Tell us a little about your current novel, what readers can expect from it..
This is a pretty difficult novel to talk about without revealing too much, but it was inspired by my love of true crime podcasts, and fascination with false confessions and wrongful convictions. After writing my previous novel FORGET ME NOT, which was very much focused on the fallout of a violent crime from the perspective of the family and friends of the victim, I found myself thinking about what it would be like on the other side. So, in INNOCENT OR GUILTY? the protagonist Olivia’s twin brother has been in prison for murder for the past ten years. She’s never once thought he was guilty of said murder, and so after years of trying on her own to get him a retrial, she starts to work with a well-known podcast called Shadow of a Doubt.
Academic or creative at school?
Bit of both/basically neither…I did do drama though, so I’d probably fall into the latter category.
First job you really wanted to do?
Vet! And then I realized you had to be good at science and believe me, I was very much Not Good At Science.
Do you remember the moment you first wanted to write?
I wrote all the time when I was younger – bad poetry, short stories, the opening to novels that would never get finished – but stopped completely in my late teens/early twenties. I didn’t take it up again until I was 26, when I basically challenged myself to write – and more importantly finish – a novel. And I haven’t stopped since.
Funniest or most embarrassing situation you’ve found yourself in?
Hmm, well there’s that time I fell down a man hole on Streatham High Road, or the time I fell in the Bosphorus in Istanbul…take your pick!
DIY expert or phone a friend?
Oh, definitely phone a friend. And by friend, I mean, Dad.
Sun worshipper or night owl?
Gah – I’m actually somewhere in the middle? I’m a natural night owl who is most productive in the mornings, so I’m currently trying to train myself to wake up earlier in order to get my best work done…it is not easy.
A book that had you in tears.
There are a few books I’ve read – and absolutely loved – where the overwhelming memory I have of them is sobbing throughout the ending. The Lovely Bones, the last Harry Potter, Kindred, A Little Life. But CITADEL by Kate Mosse is one of my most recent reads that’s done this – it’s part of her Languedoc trilogy and is largely set during the Second World War, with a focus on a group of women working within the French resistance in or near Carcassonne. It’s beautifully written, expertly researched, and incredibly emotional.
A book that made you laugh out loud.
If I want a book that makes me laugh, then I normally reach for a rom-com. Some recent favourites have been by Jen DeLuca, Christina Lauren, Ayisha Malik, and Mhairi McFarlane.
One piece of life advice you give everyone
I’m not sure I’ve ever given anyone life advice (I 100% do not believe myself qualified to do so), but the advice I think I need to hear most often is to get out of my own head, and get out of my own way. So, if you think that applies to you too, go ahead and give yourself permission to do so. Oh, and SSDGM 😊
Thank you!
You can purchase Innocent Or Guilty here
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Happy Reading!