Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Crone is my debut novel, but in July 2017 I am publishing my anthology of short stories called Deadly Encounters. These are twelve short horror stories, nine of which have been previously published in magazine and journals etc.
I have an eBook on dog bereavement coming out on 29th July too. It’s a year to the day since I lost my best friend, so ‘Losing my Best Friend’ is a tribute and self-help book, for other bereaved dog owners.
My next novel will be The Jumpers, and that should be out before the end of 2017.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Crone is my latest novel. I was inspired by the countryside where I live. East Devon in the UK looks like the land that spawned a thousand fairy tales. It’s a very mystical place – lots of ancient woodland and green and rolling hills. The proximity to the sea and the climate means there is plenty of mist.
It’s ethereal. It is not hard to imagine a witch walking the trails and lanes around here, heading into town and picking off the unfortunate inhabitants one by one.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a teddy bear who sits on my desk and keeps me company. I read parts of the text to him when I’m trying to work out how to improve it. He helps a great deal!
I drink too much tea. No, that’s not possible, I’m British.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the odd and the quirky. My current favourite authors are Susan Fletcher, Tana French, Ali Shaw and Karen Maitland. The best novel I read last year was Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Stephen King is the one to emulate of course, and Neil Gaiman, and I love their work. Someone compared Crone to Alan Garner’s books and that made me supremely happy as he was my favourite author as a child. It must have rubbed off!
What are you working on now?
I’m editing a psychological horror called The Jumpers about a woman who witnesses a suicide (a jump from a high rise) and then tries to inveigle her way into the dead woman’s life. Unfortunately, the dead woman’s boyfriend is a nasty and manipulative piece of work. The only way to put an end to him, is to join in cahoots with someone even more evil.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m experimenting with a few. This is all new to me, so watch this space.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write fast, edit slow.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you wanted to be a writer, you would write.
What are you reading now?
Karen Maitland, The Plague Charmer. The Three by Sarah Lotz and He Said, She Said by Erin Kelly.
What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s all book promotion for Crone, Deadly Encounters and Losing my Best Friend until the end of August. I’ll be editing The Jumpers most of the summer too with an aim of getting that to my editor in September for a November release.
I have started the novel version of my short story, The Municipality of Lost Souls, so I’m hoping that I will have a good rough draft by the beginning of 2018. It’s a cracker! I can’t wait for this one!
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 Outsiders by S E Hinton, which is the best book ever. Peter Straub’s Shadowland, because it is a phenomenal story, Witchlight by Susan Fletcher because it is poetic literature and I love it so much, and The Stand by Stephen King because it is so multi-layered.
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