AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
I was born in Buckinghamshire, in 1997 we moved to Tenerife where we lived for 7 years, on return to the UK we then spent 7 years in Devon. I've worked in social care for nearly 30 years mostly in mental health services and with single homeless with complex needs. In between I've been a pub landlady and worked in bars in Tenerife.
I've been with my partner for over 30 years and we have two grown-up children. We returned to Tenerife to live 2 years ago.
When did your love of books begin?
I learned to read before I started school and my parents have always described me as taking any opportunity to sit and read! My Grandad encouraged me to love books and would always bring one with him as a gift for me when he visited.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
For as long as I can remember ideas for stories would pop into my head and demand to be written down! As a child I'd create my own "books" and hand them out to any adult in the vicinity. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful English teacher at secondary school fostered my love of books and writing.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
I enjoy writing books as much if not more than I enjoy reading them so that part isn't at all challenging and the process for getting a book formatted for uploading wasn't too difficult either. The hardest part of self publishing is how to promote your book on a shoestring!
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Unless you get taken on by an agent/publisher with a nice fat advance it isn't going to be a get rich quick process. Write because you want to, write because you love it and those ideas you have are fighting to be put on paper. Don't get disheartened by no/low sales, do it because you've always wanted to see one of your books out there in big wide world and if it does become the next bestseller, that's a bonus!
Tell us about your book/books:
I write murder mystery books, my first book "Breach of Trust" is out on Amazon (KU, kindle, paperback and hardback) and my second in the series, "Bedding Down" is due out in December 2022. I also have a rough draft for book 3! The series has a consistent set of base characters and some that are lurking in my mind as likely to use again........
Breach of Trust starts with the murder of a resident from a hostel, at first it appears to be an isolated incident until another murder leads Adam and Sarah to realise that the common denominator is the victim's dark pasts. Can they find that one suspect who has the means, motive and opportunity to be responsible for all the killings?
Bedding Down features murders taking place among the homeless community, Adam and Sarah who met in book 1 need to find the killer and the answer could lie in what drove the victims onto the streets in the first place.
I use experience of working in social care to create a lot of my characters and storylines, obviously no one person is used to base this on but there's an amalgamation of people, incidents and circumstances that I use.
I've also written a children's book "Tales of Naughty Children" which was born after a joking conversation with my partner sparked an idea that just wouldn't go away until it was given it's opportunity to go on paper.
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
The first word that pops into my head is "generosity". The community supports each other in a way that not many others would or could. Being able to share experiences with other new authors is amazing but so is talking with other avid readers.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
I hope you enjoy my books, I hope they take you away from your regular life for a bit but also that they raise some awareness of how trauma and circumstances have affected my characters.
Also, it means the world to all authors to be left constructive feedback although I'm just as guilty of not doing this myself! Feedback helps authors to keep improving their books but on a practical level it also improves our reach on a platform where there is a vast amount of competition.
Where can people connect with you?
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