Ian Patrick

Today I’m delighted to welcome Ian Patrick who, before becoming an author, spent 27 years in the Metropolitan Police. Rubicon, his debut novel currently in development with the BBC for a six part TV series, was followed by Stoned Love and he has  just published How the Wired Weep. Ian is also an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Scotland where he lives dividing his time between family, writing, reading and photography. 

Hi Ian how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

I: I’m so happy to be here, thank you. I don’t drink alcohol so I’ll have a mocktail please.

So where did we first meet in real life?

I: I believe it was at a book launch in London for Louise Voss and Mark Edwards. Jane Isaac brought me her guest and it was a great evening with a room full of writers. Many I then followed on Twitter. The energy in the room was addictive. It reinforced my belief that I was on the right path with my own writing.

Well, I’ll have to dispute that, Ian. We first met at BeaconLit when Jane was one of the panelists. However what were your first impressions?

I: You were very approachable, kind, and enthusiastic about my writing. I’d just started out and you agreed to read a draft of a novel that I’d written. I think it’s important to mention how that feedback went! Needless to say it was a bitter pill to swallow but as a result of your honesty, I wrote Rubicon. Criticism is hard to take but if you can’t take it and adapt then you will never know your best self. It was a valuable lesson and one I will never forget.

I must admit when I read Rubicon, I was amazed at how much your writing had improved and if my criticism helped in some small way to achieve that, I’m delighted! Points in common?

I: I know there’s a theory about six degrees of separation and this was evident when it transpired you are friends with family on my wife’s side. You also have an excellent series set in the 90s, when I was policing, so that was an enjoyable thing for me to help with advice for the first in the series.

Not just the first book, Ian and I really appreciate how quickly you respond to a query.Tell me about your latest book.

I: How the Wired Weep follows the paths of a detective called Ed and a Covert Human Intelligence Source (informant) called Ben. This book is very much a baby of mine. It’s taken two years for me to get it right and I’m very pleased with the result. It’s a fast paced dose of urban contemporary fiction. If your readers enjoyed the TV series The Wire or have read Richard Price’s Clockers, then they will enjoy How the Wired Weep. I like to get into the minds of both the detectives and the criminal when I write, as each brings a different perspective to the table.

I’m looking forward to reading this, Ian. What are you working on now?

I: At the moment I’m spinning plates! I have two novels in development both based in Scotland. One is very much a personal based drama story and the other more speculative fiction along the lines of The Hunger Games. I’m also developing a script for a short film.

A busy time. We’re all missing book events, so what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

I: I was very close to a dream panel at Newcastle Noir this year but sadly it was cancelled. To get an invite to appear at any festival is a privilege and I was very disappointed to miss this opportunity. As a wheelchair-user, festivals that promote inclusivity are very important to me. Newcastle Noir and Bloody Scotland are two inclusive festivals. I was at Bloody Scotland in 2018 on the main stage with Val McDermid and Denis Mina. Reading from Rubicon and the memory of that event, in front of 800 people, will always stay with me.

I: I would love to be on a Q&A panel with Margaret Attwood and Chuck Palahniuk chaired by Joe Rogan. It would be great to just sit and explore the craft of writing with these people and hear their take on the world. 

That’s a panel to aspire to! What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

I: This is a very interesting question because for me not a lot will change. I’ve been shielding for the entire time. I’m also listening to the science more than the government. I’m fortunate because we live in a very remote area of Scotland so live a pretty isolated lifestyle anyway but when tourism opens up again it will be interesting for me to see how things are and whether the R rate goes up.  

One thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

I: I’m a thinker; always have been. I like to be introspective and this period has been both a cathartic and challenging time. I have an incurable muscle condition but if you met me you’d never think I was vulnerable. I don’t consider myself so but nevertheless it wouldn’t do me any good to be laid up in bed as my muscle wouldn’t repair in the same way as most people’s.

I: It’s made me more aware of how precious life is and that we don’t have long to live a life of value. I write so people like myself who have times of struggle get a break from reality and can enter another world. I want to write more and support people in this way. Life really is what we make it and it’s very easy to lament what we don’t have rather than embrace and develop where we can and add value to others’ lives. 

I: Thank you so much for having me here and for all your support over the years. It’s very much appreciated. Ian x

Fabulous to catch up and good luck with all your projects, Ian.

You can find out more about Ian’s books here and follow him on Twitter @ipatrickauthor

Beverley Harvey

My guest today is Beverley Harvey who, like me, grew up on Enid Blyton.  Her career has spanned working as a receptionist, a PA, a PR, a media consultant, a copywriter and a dog walker – all roles which helped inspire her first two novels, Seeking Eden (2017) and Eden Interrupted (2019) published by Urbane Publications. Born in Yorkshire, but raised in Kent, Beverley has spent her adult life in London and the South East – until recently, when she and her partner moved to Chichester.

Hi Bev how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

B: Thank you, Anne. That’s very kind. I often love a vodka martini but as the weather’s so glorious I’ll take a chilled Sauvignon Blanc Blush, please. Will you join me?

I certainly will. So where did we first meet in real life?

B: At an Urbane drinks party in November 2016 at the Phoenix Arts Club, and happily a couple of times since then. I met so many wonderful Urbane authors that night and was completely awestruck to be surrounded by such talent.

That was a wonderful party. First impressions?

B: Big cheeky smile, deep, musical voice and lots of quite naughty laughter.  I thought: there’s a girl who knows how to enjoy herself! You were very welcoming to a then unpublished author. You and several others were so kind to me that night and it meant a great deal.

Naughty laughter? I wonder if that was a point in common?

B: There are others. In addition to both being published by Urbane and our mutual love of books, two words: South London! Before I “moved out” in 2007, I’d lived there most of my adult life. We also share a love of animals and have both been scarred by losing dogs we adored.

Yes we have but you have an adorable terrier now. I haven’t taken the plunge to adopt another canine friend. Unlike you I haven’t included a dog as a character in my books. How’s life on the book front in these strange times?

B: I’ve just celebrated the first birthday of Eden Interrupted, my second in a series that takes a wry look at family life on a prosperous, modern housing estate.

B: Plus I recently signed a two-book contract with Bookouture so I’m currently working across two psychological thrillers – editing one, whilst writing the other from scratch. It is a new experience for me, but I’m getting there. The first of these will publish in November 2020.

Congratulations. Looking forward to when we can enjoy festivals again, what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

B: I would love to be in a room with Louise Beech, Louise Candlish, Cara Hunter and Gillian Flynn to talk thrillers and the art of suspense and scaring people. I adore these authors and could learn so much from them. 

Fabulous choice. And what are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

B: Ah, that’s a no-brainer, Anne. Hugging my brother and sister. I haven’t seen either since early March and we’re a close family.

Hugs are so important aren’t they? I have just been able to join my daughter and her family in a “bubble” and the joy of being able to be with them is overwhelming. Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

B: I’ve realised just how much I enjoy my partner’s company and I marvel that we never run out of things to talk about. Friends and family are everything – the rest is just set dressing and easy to suspend for a while.

That’s lovely to hear, Bev.

B: Gosh, Anne, so lovely to chat over a drink, but we made short work of those. Must be my round. Same again?

Thank you, and thank you so much for joining me in the Cocktail Lounge.

You can find out more about Beverley Harvey here and follow her on Twitter @BevHarvey_

Lesley Lodge

Today my guest is Lesley Lodge, prize-winning short story writer and author of Lights, Camera, Gallop which combines her love of film and horses. Her first crime book, Wayland’s Revenge, is a historical novel set during the Siege of Colchester.

Lesley, welcome to my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

L: Let me think… I’ll have a Dark and Stormy please. Cheers!

So where did we first meet in real life?

L: In real life we met in the 1990s in East Dulwich, South London – so in both the time and the place of your Hannah Weybridge novels. I hope I haven’t inspired you in any criminal way…

That would be telling. What were your first impressions?

L: I thought what a welcoming person! I watched you take command of a meeting and realised you were someone who could judge characters well. I was soon to catch on to your creative side too.

We’ve known each other a long time so we must have quite a lot in common?

L: We had kids of the same age and journalism. I’d been a journalist for a Middle Eastern business magazine and at that time was cracking out articles on, well, housing regeneration. Actually, there is a very real connection between poor housing, Peckham and gangs. You were freelancing for all kinds of magazines and publications. We both had ambitions to write THE great novel, if only the kids would settle quietly…

What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

L: Well what I’ve missed most so far, in the writing world, is the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. Hopefully it will be revived in 2021.

I think you’ve been to Harrogate every year. I’ve never got there but we did both make it to CrimesFest which was fun. What would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

L: I’d love to get Don Winslow, Stephen King and Val McDermid together on a panel. They’re all fabulously enthralling writers – and they’ve all been clear [if I may be just a tiny bit political here] about the leaders who’ve not led us well on Coronavirus on either side of the Atlantic.

Oh be as political as you like and have another drink as you tell us about your latest book.

L: So Wayland’s Revenge is set in 1648, a time of bitter civil wars in England. Wayland, the village blacksmith, returns from army service to find his wife, Rebecca, murdered and his son traumatised. Wayland’s overpowering desire for revenge is thwarted by the collapse of laws and a dearth of clues to her sadistic killer.  Wayland sets out on a perilous journey to find the killer, taking with him his son Jonathan and Alun, a canny Welsh baker. But just as they find their first suspect, they are trapped in the brutal Siege of Colchester, facing ever more dangerous challenges. Wayland, Alun and Jonathan must draw on all their strengths, devise new strategies and make agonising decisions, if they are to stay alive and find the real killer before he strikes again. It’s out in paperback, kindle and audiobook.

I don’t read many historicals but I must say I was totally gripped by Wayland’s Revenge. What are you working on now?

L: My longer-term project is to write a sequel for Wayland’s Revenge. I think this one will be set in the dark, dank Fens in the seventeenth century.  Wayland might just get caught up as slave labour for Cromwell’s project to drain the fen. But in the meantime, I’m working on a memoir about my misadventures in the 1970s. I have a 320 page first draft of that so far.

Well editing that will keep you busy during lockdown! Is there anything this time of pandemic has made you think about or want to do?

L: Run outside waving my arms manically… And head for a train to London.

And I’ll be there to meet you for a real drink. Lesley, thank you for joining me today and please get on with the sequel to Wayland’s Revenge.

You can find out more about Lesley Lodge and her work hereand follow her on Twitter @LesleyLodge

Vicki Goldman

It’s a delight to welcome writer and journalist Vicki Goldman to the Cocktail Lounge. Last year the opening chapters of her Jewish-themed crime novel, The Redeemer, won her the accolade of first runner up in the Capital Crime New Voices Award.

Hi Vicky, how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

V: Hi Anne. Thank you so much for inviting me – it’s much more spacious than I expected. Many people who follow me on Twitter (or know me in the “real world”) will be aware that I am particularly partial to a shot (or two or three…) of Thunder Toffee Vodka. But I am currently staring into my sunny garden and realise that I fancy something more refreshing, such as a Pimms and Lemonade (with fruit and ice, of course). If your bar stocks are running low (because I know many people have been drinking more alcohol than usual during lockdown), my other usual drink is a vodka and orange.

Knowing you’d be here, I stocked up on Thunder Toffee Vodka! So where did we first meet in real life?

V: We first met at First Monday Crime, which takes place in London on the first Monday of each month with great author panels and socialising in the pub afterwards. I was possibly lurking in a corner somewhere and you possibly dragged me into a conversation to share our love of crime fiction!

First impressions?

V: You put me at ease straightaway. Since then we have had great chats at more First Monday events and also at book launches and festivals. It is always lovely to see you.

Funny isn’t it, I thought you were quite intimidating – not realising you are shy. Points in common?

V: We seem to have quite a lot in common, as we are both journalists and also love crime fiction (although you are published and I’m not there yet!). We often share a laugh on Twitter at some of the ridiculous press releases that arrive in our inboxes.

And we both had non-fiction books published by the same company. What are you working on now?

V: By day, I work as a journalist and editor, specialising in consumer health, writing for various magazines. I am also freelance health editor for Bupa, updating the consumer health information on the website. Around 18 months ago, my day job and the book world collided when I decided to use my skills and experience elsewhere. I now proofread fiction for Orenda books and I have edited memoir for Mirror Books – a welcome break from some of the heavy health writing topics.

V: I review books for LoveReading and I am writing crime fiction too. I was first runner up in the Capital Crime New Voices Award 2019 with the first chapters of my Jewish-themed crime novel, The Redeemer. I am currently writing something that is crime but also a little spooky, which is a set in a former prison. I am not that far in, but several people are giving me a kick (I mean, push) to get it written.

Love the idea of your WIP so get on with it! Sadly we have no “real life” book events at the moment but what would be your dream panel?

V: This is a hard one for me to answer as I have never been on a panel. But if I was on a panel right now, it would likely be as a moderator, which terrifies me a little (okay, far more than a little).

V: Thinking back to the First Monday events I have been to, I think a panel featuring Susi (SJI) Holliday, Steph Broadribb, Rod Reynolds and Chris Whitaker would be great fun and I would learn a lot as they are all talented writers. They would certainly put me at ease, though I am not sure that I would be able to control the direction (or content) of conversation at all!

Having been on two panels with Rod, I think you’re on to a winner there. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

V: Probably some “me” time (writing in solitude at home, wandering aimlessly around a bookshop or even just sitting in a park). I also can’t wait to meet up with some friends who don’t live nearby – this would usually be in central London (eg the Waterstones Piccadilly 5th floor bar), but sadly I can’t see that happening for a long while.

Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

V: I really appreciate what I do have here – my family (husband and two teenage sons) and some work to keep me busy (although I am always looking for more). I know others aren’t so fortunate. I also appreciate the support of my closest friends, who make me laugh when I’m feeling down or anxious and listen when I need to chat.

Well it was great to chat with you today, Vicki, and good luck with your WIP.

You can find out more about Vicky’s Editorial services here and follow her on Twitter: @VictoriaGoldma2

Death’s Silent Judgement – Blog Tour

10 May – If In Doubt Read  Review

11 May – Damp Pebbles – Review

11 May  – Linda’s Book Bag – The Challenges of Writing a Sequel

12 May – Off The Shelf Books – Best of Crime

13 May – The Quiet Knitter – My Inspiration for Death’s Silent Judgement

14 May – Liz Loves Books – 20 Questions

15 May – Anne Bonny Book Reviews – Review and Q&A

16 May – Crime Book Junkie – Guest Post on Minor Characters

17 May – Have Books Will Read – Review

18 May – Grab This Book – Q&A

19 May – By The letter Book Reviews – My Writing Day

Dancers in the Wind – Signing Session

signingsessionFinding new ways of promoting a book is difficult – how to make your book stand out among the thousands which are being published? Answers on a tweet please!

Signing sessions are an age-old standby, but I know from my days as a book publicist these can often be disappointing – unless you are a celebrity, of course. Nothing is more soul destroying than sitting in front of a pile of books and waiting…

However, ever the optimist, when a local hostelry, The Palmerston in East Dulwich, offered to host a signing session, I thought I’d give it a go. The venue is popular and on the main shopping street. Choosing the time between lunching and dining, we hoped to catch some passing trade. So posters displayed and social media alerted, I turned up on Saturday 29 October – the books had been sent on ahead by Urbane Publishers.

teamdancersThe staff were brilliant. We had been allocated a whole corner of the pub which gave the affair a party atmosphere and there was plenty of space for people to mingle and socialise.

My lovely daughter, Olivia, once again provided book cakes and, although in terms of numbers we didn’t break any records, the buzz of the occasion was exhilarating. Some people brought along copies they had already bought and were reading or had read. Others bought an extra copy for a parent or friend.

For me it was an absolute joy to chat about Dancers in the Wind, my characters, the themes and what was going to happen next with people who were interested and enthusiastic. Some people I knew, others I was meeting for the first time. One person surprised me by having checked me out on Goodreads and knew about my other books as well. How flattering is that?

Everyone had one question or another about the sequel. However there were no spoilers… You’ll find out how Hannah’s life progresses in Death’s Silent Judgement to be published in May 2017!

Dancers in the Wind is on sale in Foyles and other bookshops and can be ordered from Amazon UK or Hive Stores with free delivery.