.

Author Websites and Profiles
Geraldine Evans Website
Geraldine Evans Amazon Profile
Geraldine Evans Author Profile on Smashwords

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