5 Five quick questions
When and where did your journey as an author begin?
I started writing fiction as a teenager, but it was entering my first stage play Ashes and Sand for the George Devine Award, and winning it, that really set me on my way. The Royal Court staged the play, and further opportunities in theatre, radio and film followed.
In 2020, during the first lockdown, I returned to my first novel Out of the Frying Pan and finished it. I sent it to Hobart Books, a publisher I’d seen featured in Writing Magazine, and they published it in 2021. In October 2022 they published the follow up Sniff Them Out, Brownlow! a cosy crime mystery about a pet detective and her dog.
What is (or has been) your proudest moment as a writer?
Seeing my first mystery novel Out of the Frying Pan on the Cracking Crime shelf in my local library, where my family took me to borrow books from the age of three. Also seeing my second novel What Maisie Didn’t Know published in hardback by Wrecking Ball Press in 2021, and stocked in their Hull bookshop.
Who or what is your greatest inspiration?
David Storey. As a teenager I loved his novels and plays of working class life. I was stunned when I realised he’d been instrumental in my winning the George Devine Award for my first play. He also made me realise it was possible to be both a playwright and novelist.
What is coming up next for you, fiction-wise?
My novel Sniff Them Out, Brownlow! involves a pet detective searching for stolen dogs, so it seemed natural that my second mystery about the same characters should feature missing cats. Brownlow Checks In opens at a luxury cattery for pampered felines.
What is your top tip for writers still on the journey towards publication? Read magazines like this one and study websites featuring publishing industry news, as well as publishers’ own websites and social media. There are many independent publishers that are directly approachable, sometimes via an open submissions window for a short space of time. Carefully check what they are looking for and whether your book might be a match their requirements.