All of our CrimeBits featured writers filled out a Q&A to go with their successful entry into our book with Lee Child. We asked our CrimeBits shortlisted writers some questions about their favourite crime genre books and films and characters as well as the process of starting to write a crime fiction piece (whether it was a unique short writing project or part of a larger novel) as they have done. More blogs to be posted in the future! Keep an eye out!
Who’s your favourite crime character you’ve read?
Richard Burke: Dexter in the books by Jeff Lindsay is my favourite crime character. The fact that he walks both sides of the line, being both a police forensic analyst and a serial killer, makes him a fascinating main character.
Alys Cummings: It’s got to be Jackson Lamb [from Mick Herron’s Slough House book series, adapted for TV in Slow Horses]. Just when you think you’ve got the measure of the man, you don’t.
Dahlia Fisher: I am going to say Eleanor Oliphant from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, which I’m not even sure is a crime novel, it’s probably considered literary fiction or women’s fiction, I’m not sure, but there is definitely a crime and unravelling it is a mystery. That’s another one of my favourite books of all time and she is an extraordinary character.
Marek Turner: As I’ve already talked about Tarpon, I’ll go with the anti-hero (although you might even struggle to call him that) Giorgio Pellegrini, who appears in two books by Massimo Carlotto as the protagonist and then a couple of the Alligator series as the antagonist. Why is he so good as a character? Because he is something different to the usual lead. A clear asshole who uses violence when necessary, and often when not, but he just wants a life but most of all because he makes me want to read on.
Lucy Wetherall: Nancy Drew. Her character started my love affair with mysteries and the idea of bravery.
Do you have any tips for aspiring crime writers?
Richard Burke: I’m not sure I’m qualified to offer advice, but I would say write what you enjoy reading. Try to avoid the stereotypes, and don’t worry too much about the first draft – they’re almost always rubbish!
Alys Cummings: I don’t really think there’s anything else for it apart from to write it and see what happens. Don’t give up.
Dahlia Fisher: Well drawn characters are by far the most important part of any book. The plot of a crime novel has to make sense and be thrilling, of course, but the characters can make or break a book as well.
Marek Turner: Just keep reading and keep writing. In that order. But beyond that, read some books on the craft and you’ll start to see how certain ideas and concepts influence the books you read, and then go and write out some of your favourite scenes or chapters. Get an idea of what you like and why.
Lucy Wetherall: Read the paper. Pay attention to how people behave when you are on the bus or at the coffee shop. People are truly fascinating and can provide endless ideas. Then, start writing it down.
What do you love about crime writing?
Richard Burke: I prefer to write from the perspective of an ordinary person caught up in something far bigger than them. I’m always looking at situations and thinking how I’d react. Crime writing allows me to live vicariously through my characters.
Alys Cummings: It has a proper old plot. A book wouldn’t be anything without good characters, but a crime book really gives those characters something to do.
Dahlia Fisher: The intensity!
Marek Turner: I love crime writing because it offers so much variety. From the genre and writing style, to the ways in which it can explore the good and bad within people, as well as society, both our own and foreign. It can connect us at a visceral level and provide entertainment and education, like no other genre. For me, there really is nothing like it.
Lucy Wetherall: The ideas and possibilities are endless. My imagination can run wild, and I am free to create intricate plots and compelling characters.
How did you become interested in crime writing?
Richard Burke: I have always been an avid reader but had never really tried to write myself. Just over ten years ago, I decided I would give it a go and three years later eventually finished The Rage. I found the whole experience very satisfying and discovered a very supportive writing community on Facebook. At around that time, I also contributed a short story to a charity anthology by Bloodhound Books, Dark Minds. At the launch party, I met a diverse group of authors, many of whom are now friends.
Alys Cummings: I became interested in crime writing because it’s what I most like to read.
Dahlia Fisher: A dear friend of mine is a horror writer and she challenged to me to start writing outside of my genre. I was writing mostly memoir, really, and she suggested I push myself and do something totally different. It was great advice.
Lucy Wetherall: As a teenager, I wanted to be an investigative journalist, but I couldn’t spell worth a lick, and that was before spell check and computers. Crime writing satisfies my curiosity and my need to explore the different shades of life.
Marek Turner: After reading ‘Three to kill’ by Manchette I was struck by the thought that this is what I want to do. I had dabbled unsuccessfully in writing previously, but that short novel was like a lightbulb moment for me, and now I can’t stop. As crime fiction is what I did and still do predominantly read and watch, there was no question that it was going to be my focus. I dabble in other genres but more for exploration of craft than to have something to say.
Where did you write your entry? How did it come about? (Any general notes on you entry)
Richard Burke: I wrote Assassin’s Web in 2019. I had this great idea for a sequel, but other writing projects and the challenges of everyday life got in the way. I heard about the competition after somebody mentioned it in the Book Connectors Facebook group and spent an afternoon writing the first 200 words of the sequel. Without giving away too many plot spoilers, in the final scene of the first book, the main character, a schoolteacher, has just received a confession note from the man who abducted his sister twenty-five years earlier together with the location of her burial. The police are just about to exhume the body, but what the MC hasn’t told them is that he knows the confession was coerced from the kidnapper. Assassin’s Return starts with the exhumation, but of course there will be more twists and turns as he tries to discover the fate of his missing sister.
Alys Cummings: The idea for Jackknifed came as I was driving back to the north east from a press conference in Preston – I thought of all those many miles I’ve driven and the service stations along the way, and what other stories might be happening there. The Fixer started as a writing exercise for a character I was thinking about, and then took on a life of its own. I’ve only just realised both are in vehicles – I need to spend more time at home.
Dahlia Fisher: I wrote my entry in my home office, when it was too cold to be outside writing, during the winter, I remember. I am fascinated by old houses, and the idea of making an old house or even the entire estate sort of a character in the story.
Lucy Wetherall: My entry is from the first page of a novel I started writing some time ago that I hope to complete this year. I wanted to write about a strong female protagonist who decides to take control of her life, and it grew from there.