Dorothy Koomson

THE BESTSELLING NOVELIST HAS WRITTEN 12 NOVELS. HER NEW NOVEL, The Friend (CENTURY) IS OUT NOW.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING?

I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK CALLED There’s a Thin Line Between Love and Hate WHEN I WAS 13. IT WAS ABOUT A GIRL WHO MET A BIT OF A BAD BOY AT SCHOOL. I USED TO WRITE A CHAPTER A NIGHT AND THEN I’D TAKE IT INTO MY CONVENT SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY AND PASS IT ROUND MY FRIENDS.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY WRITING ABOUT NOW?

MY NOVELS ARE ABOUT WOMEN WHO HAVE AN INNER STRENGTH THAT GETS THEM THROUGH LIFE. MY MAIN CHARACTERS ARE ALWAYS BLACK WOMEN BECAUSE I’M A BLACK WOMAN. PEOPLE SOMETIMES ASSUME THAT SOMEONE WHO’S NOT WHITE

WILL WRITE A LITERARY NOVEL BUT I’VE BEEN WRITING EMOTIONAL DRAMAS AND THRILLERS FOR A LONG TIME. THERE AREN’T A LOT OF PEOPLE OF COLOUR WHO DO THAT AT THE MOMENT, BUT THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT THEY AREN’T THERE WAITING TO BE PUBLISHED.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW NOVEL. The Friend IS ABOUT CECE, A WOMAN WHO GIVES UP A GREAT LIFE TO MOVE TO BRIGHTON WITH HER HUSBAND’S JOB. SHE DISCOVERS THAT THE COMMUNITY SHE’S MOVED INTO IS UNDER A CLOUD BECAUSE A WOMAN HAS ALMOST BEEN MURDERED AND NO ONE KNOWS WHO DID IT. CECE SOON DISCOVERS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT WHO THEY APPEAR TO BE. I WANTED TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE AN ADULT TRYING TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS, AS CECE HAS TO DO WHEN SHE MOVES.

ANY WRITING HABITS?

THE TV IS MY GREAT COMPANION. SOMETIMES I LISTEN TO MUSIC WHEN I’M WRITING, BUT GENERALLY I HAVE THE TV ON IN THE BACKGROUND. MAINLY BOX SETS. SO WHEN I WAS WRITING The Friend I WATCHED Desperate Housewives, Avengers: Age of Ultron AND Criminal Minds.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE WHEN YOUR NOVELS ARE PUBLISHED?

I ALWAYS OPEN A BOTTLE OF FIZZ AND WRITE THE INITIALS OF THE BOOK ON THE CORK AND SAVE IT.