Anything for Her is a tremendously gripping thriller (review below) and author Jack Jordan very kindly answered some questions for me. Here is what he had to tell me and thank you Jack – and for the giraffes.
Tell us a little about the inspiration behind “Anything For Her” – where did it start for you.
Most mothers will tell you that they would do anything to protect their child. When coming up with the plot for AFH, I wanted to explore just how far a mother would go to protect her child, and at what cost.
Did you set out to write a real page turner (which it most definitely is!) and how difficult is it to construct a fast paced but emotive story (which it also is!)
I write what I myself like to read: a book with cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter, short chapters to spur on that ‘just one more chapter’ nudge, and flawed characters that are loveable, hateable, and everything in between. Most of all: I like to be shocked, even disturbed. I like books that have a profound effect on me, that really make me think. I can only name a couple of books that have done that for me. I want to do that for my readers: thrill them, scare them, give them goosebumps and racing pulses, and have them remember my characters and the tale long after they have finished the book.
As for the emotive side of the book, I simply pour myself onto the pages: share memories, reflect on emotions that I once felt in similar situations, and use my imagination. When I get into a scene, everything else sort of zones out, and I’m so involved with the characters and the scene that I can feel myself getting angry along with my characters, or welling up with a heart-wrenching scene. Writing for me is an incredibly personal experience, which can be a wonderful experience, and a difficult one to share.
Favourite character to write?
Tough question! I have a soft spot for Louise. I enjoyed documenting her turmoil, her breakdown, her longing for escape from her responsibilities, guilt and pain. I like her so much in fact that, when I got my first round of feedback from readers, I was shocked to hear that not many people like her! I’ll defend her until the end, flaws and all.
Tell us a bit about you – what made you want to write, what are your main influences?
I have always loved reading and writing. However, I never thought I could make a career out of it, it just didn’t seem possible. When I was in a pretty dark period of my life, I suddenly had the time to write, and lots of emotions to express. I began writing a short story to pass the time, and when I finished, I had a novel over one hundred thousand words. I began an amateur, and finished a writer. My main influences are real experiences, real people, and real pain (I sound so happy and positive, don’t I?). Five years on, I have published Anything for Her, and I am writing my second thriller, My Girl, which will be published in 2016.
3 things you’d save from a burning building assuming all people were safe?
If at home, I would die inside trying to save my gigantic book collection! I could never choose just three books, so I’ll leave them out of it.
1) My laptop and all of my writing.
2) My white, fluffy dressing gown (it has a hood and everything – it’s the best robe around, I’m sure of it)
3) A pack of cigarettes, so I can smoke that oh-my-goodness-we-nearly-died-in-a-fire-what-about-my-f***ing-books cigarette.
A fictional character you’d love to meet in real life…
I would actually like to meet one of my own characters, Dominic Leighton. He is so innocent and kind, and I would like to see him grow up without hardening from life’s ups and downs, and see him be happy, despite his traumatising first decade.
One book you recommend to everyone…
For the scare-factor, it is Mo Hayder’s The Treatment, which is the most disturbing book I have ever read – I couldn’t think straight for weeks! It is by far her best book, and one I will never forget.
My Review:
Available Now: Source – Purchased copy.
Louise Leighton’s life has fallen apart, all because of one fateful night. Her husband is an adulterer, her sister is his mistress, and soon, Louise will lose everything she owns. But she never imagined she would lose her daughter.
Eighteen-year-old Brooke Leighton is missing. It’s up to Louise and the Metropolitan Police to find her. Has Brooke run away? Or has she been taken against her will? And can Louise aid the investigation without mentioning the night where all of her troubles began?
Anything For Her is an absolutely rip roaring page turner of a novel – a tense yet emotional thriller that is utterly gripping from the opening pages.
Louise and her daughter hide a devastating secret. In fact not a lot is going right in Louise’s life and yet things are about to get worse…
There are a lot of reasons why this one works SO well – great writing yes, but great characters who have a resonant depth to them, not always likeable (in fact hardly at all) but endlessly fascinating in their choices and outlook. On top of that some terrific storytelling, a twisted tale that never lets up and builds the tension throughout until you are completely on the edge of your seat.
It is hard hitting and unrelenting in places – not for the faint hearted – but the intricacies of the plot building, the character development and most of all the way it absorbs you into it so you simply cannot put it down until you know the outcome makes this one of the stand out thrillers of the year for me.
Highly Recommended.
Find out more here: http://www.jackjordanofficial.co.uk/
Follow Jack on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/_JackJordan_
Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anything-Her-Jack-Jordan-ebook/dp/B01065G8WW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Happy Reading Folks!
Great interview even greater sounding book 🙂