What made you want to be an author?
Like many other authors, it was something I always wanted (in-between brief phases of wanting to be a vet and an interior designer). As a kid and then a teenager I constantly wrote stories – there must be about eighty notebooks of various sizes languishing in my parents’ loft filled with my scribble. The most significant story I wrote was with a friend – it started out as an odd kind of satire about a girl in our class we disliked before ballooning to include thousands of other characters.
Why have you written thrillers?
I’m naturally drawn to plotty, complex novels in which dark things happen, and find the classic whodunnit framework very satisfying. This charts back to everything I most enjoyed as a kid – from book series like Nancy Drew and The Mystery Club, to watching endless episodes of Sherlock Holmes, Poirot and Midsomer Murders. I started reading Agatha Christie when I was about sixteen and her writing has been a huge influence on my own.
What was your route to getting published?
I went down the classic getting a literary agent then publisher route, twice – once in 2009 and then again in 2019. It is actually very common for authors to switch literary agents (publishers, too), but this isn’t something people tend to talk a lot about. I’m happy to chat about this to authors in the same position, so if that’s you, please do get in touch or drop me a DM.
Did you get a lot of rejections?
Ahh, rejections, that lovely but painful part of writing… Yes, I was rejected plenty of times, by agents and publishers. What author isn’t? As I think it’s good to be transparent about rejection, and I’ve sunk plenty of hours into reading other author’s querying/submission stories, I’ll give more details here. When I secured my first agent in 2009, I think I had maybe been rejected by around ten others. That isn’t many, but back then we were still (just) in the days of snail mail submissions, and there were fewer agencies. One of those rejections was however an absolutely invaluable full read, and that book went on to become Pretty Twisted. I think I had around seven publisher rejections (one still stings a little to this day).
I published three books with my literary agent and the same publisher but one thing you learn in this biz is that situations can (and do) change. The book I wrote after Saving Silence (Book 3) was submitted to publishers but none were interested. At the time I was second-thinking what kind of books I even wanted to write, and that uncertainty was probably reflected in the writing – I think there were maybe eight “no thank yous”. What happened next is a much longer story, and involved plenty more – yep, you guessed it – rejections.
It’s always hard to hear “no” but rejection is absolutely part of writing professionally. The hardest rejection (in my opinion) is the kind that has nothing to do with you or your book/s because there’s not much constructive you can take away from it.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
I used to find coming up with initial ideas for books hard, but these days, the thing I struggle with most is that I tend to MASSIVELY over-complicate my plots. This means that when I have a first draft, my first edit normally focuses on streamlining the plot and getting rid of details that are either unnecessary or too much. I should really have learned this lesson by now…
Which book is your favourite?
Authors will often say that picking a favourite is like being asked to choose between your children… but I’m not one of them! My favourite usually tends to be the book I’ve written most recently. If I was really pushed for an ULTIMATE FAVOURITE, then the book that really has my heart is probably You Can Trust Me. It has darkness, it has parties, it has some awful arrogant boys (who I love writing)… what’s not to love?!
Do you have any favourite characters that you’ve written?
I do, but I probably shouldn’t disclose who they are because you’d be looking at potential spoilers! One of my favourites appears in You Can Trust Me and I won’t name them specifically but if you’ve read the book. I’m pretty sure you’ll work out their identity. In general, though, I most enjoy writing characters who are very flawed but redeemable, and often ones who aren’t the nicest. Out of the three point of view characters in All the Better to See You, for example, my favourite was Sabine, hands down… even though she’s awful.
Do the cats and dogs in your books survive? [SPOILERS]
This is, genuinely, something I get asked a lot, and I see being commented on in reviews – which I totally get! If a character has a pet in a dark book, then I will spend the entire review worrying that something bad is going to happen to it.
If this is you too, then rest assured – all the animals in my books are just fine! There might be some mild peril at points – Dotty in Love You to Death in particular – but I’m far too much of a softie to do anything truly bad to any of them.
What are the content warnings for your books? [SPOILERS]
My books are thrillers, so include crime and dark themes.
Love You to Death – stalking, fire, drug use
You Can Trust Me – sexual assault, suicide attempt, murder, mental illness, drug use, death of a parent
All the Better to See You – violence, blood, murder (all off-page, and nothing more graphic than the original fairy tale!)
Good Enough to Eat – murder, fire (again, nothing more graphic than the original fairy tale!)
Pretty Twisted – murder, adult/minor relationship
Forget You Never – suicide, murder
Saving Silence – murder, assault
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
There are a lot of writing advice videos on my TikTok. But to name a few here:
1. Never give up. This was something my dad said to me many moons ago and he’s totally right. If you want something, you have to be determined and not be put off by rejection. Even if a few years down the line you don’t get your book published, I can guarantee that by never giving up you’ll have learned a lot and probably opened up some opportunities you didn’t expect.
2. Be the best writer you can be. Writing a book is great, but it’s editing that makes a book sparkle, so, if you’re serious about writing, editing is something you’ll need to learn to do. Editing can be harsh, but it’s totally worth it.
3. Read aloud. You hear bad sentences and wrong words far more easily than you see them.
4. If the answer isn’t yes it’s probably no. Not sure whether to include a scene or a sentence or character? Slash it. Be brutal when you write – if you later find that deleted scene really was essential it can go back in, but I guarantee 9 times out of 10 it’s better off out. Less is usually more effective and readers are way smarter than we writers often give them credit for.
5. Enjoy writing! If you’re not enjoying the story you’re working on, switch to something else. Everyone has false starts. The story you start now might not be a story you finish. That’s OK.
Cheeky 6: Find writer friends. Connect with others, via social media or forums like Absolute Write. I have learned an enormous amount from interacting with other writers, and the support they’ve given me (and I hope I’ve given them) really has been invaluable.
What are the recommended reading ages for your books?
Love You to Death & You Can Trust Me – YA
All the Better to See You & Good Enough to Eat – upper MG/teen
Pretty Twisted, Forget Me Never & Saving Silence – Teen