Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written an embarrassing number of books which are sitting on my hard drive. Are they waiting to be edited and submitted? I hope so but I always seem to have new ideas bubbling up that scream to be written down… How many books? Hmmm…about 12 or so – and those are only the ones I’ve finished, with a fair few more started and not complete. Three books are published: BYE BABY BUNTING, HALF TRUTHS AND WHOLE LIES and my latest, THE PUMPKIN EATER’S WIFE.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE PUMPKIN EATER’S WIFE was inspired by several clients I’ve had over my years in a clinical psychology practice who railed against abusive spouses (both men and women, I might add – the role of neither abuser nor victim is restricted by gender). None went as far as Jeannie (my protagonist in the book), but many dreamt of doing so. My fascination (and fuel for my imagination) is how the abused person would react once they did throw their abuser down the stairs like Jeannie did. How would it impact the rest of their lives?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is it unusual to write with a glorious view out the window? I’ve read it can be distracting but not for me. It rests my eyes; it rests my soul to gaze along the undulating coast in New Zealand or the shoreline on the Big Stretch of the Winnipeg River, to watch sunlight glinting off water, or storms send waves crashing over rocks.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved the psychological thrillers of Minette Walters and Barbara Vine/ Ruth Rendell and hope one day to be considered I’m a sister in crime writing.
What are you working on now?
I’m being good and editing one of the books hidden on my hard drive, and actually enjoying it immensely. When will it see the light of day? Maybe within a couple of months. THURSDAY’S CHILD is an internationally-based suspense novel about the discovery and return of stolen children. The book opens as Fliss Whitelaw, ex-gymnast, sets out to rescue a three-year-old little boy from Cyprus, abseiling down a millionaire’s mansion in the dead of night, strapping the sleeping child to her body so she can spirit him back to his distraught mother. Fliss and her colleagues from The Kidnapper’s Trust are on the side of the angels. It’s great fun revisiting this adventure.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotion is my downfall and I’m always attempting new ways of helping people discover my books. I would love to know which advice is the best – there’s a lot of it out there but no way of knowing whether to devote time and energy away from my writing onto some specific method or other for promotion. Currently I am using a Kindle Countdown deal to offer books at 99 cents. I let people know on Twitter (@TannisLaidlaw). Hopefully Awesomegang will help.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Nothing helps to made a better writer than to write, write and write some more. Then edit, edit and edit some more. The next step is to get the best book you can out there (I’m working on this) rather then letting it sit on your hard drive thinking maybe it could be that little bit better.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Show don’t tell’ … then discovering that ‘Tell don’t show’ is equally valid in other circumstances! The first time a situation is mentioned, ‘Show don’t tell’ is usually the way to go. At the next mention and those after that, ‘Tell don’t show’ is the way to go (or you’ll bore the pants off your readers or, worse, send them to sleep).
What are you reading now?
On the go right now are:
1. Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
2. The Hack by Will Patching
3. The Perk by Mark Gimenez
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve written a series of English village murder mysteries which are, as you now will guess, sitting on my hard drive. So far, there’s three of them featuring a novice estate agent, Madeleine Brooks, a former Probation Officer – a burned out Probation Officer. They are set in Oxfordshire where I used to live in a village like Maddie’s Woodley Bottom. Similar to Midsomer Murders, death abounds in Woodley Bottom! So, the plan is to revisit these books and release them as ebooks.
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?
Four books with totally blank pages! And several pencils (with erasers).
Author Websites and Profiles
Tannis Laidlaw Website
Tannis Laidlaw Amazon Profile
Tannis Laidlaw Author Profile on Smashwords
Tannis Laidlaw’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account