What made you want to be a writer?
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 into 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’s the hardest thing about writing?
Apart from being rejected, for me it’s coming up with initial ideas. Once I have something, I can normally build a plot up pretty well, but that initial spark? HARD. I also tend to massively over-complicate plots when I plot.
Which book is your favourite?
I love all my books, but my favourite is often the book I’ve written most recently. If I was really pushed, the book that has my heart most right now is You Can Trust Me. It has darkness, it has feminism, 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! 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.
Who are your favourite authors?
Growing up, I was inspired by Tamora Pierce and Elinor Brent-Dyer (and, before that, Enid Blyton). These days, I like Agatha Christie and Philippa Gregory is a guilty pleasure. I went through a massive Robert Goddard phase a few years ago and still regard him as an excellent thriller writer. For lighter stuff I love Mhairi McFarlane. As for YA authors, there’s simply too many to name – but I like UKYA best (shocker!).
What’s the best piece of advice you could give to an aspiring writer?
I give TONS of writing advice on my TikTok channel. 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 like Twitter 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.