Leslie Scase interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
I
was born and educated in South Wales, and worked in local industry before
travelling widely across the UK during a career in the Civil Service. My first
novel was inspired in part by my Italian and English ancestors having settled
in South Wales in the late nineteenth century. A keen fly fisherman and real
ale enthusiast, I live close to the Welsh border, in the county town of
Shrewsbury.
When did your love of books begin?
In infants’ school. In Wales, school started at three years
old. I was about nine when I read my first adult novel – King Solomon’s
Mines. A superb book (the film versions with Stewart Granger and Richard
Chamberlain were very poor in comparison).
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
Probably in my twenties, but I never really pursued it due
to the pressures of work.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
The writing is the easy bit. It’s all the other things you
aren’t warned about that can be a drag.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Decide what it is that you want to achieve, and be
realistic. You can always ‘up’ your aspirations later. Certainly, have an
informal chat with an experienced author if you get the chance.
Tell us about your book/books:
Fortuna’s Deadly Shadow, introduced Thomas Chard, a Shropshire policeman who takes over the position of inspector in the busy and occasionally deadly, town of Pontypridd in South Wales. He is no super-sleuth and things often go awry, but he gets results through sheer determination. The original novel built up a supporting cast of characters, each with their own quirks. His arrival in the town coincides with the discovery of a body which in theory had already been buried two years earlier following a train crash,
Fatal Solution
1896, a body is found in the burnt-out remnants of a workshop, in a village still shaken from a terrible industrial tragedy two years previously. Inspector Chard’s attempts to solve the mystery of the dead body are interrupted by the discovery of two men, mysteriously struck down whilst sat on a bench close to the river. Industrial espionage, revenge and a vicious sexual predator are all obstacles for the good inspector as he seeks the Fatal Solution.
Sabrina’s Teardrop is the third book in the Inspector
Chard series. The protagonist is a Shropshire policeman who in the first novel
arrives in South Wales to take up the post of police inspector in the town of
Pontypridd. How he came to leave his old post in Shrewsbury isn’t revealed and
we know little of his background as he solves his first case. During the second
novel (Fatal Solution) we find out a little bit more. In this third
adventure, all is revealed.
The stories within the series are all stand-alone. They fit
somewhere in between Cosy Crime and Noir. In other words, they are
unpredictable. There is a mixture of violence and humour with a huge dose of
red herrings. I am a keen historian, so you shouldn’t find anything unauthentic
(a pet hate of mine when I read historical fiction); and I include some
interesting historical facts in the author’s notes at the back. However, they
are principally good murder mysteries which will keep the reader guessing.
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
Generally, everybody is very supportive. Especially so
within the Crime Writing community. I belong to the Crime Writers’ Association
and the Crime Cymru writers’ collective and when I started writing I couldn’t
believe how friendly everybody was. I’ve met some lovely people during my time
as an author (i.e. over the last four years), readers, authors and publishers
alike.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
If you like Ripper Street, Sherlock Holmes, Vienna Blood, or
the Murdoch Mysteries – this is for you.
Where can people connect with you?
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InspectorChard
Twitter @InspectorChard
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