“A brilliant talent in the thriller field” – Jeffery Deaver

QUESTIONS:

Can you tell us the story of how you found your agent and/or got published?

Somewhere I wrote that I fell into writing like Alice down the rabbit hole. One day while walking in my local park I had an idea for a crime novel. Inspiration struck as I was passing a tangled copse of trees and shrubs. I wondered what might happen if there was a body in the bushes. There was no body in the park that day (as far as I’m aware!) but the idea stayed with me and I began to write the story of the body in the bushes. Who was she? And what was the story of the killer? The story fascinated me and within two months I had finished what turned out to be the first draft for my debut murder story, Cut Short. Having written the manuscript, I submitted it to a leading publisher of crime fiction. Why not? I didn’t expect to hear from them but two weeks later they called me to express interest in my writing. We met and they offered me a 3 book deal. Cut Short, Road Closed and Dead End were published, followed by a second 3 book deal. Death Bed is now out on Kindle and will be in print in May as the fourth in the Geraldine Steel series.

Please describe your writing process.

Although I didn’t start writing until middle age, I can’t go a day without writing. As my time is limited, I write whenever I can, often late at night when I really should be asleep – there aren’t enough hours in the day! As long as I have a notebook and pen or a keyboard, I can write anywhere. All I need is an idea and the tools with which to write. While I’m certainly thrilled to be a bestselling author, the real buzz is writing.

Do you strictly plan out the plot/chapters before you start or just ‘write as you go’?

I plan out my plots in advance, although they tend to develop in unforeseen ways as the stories unfold. It’s a question of experience and knowing beforehand what is going to ‘work’. Eventually I hope to become expert in planning my books, but as yet I’m still learning. I don’t plan my characters in advance, but allow them to grow and develop as they are written. Of course this can impact on the plot. Characters sometimes go off on unforeseen tangents and there’s a tension between character development and the demands of the plot. For the plot to work, a character might have to perform a certain action, but that has to be carried out believably. Readers may like to be surprised and shocked, but no one wants the illusion to be broken by someone acting out of character. At the same time, I don’t always feel I have complete control over the characters I create. Some of them seem to have minds of their own and I tend to run with that and see where it leads – which can be straight into trouble with my carefully conceived plot.

Do you have a daily or weekly word count target?

Motivation hasn’t been a problem so far, but I still set myself targets. As a writer, I find that essential. My target will be to finish a certain chapter, rather than to write a set number of words although the two overlap as my chapters are fairly uniform in length. I will write between 500 to 5,000 words in a day. The speed of my writing seems to bear no relation to its quality. Sometimes I write very fast and produce a chapter that works brilliantly, at other times I churn out a chapter that has to be completely rewritten. The outcome is equally unpredictable when I write slowly and thoughtfully. Sometimes it works really well, while at other times the writing seems laboured and dull, and has to be rewritten. That’s part of the fun of the creative process. It can’t be reduced to a formula. You never know when you are going to write something that gives you the buzz of knowing you have magically expressed exactly what you wanted to say.

Have you ever suffered, while working on a novel, from writer’s block or from anxiety that your work isn’t good enough? If so, how do you get through this.

So far my publisher has signed me up for 3 books at a time, so there’s always a deadline looming. I’ve always said that the best cure for ‘writer’s block’ is a publisher’s deadline and I’ve been very fortunate to write under that kind of pressure. Apart from Cut Short, which I wrote without any expectation of anyone else reading it, I’ve always written secure in the knowledge the book would be published. Curiously, in some ways that reduces the pressure. It has certainly made me feel more confident about my writing. That said, I do constantly worry that my work isn’t good enough. I still find it hard to regard myself as a ‘real’ author, even after seeing my books reach bestseller lists on Amazon around the world, shortlisted for a CWA Dagger Award, excellent reviews in The Times, US Publishers Weekly, The New York Journal of Books, and listed as a Top Reads on Lovereading, Eurocrime, and so on, too many to list here. The accolades from reviewers and readers are enormously reassuring. All of this helps to keep the anxiety at bay, as do readers when they email me through my website to let me know they’ve enjoyed my books. That’s the best affirmation of all.

Can you tell us what you are working on now?

The first draft for the next title in the Geraldine Steel series is complete. That will be out in 2013 as the 5^th in the series. Before I review it, I’m taking a break and writing a book for young teenagers which will never be read but is great fun to write, and a change from the dark murder stories I usually write. At the same time, I’ve been planning the 6^th Geraldine Steel book due out in 2014. And I have an idea for the one after that… I just can’t stop!

Thank you very much for interviewing me here, and good luck with the new website!

Rated 4.2 out of 5* on Amazon, 77 total reviews to date including:

‘A good serial killer, kidnapper, believable story as the abductor picks victims when they are drunk. This book is a bit creepy and occasionally gory and is never boring with an exciting ending.’ [Blood Guilt]

‘I found Cut Short to be a delight from start to finish with the most perfectly comprehensive final three sentences ever. I finished this novel and was disappointed that I couldn't immediately pick up Leigh Russell's next novel. Make sure you buy both at the same time so you don't have to wait to start the next one.’