Hi everyone, and
thanks to Pauline for inviting me along to Chill!
You know when
you reach a really low point, doubting your ability, whatever that ability
might be? In my case it was to survive as a crime writer in a very overcrowded
market, without the backing of a decent publisher. I am really rubbish at (and
embarrassed by) self-promo and I was seriously considering whether it was time
to slope off quietly and learn to knit. But then lovely blogger and on-line
friend Anne Williams (BeingAnne.com) suggested I submit Hostile Witness to
Chill with a Book for their verdict – which I did.
A couple of
weeks or so and lots of fingernail biting later, Pauline emailed the readers’
verdict – I’d been honoured with an Award! Cue huge sighs of relief and some
galumphing happy dances around the house, which was thankfully empty apart from
me. I realise it’s not the Nobel Prize for Literature – Bob Dylan has already
bagged that this year, even if he’s not planning to turn up to collect it in
person – but to me it is a valuable token of recognition that I’m not totally crap after all at putting words on
a page in a reasonable order that makes some sense. Sincere thanks to Pauline
and her readers for that little boost in self confidence, when very much
needed.
So….how did I come
to write crime? It’s not just that I have a warped mind – really. I spent a
great deal of time in my room as a child, living vicariously in my head and
trying not to be noticed. I read and read – from Enid Blyton up, through the complete
works of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, with a bit of Dennis Wheatley
thrown in, plus many more. And so the die was well and truly cast, to
paraphrase Suetonius. My young mind was seduced by the dastardly deeds and
convoluted plots so beloved of the genre, and when my field of expertise many
years later became serial killers, terrorists (especially suicide bombers and
black widows) and psychopaths generally, I was probably never going to write anything
that didn’t have blood seeping from the pages. Having said that, there is
always a romantic sub-plot to be found in my books amongst the corpses, because
we all have multiple strands to our lives.
When I’m not visualising
ever-more ghastly ways of killing off characters, I’m a wife and mother of four
strapping young men – but best of all, Granny Annie* to six. With three
daughters-in-law (I fear no one will ever take pity on #3 son) and three
granddaughters, I am gradually redressing the balance of being
gender-outnumbered. And I get to buy pink, even though I don’t like it that
much. Now, the OH and I are the only inhabitants of our large, falling-down
house in Norfolk, bought to accommodate the family all those years ago – but
since he’s away a lot for work and sometimes for extended periods, it’s often
just me. Second childhood, really!
Toodles
NP
*Nell Peters is
a nom de plume – my real name is Anne, with a double-barrelled surname that’s a
bit of a mouthful. So, I pinched my parents’ Christian names – et voila!
Thanks so much for having me, Pauline! x
ReplyDeleteHave I got this right? 5 men in your life? I'm not surprised you sometimes need an outlet for your murderous fantasies. gx
ReplyDeleteFabulous piece and always worth reading. Recommend Nell's books, always well written and enjoyable. :) Welcome here too.
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