Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Chartered Marketing Manager and have written professionally for my business career for over a decade before turning my hand to fiction. As an avid crime fan, I regularly participate in the renowned Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate and I relish attending literature festivals across the country as well as engaging with online writing communities. I live in Leeds with my husband Chris and my son Jack.
I’ve just released my first crime novel, Murder at Macbeth, which was longlisted for the international Flash 500 Novel Award. It’s a murder mystery centred around a talented young actress who unwittingly stabs herself live onstage after a prop knife is tampered with. Bitter rivalries, secret trysts and troubled pasts are just the beginning of the story…
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called Murder at Macbeth and was inspired by a newspaper article about a London West End actor who was accidentally stabbed live on stage. That got me thinking; what if that had been intentional? What a dramatic way to murder someone and believe you could get away with it.
I’m also a huge fan of the theatre and find the concept of interviewing a bunch of murder suspects who are also actors really fascinating – they could so easily be playing a part to hide the truth.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I find my ideas flow a lot better if I handwrite the text and type it up afterwards – definitely the more time-consuming approach! I also develop all my characters’ dialogue by talking aloud to myself – which my husband finds hilarious! I think it’s really important to enter the mindset of each character and consider how they would speak – verbalising that helps me to better describe their interactions in writing. I take it to the next level too and make a music playlist for each character to help bring them to life.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The author who has inspired me the most is definitely J.K. Rowling. Not just because she created the incredible Harry Potter universe, but more so because she wrote the first books while she was a single parent looking after a young baby. I find that dedication incredibly inspiring. I wrote my novel while pregnant and working fulltime and did a lot of my editing while looking after a newborn, so I understand how challenging the balancing act can be.
What are you working on now?
Currently I’m mainly focusing on promoting my recently released novel. I do have a few other projects in mind though to work on next…
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think there’s one single magic website or method when it comes to promoting books. But as a Chartered Marketer I do understand how important promotion is, so I commit to spreading the word through as many channels as possible in order to reach my potential readers. Doing author interviews and guest blogs are great methods for engaging with people and giving back to the writing community by providing practical advice for the next generation of writers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think honestly the best advice I can give is to believe in yourself and engage in a writing community, be that online or in person. When it’s difficult to keep going, surrounding yourself with fellow writers can be very inspiring. Learning from others is also fantastic for refining your own abilities too.
Literally thousands of people dream of writing a book and very few actually achieve it. The road to success is definitely paved with self-doubt and there’s hurdles at every stage, but it’s incredibly satisfying to hold your book at the end of it all.
And read – you can never read too many books.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever had was from a fellow author, Stewart McDowall, who told me to write every day. Finding time to do that felt unsurmountable at first, but actually I was amazed how I quickly managed to carve out time to write – getting up 30 minutes earlier, snatching an hour during my lunch break, waiting for appointments and so on. It really did help to keep the momentum going and meant I didn’t stall.
What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz, which is an action thriller featuring the vigilante Evan Smoak. It’s a great, fun read.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few different things in mind, so will have to see what I get to first!
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?
So the four fiction books I would take would be some of my all-time favourites; The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, and of course the classic Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling (the whole series would be ideal!)
Author Websites and Profiles
Samantha Goodwin Website
Samantha Goodwin Amazon Profile
Samantha Goodwin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile