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Make your protagonist the type of person who jumps into the fray – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
In life, I’m a risk-averse person. I always weigh up my options and try to act prudently. In novels, I’ve found that prudent characters make for boring protagonists. Dead Ringer got immeasurably better when I added in a second narrator, Jem. She’s reckless and rebellious and will always throw herself into the fray. For this…
Don’t give ’em a reason to stop reading – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
One of my favourite pieces of feedback I’ve got on Dead Ringer is: “I stayed up past my bedtime reading it.” During one of my later re-drafts of the book, I did something bold. I re-cut all the chapters. I made them shorter and I changed the places where the chapters ended. My purpose (and…
BBC Radio Bristol interview
On Wednesday 26 February 2020, I stopped by the BBC Radio Bristol studios to chat with Steve Yabsley about cats, ice skating, and the time I got fired from a job for insubordination. Play the interview below or find it on YouTube…
Let your readers hear your protagonist’s thoughts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
Dead Ringer started life as a third-person novel, until my agent suggested I make it first-person. This was a big change, but it made the protagonists’ voices much clearer. The reader gets to sit in their heads, hear their thoughts. This, I think, is the superpower of novels (versus TV or movies). You get to…
“Pacy, witty, succinct” – CrimeTime review of Dead Ringer
Bob Cornwell gives his review of Dead Ringer for CrimeTime. “When I first met my double, I was disappointed how little she looked like me.” So thinks Ella Mosier, 24, a native of Walney Island, close by Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria as she meets Jemima Coottes-Mitchell, 25, London for the first time. Both have been intrigued by…
5 random facts about Dead Ringer
Here’s a quick look into my writing process with a few fun facts behind the scenes of Dead Ringer. A five year journey It is almost exactly 5 years from the time I started writing Dead Ringer to its publication. When I tell people that, I think they imagine I’m just a really slow typist….