[Interview] Sally Spedding

Crime and mystery author, Sally Spedding was born in Wales and trained in sculpture in Manchester and at St Martin's, in London.

She is also an award winning poet and short story writer.

Her books include the crime mystery novels, Wringland (Pan Macmillan, 2001); A Night With No Stars (Allison&Busby, 2005) and Come and Be Killed (Severn House, 2007) as well as the collection of crime short stories, Strangers Waiting (Bluechrome, 2008).

In this interview, Sally Spedding talks about her writing.

When did you start writing?

I began writing as a 10 year-old whilst staying with my Dutch grandparents in their amazing house on a mountainside in Wales, where the rows were constant. The tensions from leaving occupied Holland still very raw. I'd hide away in the attic and write and illustrate comic strips and stories, not fully understanding the tragedies they'd left behind.

I like blurring the edges between genres. Crime is too much of a pigeon-hole. I use horror, the supernatural (as I have experienced unbelievable things) and my first novel Wringland actually ended up being marketed as Sci-Fi.

Who is your target audience?

My target audience is me. I write to deal with what interests me, and to unpeel layer upon duplicitous layer to reach the truth.

I'm pleased to see a good many younger male readers at my gigs/talks etc. I am not writing for your archetypal over-60's female who live in Okehampton and enjoy 'cosy' crime. I want to stir things up. Give readers a fright.

Which writers influenced you most?

The late Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Pledge -- a brilliant study in obsession.

I prefer European writers to British ones (apart from Daphne du Maurier) especially Pierre Magnan, Philippe Claudel and Karin Fossum.

Have your own personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

Certainly, places I've been to have played an important part in the creation of the books and short stories. Wales, France, the Malvern Hills, the Highlands of Scotland and the eerie east coast of Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

I create the setting first, then decide who has already been, maybe died there/and who will risk everything by arriving there ...

How many books have you written so far?

• Wringland (Pan Macmillan, 2001). A vengeful spirit threatens the lives of those on Black Fen.
• Cloven (Pan Macmillan, 2003). Two lives from different centuries entwine in a chilling climax.
• A Night With No Stars (Allison&Busby, 2005). Lucy Mitchell should never have left London for rural Rhayader, but like evryone, she has a dream ...
• Prey Silence (Allison & Busby, 2006). Set in a backwater near Cahors in SW France, where a cruel veal farmer awaits the unwary young family from Surrey.
• Come and Be Killed (Severn House, 2007). Frankie Holt is the perfect carer, with murder on her mind ...
• Strangers Waiting (Bluechrome, 2008). My first collection of crime short stories, set mostly in France.

How did you decide you wanted to be published?

By accident more than design.

As an art student, I'd worked in an underground mushroom farm in the Peak District, where the crops were grown in dried pigs' blood. I'll never forget that smell. I wrote a short story based on this, and it won the Nottingham Festival's International Short Story Competition.

I was then approached by an agent who encouraged me to write a novel.

Do you write everyday?

I do. I also am a published and award-winning poet, and I find the necessary economy of words and the search for the one right word is a great way to hopefully avoid 'lazy' over-writing.

I write the first draft in longhand then begin editing when typing up. I start mid-morning and keep going. The best days are free from clutter. Very precious. I usually take the MS up to bed at night so I can take a look first thing in the morning.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

To get the structure and flow right. To edit and re-edit until -- well, does one ever reach perfection?

I deal with these concerns by working at them.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

The challenges are external.

The demands of agents/editors/ accountants for a product that will keep selling. I find this so different from the world I inhabited as a sculptor and illustrator.

What is your latest book about?

My latest finished book is set in rural Argyll in 1851 at the time of the Clearances. There are two main points of view and the alternating chapters reinforce this. It's gothic, there's horror, but like much of my work, it deals with betrayal.

I have just begun a part-historical thriller set near where I have a bolt-hole in the Pyrenees. Collaboration was rife during WWII and there are terrible secrets to be kept hidden ...

My agent is reading them now.

How did you choose a publisher for your latest published book? And, what advantages or disadvantages has this presented?

My latest published book resulted from the publisher at bluechrome seeing one of my short stories in the CWA's Best British Mysteries anthology (ed Maxim Jakubowski.) He asked to see more, and was very keen to make a collection.

He also published The Cool EP -- a really neat idea of three of us writers, in a unique format. Sadly, despite a promise, he forgot to enter the book for the CWA Short Story Award this year, and I found this frustrating to say the least.

Publishing is full of disappointments, but joy too.

Smaller publishers are more willing to take risks than the big outfits. I feel the future lies with them, and this gives me hope.

What was the hardest part of the work you put into the book?

I found getting the balance of themes right the hardest thing. It was crucial to have variety, but judging by the reviews, all seems well.

I enjoyed seeing these stories collated into a very handsome, creepy-looking book!

Because it's my first short story collection. Many of the stories have won awards, including the H. E. Bates Prize, but having them together in this way, adds, I feel to the impact.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

That my parents lived long enough to see my fist books get published.

Related books:

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Related articles:

• "Sally Spedding Interview", authortrek.com, August 2007.
• "[Interview] Rod Duncan, author of 'Backlash'", Conversations with Writers, June 13, 2007.

[Interview] Ed Lynskey

Ed Lynskey writes crime fiction stories and novels.

His books feature Private Investigator Frank Johnson and include the collection of short stories, Out of Town a Few Days (BooksForABuck, 2004) and the novels, The Dirt-Brown Derby (Mundania, 2006) and The Blue Cheer (Point Blank/Wildside Press, 2007).

Two more P.I. Frank Johnson titles, Pelham Fell Here (Mundania) and Troglodytes (Mundania) will be published in mid-2008 and 2009 respectively.

Lynskey is also the author of A Clear Path to Cross (Ramble House, 2008), a collection of P.I. Sharon Knowles short stories about the female private detective’s adventures; and The Quetzal Motel (Mundania, 2008), a science fiction novel featuring a family-run motel that has a pair of peculiar guests staying over, and how they rock a small town.

In this interview, Ed Lynskey talks about his concerns as a writer.

When did you start writing?

My writing long fiction seriously kicked off shortly after the Y2K scare in 2001. I’m not sure if there’s any correlation with the timing. Before the novels, I’d written short stuff like poems and stories for about twenty years and established a good “in-print” track record.

I made a bet with myself that I could evolve from writing poems and tackle something meatier like novels. To discover what venue of fiction I had any aptitude for, I wrote stories in several genres, including science fiction, literary, fantasy, horror, and mystery. Based on my sales and personal preferences, I then narrowed my scope to concentrate efforts on mystery with occasional forays into literary and science fiction. I’ve been satisfied with this approach.

Ninety-five percent of my creative fiction now is focused on mystery or crime fiction. John Lescroart has described my P.I. books as “Appalachian Noir”, though my recent settings have been rooted to Washington, D.C. and its environs.

Who is your target audience?

I try to incorporate the elements in my fiction that appeal to both male and female readers.

My motivation is pretty straightforward: to reach a broad-based readership since what I write is mainly commercial fiction.

Who has influenced you most?

I draw on different writers for different aspects I seek to fuse in my fiction.

For the noirish undertones, I admire such meisters as Ken Bruen, Allan Guthrie, and Megan Abbott. The literary voice I strive for is best exemplified by Ed Gorman, Ed Dee, and Steve Hamilton. Exemplary uses of modern rural people and atmosphere are offered by J.D. Rhoades, William Kent Krueger, and Bill Crider. The perfect-pitch ears for writing dialogue include Charlie Stella, Barbara D’Amato, Anne Frasier, and Jerry Healy. For exciting courtroom drama, I read John Lescroart and Linda Fairstein. Finally, for their sheer clarity of expression I cite Bill Pronzini and John Lutz.

That’s a bunch of names, but it defines the writing models I use to create my own long narratives.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I grew up in a small town in the rural foothills of Virginia, the singlemost factor influencing my early novels in terms of setting. Almost a decade ago, we relocated to live in a Virginia suburb outside Washington, D.C. and an urban/suburban setting has seeped into my latest projects. Why? I suppose we use whatever is at hand to create the fabric of fiction.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

One thing that obsesses me is “getting it right”, and I probably over-research different aspects, especially in my four detective books. The challenge is to weave the details and “local color” into a seamless narrative -- never an easy task. I strive to avoid information dumps.

Remember Ed Deming and his quality excellence issues so big at one time? He always stressed to improve your manufacturing processes. Writing fiction is like that to me. I’m not big on reading books on how to write, but I do like to see what other authors, past and present, are doing in their crime fiction and what areas I can improve in.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

For me, this is a two-bladed question.

On the one side, there’s the challenge to write a good book. Then the other side is selling, marketing, and promoting that book. Of the two, I’d say the promotional side is by far the most challenging.

Dealing with promotions, I use a day-to-day approach and don’t set unrealistic expectations.

Do you write everyday?

I’m sure everybody has their own rituals. Mine are pretty mundane and low-keyed.

I like to get an early jump in the morning before the sun even hits the streets. I use a spare bedroom and a bare-bones computer. First drafts are the most fun -- I get on the paddlewheel of days and finish the narrative.

My revision cycles take the longest to complete. The bloodletting goes on then -- when material gets added or cut.

I can tell I’m near the end when I begin to print out the drafts in hard copy to revise. By then, I’m pretty sick of the characters and the plot. I have to let them go.

How long did it take you to write Pelham Fell Here?

My currently published title is Pelham Fell Here (out from Mundania Press in June ’08).

Researching Pelham’s history, I see it took me six years to bring out. I also recall it’s the second book I ever wrote. The publisher, Mundania Press, published the first title, The Dirt-Brown Derby in the series which has found a niche market of readers.

The biggest difficulty I encountered was having to revise Pelham to bring it up to my current level of writing. My writing has evolved, especially over the past three years, and I wasn’t happy with the original manuscript. The revision took a ton of work, but I was happier with the final product.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

Pelham was a gas to write.

Creating a fictitious town called Pelham populated by characters made up from whole cloth was a liberating experience. It was like writing a biography of the town and lying through your teeth.

What sets the book apart from the others you've written?

Pelham is another title in the P.I. Frank Johnson series. What sets it apart from other P.I. books I’ve read is that the protagonist isn’t yet a professional detective. Frank gets involved in a murder and, out of necessity, is forced into the role of a detective to save his bacon.

By the end of Pelham, Frank Johnson comes to realize he’s a competent enough detective to make it into a professional career. I’d say Frank actually enjoys (if he ever cared to admit it) doing detective work and this exuberance is carried forward into the subsequent books covering his other cases.

What will your next book be about?

My work-in-progress, Skin the Game, is an urban noir set in Washington, D.C. that features a modern loan shark out to collect his money from a dodgy rocket engineer. The narrative is told from three points of view of different characters involved in the hustle.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Two things continue to amaze me, both from a personal standpoint. First, that I was ever able to sit down and write a novel. Second, that anybody wants or enjoys reading the books I’ve written. It’s been a thrilling and humbling experience.

[Interview] Sean Parker

Sean Parker's debut novel, Junkyard Dog (BeWriteBooks, 2007) has been described as "an explosive mix of raw power and brutal energy."

The novel, which is set in Manchester, is the first of a trilogy of crime fiction thrillers exploring the city's mean streets.

In a recent interview, Sean Parker spoke about his writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

My first job was as an engineer working in the nuclear power industry. At that time I used to read a lot of westerns, especially those by such quality authors as Paul Wellman, Will Henry and Louis L'Amour and, as time went on, I decided to write one of my own.

After completion, the manuscript went out to the genre publishers. I knew that very soon I would be taking up shelf space next to Louis.

The rejection slips began to land on the carpet with some regularity, accompanied by the words: "Unfortunately the manuscript is not suitable for our list, but you may well find another publisher who thinks differently, a list of whom you will find in the Writers' and Artists' Year Book."

Naively thinking that these letters were personal to me and me alone I persevered until finally, the penny dropped like a ship's anchor. Through the pain of realisation, I began to understand about indentation; justification; colons and semicolons et al.

At the same time, I was also writing some children's stories for my two daughters, which involved them and their pet rabbit Snowy. Fortunately, their school found them good enough to print for the other kids. Unfortunately, I overfed Snowy and one morning I found him dead in his cage. The hire of a JCB was necessary to get him out and give him a decent burial, under a rose bush in the back garden.

I then switched careers and went into financial services with a major U.K. life assurance company. I now began to take up the business of writing very seriously. A year later I sent a manuscript for a non-fiction book on training and fitness to the publishers Foulsham & Foulsham. It arrived on their desk on a Friday morning. On Monday morning the M.D. telephoned and within twenty minutes the deal was done.

I told my wife we were on our way up; a year later she died of cancer.

How would you describe your writing?

Peter Walsh, the best selling author of Gang War, a definitive non-fiction history of the Manchester gangs, has endorsed Junkyard Dog by saying: "The Junkyard Dog is as close to real life as it gets."

Manchester can be a scary place and I'd like to think that my novel depicts the urban brutality hidden under the surface. I see the 'Dog' as a Mancunian, Long Good Friday.

What motivated you to start writing in this genre?

Being very independent, I tend to do what I believe is right, instinctively, on occasions and on the assumption that if others are telling me what to do, then I am leading their life and not my own. So, influences are very few.

However, on the discovery of a novel by Tom Barling called The Smoke, I was instantly hooked on crime fiction.

I told Tom that I was going to write a novel about modern day criminals in London.

He replied: "Come on, Sean. Don't tell me that Manchester is so crime-free you have to invade my territory. Get lost."

I got the message.

Bernard Cornwell who, after learning about my writing ambitions, very kindly gave me the name of his agent. What a gentleman.

Another influence was the author Derek Raymond. We once went out for a drink, a fatal mistake on my part. I finished up plastered, chewing on a beer-stained carpet but still trying to pick his brains. Another gent.

Also, there is a club in Manchester, which, for the last fifty years, has been at the forefront in providing training facilities for those with an interest in amateur wrestling and boxing, along with the teaching of general fitness. The founder of this club was Max Shacklady. The place was, and still is, known as Shacklady's. Max was for nearly twenty years the coach to the Olympic boxing team. His son, Tony, won a silver medal in the wrestling event in the New Zealand Commonwealth Games. Word spread about the club and one day the famous Joe Louis turned up to meet Max.

Max was also a Magistrate and his idea of justice was to sentence all young offenders to attend his club for two months of intensive training. Not many dared re-offend.

Because of its growing reputation, Shacklady's had begun to attract many of Manchester's bouncers and doormen who realised that keeping fit was a big help in staving off a spell in traction. I got to know many of them and have used this 'inside' information as the basis for the 'Dog'. And no, I do not know where the bodies are buried, honest.

What are your main concerns as a writer, and how do you deal with them?

I don't have any. I just write, and then re-write until I'm happy with it.

As a writer there is, initially, only one challenge to overcome; that of getting the book published. If you are not able to produce the best you are capable of then you're never going to be in with a chance.

How many books have you written so far, and what writing plans do you have for the future?

The Complete Training Diary was a non-fiction book published by Foulsham. It was designed to help those who did some kind of exercise every day to accurately record it so as to keep an ongoing record and therefore assess one's progress along the way.

Junkyard Dog is a crime fiction thriller published by BeWrite Books. As for the future, the second novel, which is complete, involves the same characters and is called Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie.

The last in the trilogy is about a cousin of Charlie and Burnett. Jack Mitchell is another Gypsy head case that, on the odd occasion, enlists the help of the Manchester mob in sorting out the opposition. It's at the halfway stage so I don't have a clue about the ending, other than that it will be an intriguingly explosive one.

What would be your advice to aspiring authors?

If I can help anybody I will.

The first thing is to ask yourself the reason why you are writing. If the answer is not money, then you'll be forever seeking assurances from family and friends about your masterpiece. They will tell you it's fantastic, and your chest will still be puffed up with pride when you're six feet under.

So, you're writing for money. Now you have to do whatever it takes to get there. Learn your trade. Write to authors that have a similar style to that which you are trying to achieve. Many will not reply, but from those that do, take their advice on board. You don't have to use it, but somewhere along the line it will all begin to click into place.

Is it true that all publishers have readers who go through the slush pile?

If they don't like the first line, the MS is rejected. Same thing happens again if they don't like the first paragraph; first chapter; or first line of the second chapter. So what does that tell you?

Now have a look at the "The Ten Deadly Sins" from Elmore Leonard:

1. Never open a book with the weather. Unless it's needed to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather. Don't go on too long because the reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people.
   
2. Avoid prologues. They can be annoying, especially if they come after an introduction that comes after a foreword.
   
3. Never use a verb other than said to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied.
   
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb said. Example, "He admonished gravely." To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange.
   
5. Keep your exclamation marks under control. You are not allowed more that two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
   
6. Never use the words suddenly or all hell broke loose. Writers who use suddenly tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation marks.
   
7. Use regional dialects, patois, sparingly. Once you start spelling words in dialogue phonetically and loading the page with apostrophes, you won't be able to stop.
   
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. A simple reference can tell the reader everything there is to know about the character.
   
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things. Too much description can bring the action and the flow of the story to a standstill.
   
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Readers will skip thick paragraphs of prose, all the writer is doing is taking another shot at the weather, or going into the characters head. The reader either knows what the guy's thinking, or doesn't care.
    

The most important rule is one that sums up all ten. If it sounds like writing, rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. You cannot allow what you learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.

I prefer to remain invisible, not to distract the reader from the story with obvious writing. Words can get in the way of what you want to say.

Write scenes from the point of view of character that has the best view to bring the scene to life, that way you are able to concentrate on the voices of the characters telling you who they are and how they feel about what they see and what's going on. You, should be nowhere in sight.

And finally, for now anyway, some advice from me. Never use a word that is not needed; or a sentence; or a paragraph or a chapter. Take it all in and turn out the best work you are capable of. Rewrite it, and then cut, cut and cut again.