I’ve missed seeing Bernie Steadman at our usual get-together at CrimeFest this year so am delighted to welcome her here. Bernie is the author of The West Country Crime Mysteries (Bloodhound Books), a trilogy set in the city of Exeter and the surrounding Devon towns, coast and countryside.
Hi how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?
B: It’s very nice to be invited, thank you. I’ll have a dry gin with Fevertree tonic, much ice and a slice of lime. Under no circumstance must there be vegetables in my gin. Shall I bring two?
One of my own favourites so yes please! Where did we first meet in real life?
B: We met at Bristol CrimeFest, several years ago. Actually, we met in the bar at CrimeFest I seem to remember.
Always a good place to meet! First impressions?
B:I thought you were warm and welcoming, as I knew very few people, but you gave me your time, which was kind. Now, you’re a mate. You took me along to dinner one evening, and now we have a regular “girls’ night out” on the Friday of CrimeFest where seven or eight of us go for something to eat and a good old natter.
A highlight of the weekend. Points in common?
B: We both started writing a little later than some of our contemporaries, but have refused to be judged by that paltry detail! We both lean to the left of politics, love animals, and our families, and are determined to do what we want to do, when and how we want do it.
Sounds about right. Tell me about your latest book?
B: My last published book was Death on the Coast (Bloodhound Books), the last of a trilogy of police procedural crime books set in and around the Devon coast and Exeter. It deals with issues of revenge and betrayal, and rounded off the series, at least for now!
What are you working on now?
B: My next book, The Man She Couldn’t Trust is a standalone thriller set in Crete. It was a book shouting to be written, and the research was fun, too. No cover to reveal as yet, until edits are completed, but there will be more to follow over the summer, which is exciting! It will be published by Bloodhound Books in November 2020
B: Following that I have started a slightly “cosier” crime series which will be set in Lyme Regis, near where I live, and feature two women who run an art gallery and uncover fraud and other poor behaviour amongst the local populace. Lyme is a beautiful place, and will be almost a character in the books.
I shall look forward to that, as Lyme is one of my favourite places. We’ve missed book events under lockdown 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?
B: My dream panel would be at CrimeFest, with Kevin Wignall as moderator. He’s hilarious, and I like to have a laugh to conquer the old nerves. It would be around a sense of place in novels. Kate Atkinson with her “Jackson Brodie” hat on, mainly so I can bow a lot, Stuart McBride because his Scottish characters leap off the page and beat you round the head, Jane Harper because the sense of place in “The Dry” was handled superbly, and finally, Peter May, because I have read everything he has written and you cannot beat the Lewis Trilogy for bringing the Scottish Islands to life. I’d just sit there, that would be enough.
Sounds a perfect panel. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?
B: Well, I had to miss a holiday to Crete, so that could come back. It will be wonderful to see and cuddle my family again. I’ve missed them.
One thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?
B: Write a Will. Also, to do the things I really want to do, because we genuinely have no idea what’s coming next. Don’t put stuff off, do it!
B: Well that was thirsty work. Thank you so much for inviting me to the Cocktail Lounge, mine’s a large one!
A pleasure to see you here, Bernie – cheers!
You can follow Bernie on Twitter @BernieSteadman and find out more about her and her books here