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Transcription of Podcast Episode #13 with Theresa Talbot

February 21, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Full Transcription of Podcast Episode #13 with Theresa Talbot

Theresa Talbot author of Keep Her Silent

 

Paul:                            00:00:00          Hello and welcome to the crime fiction lounge. You’re listening to the first episode of 2019, so Happy New Year to you. In this episode, episode 13,  we’ll be talking to Theresa Talbot about her book, “Keep Her Silent”

Intro:                           00:00:18          Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you the Crime Fiction Lounge, the place for crime fiction lovers. Sit back, relax and unwind, while you listen to some of your favourite crime fiction and thriller authors, and here’s your host, Paul Stretton- Stephens

Paul:                            00:00:43          In this episode, I’ll be chatting with Theresa Talbot about her latest thriller, Keep Her Silent. Keep Her Silent is the second book in the Oonagh O’neil Series, which again is set in Glasgow and it’s based on the contaminated blood scandal of years gone by, one of the biggest tragedies in the history of the NHS, and for those not in the UK, that is the UK National Health Service. Theresa is also known as a BBC Radio Scotland presenter, and best known as the voice of traffic and travel as well as the presenter of the Beech Grove Potting Shed.

Paul:                            00:01:11          Theresa studied economic history at Glasgow University and after graduating tried numerous careers including library assistant and Pepsi Challenge Girl, before an eavesdropped conversation on the 66 bus, led her into a career in radio. I invite you to relax and listen to this intriguing podcast episode. Enjoy.

Paul:                            00:01:27          Hi Teresa. Welcome to the Crime Fiction Lounge. How are you today?

Theresa:                       00:01:39          Oh, Hello Paul. I’m fine, Thank you. Thank you so much for inviting me along.

Paul:                            00:01:44          No, you’re welcome. It’s good to have you here.

Theresa:                       00:01:47          Thank you.

Paul:                            00:01:48          Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your background, who you are?

Theresa:                       00:01:55          Well, I’m a crime writer and I do have a day job because I think most writers do have day jobs. So I’m a broadcast journalist and I work for BBC Radio Scotland, I’m freelance and I’ve been doing that for about 15 years I think, with the BBC, but my first love is crime, so I’m a crime writer and my books are mainly based in Glasgow, so Glasgow crime

Paul:                            00:02:21          And that’s where you are is it. Glasgow?

Theresa:                       00:02:23          Yeah, I’m based. I’m based in Glasgow. So it just seemed natural, to set the books in Glasgow because I love the city so much and funny enough, I was talking to and being interviewed by a journalist last night and she was asking about the setting of novels. Do they almost become characters in themselves and I think, that’s true, you know, the city of Glasgow almost is as much a character as the characters in the books, Ian Rankin uses Edinburgh, for Rebus and, and I don’t think Rebus could be set anywhere else other than Edinburgh, but my books, my main characters, a female journalist called Oonagh O Neil and I don’t think it Oonagh could be anywhere other than Glasgow. It’s just such a particular. It just seems so particular to the books.

Paul:                            00:03:20          What do you do in your spare time?

Theresa:                       00:03:22          Oh crikey, what time! I like to travel, if I can, I’m having to rein that in a bit. just now because I have some deadlines to meet, I love to garden looking out in the garden. Yoga, now I’m putting myself to shame now because I’m naming all the things I love to do and I haven’t had a chance to do them for a while. I don’t do yoga as much. I love hill walking. So really being fit. I love making soups, soups, my thing. I make loads of soup and I used to keep chickens. I used to keep hens, ex-battery rescue hens. But at the moment I live in a hen free house so I don’t have any hens just now. So basically keeping fit, being out and about listening to music and of course reading, readings by my big thing.

Paul:                            00:04:17          When did you start writing and why?

Theresa:                       00:04:22          That’s a difficult one because, because of the job I do, I’m a broadcast journalist so I’m either reading the news or I read traffic reports, or I write the news. So I’d been writing every day of my professional life for 25 years and I think a lot of journalists then do go into crime writing But I remember years ago as a child, I didn’t write a lot as a child, but I loved telling stories. And for me, I can’t remember when I stopped telling the stories and started writing them down, it just seemed to naturally merge into each other. So I’ve been writing as long as I can remember and didn’t really know what I wanted to write. I would write little vignettes, little snippets of stories. Never really, I can’t even call it a short story because, I absolutely admire people who write short stories. I find them the hardest things to do. And being a journalist and looking at so much true crime and real-life stories coming through court reporting and seeing some of the things that happened in real life, crime writing just seemed to be the natural progression. So as I say, I write a lot anyway, are they every day of my professional life. And then I had written, gardening articles for gardening magazines. So I’m writing fiction just seem to be the next stage. So I can’t actually remember when I started

Paul:                            00:05:58          Okay. And which writers particularly inspire you?

Theresa:                       00:06:04          The main one that inspired me to be a crime writer was another Glasgow crime writer called Denise Mina and I read her first book Garnet Hill and that was set in Glasgow. That was the first time a crime book really spoke to me and I could relate to the places I knew the streets she was talking about. I could identify with the characters they were, you know, working-class Glaswegian characters. And I thought, crikey, she’s talking about people I know she’s writing about events I can relate to. I mean some of the murder and mayhem no I couldn’t relate to it, but I could, I could visualise it and I could visualise the setting and I thought, wow, this is, this is something I’d like to do. So, so from that point of view, Denise really inspired me. And then when I met Denise, she was so, so encouraging to other crime writers. I love Douglas Skelton and he’s another Scottish crime writer. He is Glaswegian but he’s moved to the dark south of Ayrshire, he’s thirty miles south now, but also, John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, I loved that book and I love the Magos. I love the Brontes, Dickens, you know, really. I have such an eclectic taste when it comes to writing, or reading, I love them.

Paul:                            00:07:33          I talk to a lot of authors with the podcast. It’s interesting where you’ve chosen Glasgow. Glasgow is the setting of people can relate to that. That’s quite powerful. Whereas other writers decided to have a fictitious town or a fictitious city based on something

Theresa:                       00:07:53          That’s such an interesting question and I admire writers that can do that, but there’s such a rich seam of real towns, places, cities, villages. I always think why would you make something up? But I do admire the fact that they can make it up because it seems like a lot of hard work to make up a fictitious town when there is such a rich seam to choose from and to me, I think even the ones that do have fictitious places that they’re based on real places. Now when I read the Magos by John Fowles, I’m going to get this wrong. I think it’s it in Spetses , which is a Greek island, and he calls it Phraxos or it really Phraxos and he calls it Spetses, I can’t remember it, it’s based, he’s used a fictitious name, but it was inspired by his time as an English teacher over on the Greek Islands and I didn’t know this at the time I’d never heard of John Fowles, reading the Magos was my first foray into his works and this is years and years ago and I was going on a holiday to Greece at the time and we went across over a few islands and just random, it wasn’t planned.

Theresa:                       00:09:17          We didn’t know which islands we were going to go to .and I was reading a section of the Magos, reading a chapter and it was set on a boys’ school on this little island, I’m sitting on the beach. The beach was deserted. It was a tiny, wee island with hardly anything on it. And I looked across and thought that building over there is almost identical to what I’m reading, the description of the boys school. And it was a government building or a council building or something. And , it turned out it was the same place, the exact same place and nothing had changed, he’d written this, you know, 50 years previous and I’ve walked down the road, it described the bakery was still there, the bakery been there for 100 years and the little bakery making it’s own bread, and I thought, oh my goodness, what are the chances of me being on that island, reading that exact chapter, and it was just a book that my friend had given me the night before.I left to go on holidays this year. You might like this it’s set in Greece, Greece. I thought, wow, you know, Paul, that has resonated. It’s always been one of my favorite books and I don’t know whether it’s because of the story or because it resonated so much with me, but the Magos has just always struck a cord with me. And so yeah, he did use a fictitious place. It was very much based on, on real life. I do admire writers that go to all that trouble to make stuff up when you can just go out and copy what’s on your high st

Paul:                            00:10:47          I suppose it gives you artistic licence

Theresa:                       00:10:52          Yeah, I mean, the books that I’m writing, I my main character Oonagh, she works at a radio and television station. No, it’s not the BBC, but I’ve made it in the West End of Glasgow so I can have a bit of poetic licence, bit of dramatic licence, but a chap I know messaged me and said, I don’t actually know this chap, he is a reader. And he emailed me and said, you do know that there’s no production office at the end of Byres Road where you described your, your main protagonists going and I’m thinking, I made that up, it’s a book. Glasgow is real but I’ve put in fictitious, you know, a production studio and made a fictitious office so you can, you know, tweak it slightly. But I think he was adhearing so strongly to it that he was quite cross. I didn’t want to use office or an existing a radio station in case they came back and said, oh my goodness that’s me you’re writing about.

Theresa:                       00:11:59          So I thought it was okay to invent the radio station, he came back saying oh no there is no such radio station and I messaged him back saying yeah, I used a bit of dramatic licence, but everything else is true.

Paul:                            00:12:19          What makes you decide on the issues you tackle in your books?

Theresa:                       00:12:19          Well, the first one, it was almost by accident rather than design and the Lost Children is based on the Magdalene Institutions. For anyone that doesn’t know about the Magdalene Institutions, it’s easy to find out you can google them and there’s just a wealth of information on the Internet and basically they were homes were so-called fallen women or unmarried, mothers were incarcerated and it was but all different, all different reasons and they’re mainly associated with Ireland but I found out there had been one in Glasgow and it closed down in 1958 and I thought, oh that’s interesting. So I started looking into the history of it because I’m born and bred in Glasgow.

Theresa:                       00:13:03          I’ve never heard of this before, and my parents were still alive at the time and I’d ask them and my parents were from Ireland, but they’ve lived in Glasgow for years and my mother said, oh yeah, yeah, I remember there was a Magdalene Institution here, and I thought was just the oddest things that yeah, it was before my time, but it was, it was still fairly recent history in 1958. And asking friends and you know, various, you know, colleagues, very, very few people had known about it and it turns out that it closed in 1958 after the girls staged a riot, it was more like a breakout. And I thought, okay, he bought what caused them to do that, that, that institution had been standing there in one form or another had existed for over 100 years. What happened that night? They just said enough is enough.

Theresa:                       00:13:57          So I started writing a bit of a narrative around that, initially intending for it to be maybe a short radio item, a five minute piece. And, thankfully for me, it wasn’t accepted as the production team that I handed it to said there’s no appetite for this now. So I turned it into a book and then the more I looked into it, the more, the bigger the issue grew in the looked into it and thought, do you know something? This is a crime. What happened to these women was criminal, and it’s deplorable that within our lifetime people were being treated like this, someone had asked me if it was a feminist issue and I said no, certainly not because this was during a time where, you know, men could be chemically castrated for being gay and it was just a different time, but I couldn’t write about all the ills of the world.

Theresa:                       00:14:53          This was just the one that I that I picked up on I’m really interested in crimes that are committed by society where, the establishment is, you know, kind of colludes, because it was criminal, these women were put away without any trial, nothing, they hadn’t done anything wrong, they just didn’t fit in. So that’s, how the Lost Children grew and then Keep Her Silent, is the follow on book and that’s based on the tainted blood scandal and again, the tainted blood or contaminated blood, listeners you can google contaminated blood scandal in the UK and find out so much more than I could tell you just now but basically haemophiliacs and others needing blood transfusion or blood products were infected by contaminated blood and at the time in the seventies and eighties, it was just thought it was a bit of a raw deal

Theresa:                       00:15:55          It was just a bad story for days because the health checks were not the same, we didn’t know to heat treat blood products and blah, blah blah. But as it’s transpired, the pharmaceutical companies knew that the blood was contaminated and again, there’s never been any criminal convictions. That to me, again, that’s a crime and Sir Robert Winston described it as one of the biggest tragedies in the history of the NHS and I thought, you know you’ve got someone as respected as Sir Robert Winston saying this and yet still it’s not a crime. It’s not. There’s been no criminal activity but people have died. Lives had been ruined and the people infected have Hep C or HIV and these were people whose kids were thrown out of school because of this fear and social stigma, who lost their jobs , who were run out villages

Theresa:                       00:16:53          Some. I’ve spoken to people who ended up homeless, destitute. I’m thinking, crikey, this is, this is deplorable, and yet nothing’s really ever been done about it. So to me that’s, I’m not saying it’s a worse crime than someone being murdered or whatever, but you know, with a typical crime like a murder, it’s investigated by the police and hopefully someone’s caught and brought to justice. But these kinds of social claims, no one will ever be brought to justice for this. No one will ever be jailed in this country for the contaminated blood scandal. And I don’t know, I just think you giving it the setting of a crime book, if maybe not a typical crime it’s, but that to me was, you know, it was important to get these issues out there.

Paul:                            00:17:51          Yeah, yeah. I mean the big issues. So what kind of research do you do and how long do you spend researching?

Theresa:                       00:17:59          A lot longer than it took me to try and get the Skype set up Oh goodness, well the Magdalen institutions, that I’d written that book quite a long time ago then just buried it and brought it out and we edited it because I didn’t know what to do with it when I first wrote it about 15 years ago. And I found myself getting really, really wrapped. Mainly the research I did, I’ve spent half my life in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, which is one of the biggest reference libraries in Europe. So we’re so lucky to have that on our doorstep. And they’ve got something called the Glasgow rooms so they have so much, so much archive and information going back years. And I also looked into because I didn’t, I wanted to tweak it slightly because the Glasgow Magdalen strangely enough when I found out it actually wasn’t owned by the Catholic Church and it wasn’t run by nuns and a few on the mainland were but that was mainly an Irish anomaly that it was run by nuns and run by the Catholic Church. So I was quite surprised to find that. But there was still a lot of church involvement, whether it be Presbyterian, Church of Scotland or wherever, so I did a lot of research as well into the way women are treated by the mental health industry, is that the right word? profession, so I looked at a lot of interviews with people who have been incarcerated for fairly minor, generally hysteria, things that just wouldn’t be deemed mental health issues now, certainly not enough to lock someone up without limit of time. The tainted blood/ contaminated blood for research for Keep Her Silent, I got friendly with a chap who’d been infected. He was infected when he was seven. He is now in his fifties and I spent a lot of time with him. He gave him a lot of his information and told me where to find the information as well because what I did want to be aware is that I’m writing or making a documentary. I’m not writing a factual book, I’m writing a crime book and it is a piece of fiction. So I had to make sure that I knew what research not to use as well. And it’s tempting to include every piece of research.

Paul:                            00:20:31          There must have been tons of information for you?

Theresa:                       00:20:36          They was too much and, and really I could have written like five books on each, but I have to be aware as well that my obligation as a writer is to tell a story and it’s a piece of fiction and yeah, there’s a huge responsibility to get the facts right, of course, but it’s not an essay and it’s not a lecture and it’s not to tell the reader what’s right or wrong. It’s to put it out there as a story and let the reader decide for themselves what they think. But what I do find is with huge issues like this, tieing it in with fiction, it’s so powerful. I write the news, I read the new, we can all listen to news bulletins, we can all read news stories and, and it almost gets it, you know, even the most horrific horror stories in the news.

Theresa:                       00:21:34          The next week they’ll be something to surpass that, there will be another horrific story, but with a piece of fiction, a reader is investing in a character and that are attaching to character and they will come away with a huge amount of sympathy and a huge amount of empathy for that character and the situation, and I think in some ways fiction can hit home more than a factual news item. Have you ever left the cinema thinking WOW. And it can be about an issue that you hadn’t really been aware of before. And you think wow that’s really hit home. So hopefully I’m not in business to browbeat readers and say, right, this is a terrible issue, you must pay attention. But within the storyline if they can have empathy for that character and I think this is wrong, this should not have happened then, you know, that’s it. Yeah, you’re right. There’s so much information I couldn’t possibly use it all.

Paul:                            00:22:42          Both of your books feature the same main character. Oona O’neil?

Theresa:                       00:22:44          Yes

Paul:                            00:22:45          Yeah. Could you tell our listeners who have yet to discover your writing? Can you describe the main protagonists?

Theresa:                       00:22:51          Well, physically, strangely enough, I described her physically in the very first book and I now wish I hadn’t, but I was fairly new to writing and that description, never came out and I wish the book was being edited now. I would like the, the physical description of Oona. It’s just that she has dark brown hair, and blue eyes and she’s fairly smallish, quite Irish looking. and I wish now I hadn’t, I wish I’d allowed the reader to decide for themselves what Oona looked like, but character wise she is a television journalist. She started off as a bit of a media darling. She was, she’s quite a popular TV journalists, but for popularity is waning and she’s getting a slightly older and she’s been a bit more maverick and she’s not toeing the line. The media is a very, very fickle world and rather than kind of keep her up there in the limelight, I’m giving her a lot of challenges where she’s realising that this isn’t a job for life.

Theresa:                       00:24:00          There’s younger people coming in much, much cheaper. And that’s the way it is the media. Character-wise she has loads of flaws and that was very important to me. I didn’t want to write a superwoman. I didn’t want to write someone who can jump into a helicopter and put the world to rights. I wanted a flesh and blood character. She doesn’t have a lot of money worries, she’s fairly well off. So that was something as well. I thought, you know, something, I wanted to give her a fairly decent life. I wanted her challenges to be something else. I didn’t want her to be worrying about money and I wanted her challenges to bore slightly deeper within. So she’s got a, she’s got a decent job, but the more we uncover, about Oona we realise she doesn’t really have a lot of real friends.

Theresa:                       00:24:50          She’s getting to a stage in her life and she’s looking back and thinking she doesn’t have as many real friends as she should have at this age if she had maybe a more normal job. And although on the surface, she looks quite nice and sweet. She has her flaws, but she’s really got razor-sharp tongue, but she always sticks up for the underdog always. And that gets into a lot of trouble. She tries to keep on the right side of the law, and doesn’t do anything deliberately illegal, but she may bend the rules slightly but her saving grace is she always sticks up for the underdog. But she drinks too much Paul. She drinks, she drinks far too much and that gets her into trouble as well. So yeah, she, she, I like to think that she is a bit of flesh and blood character with flaws.

Theresa:                       00:25:46          I feel that as a female character. I don’t know if people are as forgiving, with the flaws, you know, we can have. There’s a lot of male protagonists and they can be really, you know, they can be drunk, they can be knocking the furniture over, they can be a bit aggressive and it’s so that’s what he is like. Female characters, if they have a bit of chaos going on in their lives, people and readers can sometimes be a bit taken aback by that. But so far I’ve had a lot of positive response and that’s, that, that’s been good, and I think it is because she’s quite natural and she makes mistakes, but she knows her mistakes and she does try. She’ll pick fights with the bullies rather than someone under her So I think that’s her saving grace, that will get her out of a lot of scapes.

Paul:                            00:26:45          What about the other protagonist? DI Alec Davis? What, is he like?

Theresa:                       00:26:49          Oh, well I’ve never described him physically and I’m glad I haven’t now, because I like when readers contact me and if there’s anyone listening that has read him I’d like them to contact me and let me know what they think about him, I think I said he had a blue anorak on one day. So that’s fine. I can say what his jacket looks like, but I don’t know what he looks like. And he started off, he was quite grumpy and I’d only actually intended him to be in the initial couple of chapters and he grew on me. I now wish I hadn’t made him so grumpy, because I really like him now and he’s straight down the line. There’s no, there’s no messing with him. And again, you don’t see him, he doesn’t beat anyone up or although he can be really tempted. I’m in the middle of book three and he’s really tempted now Paul and I don’t know if I can stop him because he’s quite angry about something. You don’t see him kind of wading in and fighting and he kind of sticks to the letter of the law. And and he’s, just an ordinary copper and he’s just going about his business. There’s no, you know, there’s no mad helicopter chases, theres no mad car chases. He kind of plods along, but he gets the job done. I think he’s got a wee fancy for Oona, I definitely think it’s a soft spot for her.

Theresa:                       00:28:21          She may have left it too late Paul! He’s just a nice character and he and Oona go back they were friends a long time ago and they are friends now and he kind of lets us have little bits of information, but that does happen with the police and journalists. Police and journalists work together a lot, lot more than the public would believe they do. The ones that they trust and the ones they know that they can trust the information to put out there in a sensible way. So yeah. So Alex Davis, as I say, is a bit grumpy, um, but he’s sort of a bit tired, tired of life, but not always something that will make him laugh, but he’s quite a straight guy.

Paul:                            00:29:13          A lot of writers say a good villain can be hard to write. But in your case you’ve got like society, you’ve got an organization. How did you find that?

Theresa:                       00:29:25          The thing was with me and my writing and this made me quite and still does make me quite insecure and anxious that talking to other most other writers will find insecurities and angst about some things. I think I am in ok company, and I do have any Glasgow hardman, I don’t really have a villain. Well, there was a bit of a villain in the first one, but I took care of him. but I don’t have the Glasgow hardmen, I don’t have the gangsters, I don’t have the baddies with the black hats coming in and, you know, knocking the place about and so as you say it, society and it really is society they we have to look at and think why are you allowing this to happen? But it’s not, you know, and it’s, it’s easy to look at a villain and think, right, he’s the baddy.

Theresa:                       00:30:15          But when it’s society it’s as if we are all colluding and I am a journalist and with the contaminated blood scandal, I’ve read stories about the contaminated blood scandal. I’ve never written them but I’ve certainly read them and they’ve maybe been forced down in a news bulletin. And yeah, it’s just been another story, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m ashamed I didn’t know more about it, but I’m, I’m going to be quite open about saying it and it was only when I started looking into it and I’m thinking, why was that allowed to happen? But I have to be, I have to hold myself responsible as well. Why did, why did we all allow those things to happen? And there’s terrible things, you know, Grenfell Tower should never have been allowed to happen, but who’s responsible and when you have to have a public enquiry because there’s not one person to blame and that you can’t say you’re the one at fault. And if we do something about you, we can stop this happening again. Well there has been a public enquiry, that will cost five times as much as it would have to put, you know, a decent cladding on a building that wouldn’t have resulted in 72 people dying. You think, wow, why are we allowing this to happen all the time? And so that’s why society is I think on the whole people are very, very good. I think there are more good people than bad people. But I think our world is so big that we find it hard to stop bad things happening on a social level because when the world was a little village, when our world was a village. People were held accountable, but now, we don’t know who’s responsible. It could be big business, it could be corporate.

Theresa:                       00:32:10          I worked for one freelance, I worked for the BBC, that’s a huge corporation. I mean look at Jimmy Saville, you know, I’m not certain. It’s not that I’m in a cottage industry and I’m thinking I’m okay and you know, I’m, part of we’re all part of something and it’s really, really difficult. And you find, oh, that company may have been responsible for that terrible tragedy. Oh, but then that politician, actually, his wife owns part of that company and there’s this huge spiders web. We cannot see a clear picture of who’s responsible anymore. So we have this collective responsibility that it’s like, well that’s terrible, but what can we do about it? And the truth is, that sounds really defeatist, but I don’t know. I don’t know what we can do about it

Theresa:                       00:33:02          I’m sure you know, next year there’ll be another, maybe not another Grenfell, but something similar. There’ll be another, contaminated blood, maybe not. That will be some other medical negligence of huge proportions. The Magdalene Institution that may not happen again with women. Is it happening with refugees and children? I have no idea. You know, so in 50 year’s time will someone be looking back and writing fiction around this and thinking, wow, how was that allowed to happen. So yeah, writing the rating the villain as a society, as being the villain. It’s, I’m careful as well, not to try and make it a black and white thing, a goody and a baddy because, you know, it’s, too easy to say that big business, blah, blah blah. Or the church aren’t they bad because they do so much good. And with the pharmaceutical industry, you know, it’s, there are so many great breakthroughs and medicine and you don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but certainly it would do, us all good just to sit up and be aware of what can happen

Paul:                            00:34:16          I think it is good coming through in fiction like you said earlier, it comes out in a slightly different way and it becomes more acceptable, palatable for people to sort of tackle the issue that they wouldn’t have wrestled with probably before.

Theresa:                       00:34:29          Well I hope so Paul, thanks for saying that. I had lovely messages after, especially after Keep Her Silent came out back in August. And I’ve had so many lovely messages from people who were affected by the contaminated blood scandal. And I made sure that, I’ve dedicated the book to Bruce Norval. He was the, chap who helped me with it, and I let him read it before I gave it to my editor, which is really unusual. I never ever let anyone read things before I hand it to the editor and he gave it the OK and I genuinely mean I would have pulled it, had he not given it the OK. I was very aware that for me it’s a profession. I’m a writer, I also have a responsibility, but I want to put things down that people can read but also it’s a piece of entertainment as well and it’s a piece of escapism and it’s crime and it’s fiction, but I wanted to make sure I had the responsibility to the people affected by it

Theresa:                       00:35:29          It did invite lovely, lovely messages from people, campaigners from the contaminated blood groups. But I’ve also had messages and thankfully little reviews on Amazon saying I knew nothing about this thought it was complete fiction until I Googled it, because again, a lot of us don’t watch the news or don’t read news in the way that we used to. News is presented and we gather news from so many different sources now that it’s easy to miss stories. So I got a huge pleasure if pleasure is the right word, when people contact me and say, I knew nothing about this and I’ve just started looking more into it and I’m horrified and you know, then they’re lending their support to the campaign and that’s good. So if that heightened awareness, then yeah, that’s all for the good.

Paul:                            00:36:23          Without giving away any spoilers here. Which scene did you most enjoy writing?

Theresa:                       00:36:30          Oh, for the Keep Her Silent? I think the last one, the last one was the, I need this. I’m kind of stuttering. I’m trying to think back how it, how I did this. With Keep Her Silent. It’s based on the contaminated blood scandal, but, there’s no happy ending to that. The people that were affected and infected years ago, and the people who were infected by it continue to be affected by it, and you know. I know there’s a public inquiry and but there will be no happy ending. I wanted a resolution. I needed to give the readers something and I needed to give myself something. I really struggled, tearing my heart out and tearing my hair out as well. Thinking how can I have a resolution It’s not like a crime book no one can be jailed for this because it’s real life.

Theresa:                       00:37:32          No one can be jailed. So I finished the book anyway and I let Bruce read it, as I say, he said you’ve made a good job of it and I felt really humbled by that, let the editor read it and that was fine, but it knawed away at me I and I thought, I need something more. So I said, what can we, can we just need to add something? So I created a final scene that, for me gave m resolution and Bruce hadn’t read the final scene and when he read it, when he read the complete book, when, when it had been edited and it was finally published and he got back to me, he said Wow, that’s just what it needed. So that was my favourite scene to write because for me it gave a bit of resolution and it gave a bit of a punch in the air to those, the campaigners.

Paul:                            00:38:27          Was that the most challenging scene to write?

Theresa:                       00:38:31          Well, I think once I started it, I tore through it, but it was the most challenging scene as in it only came to me once I handed the book in. And once I handed the book over I thought, right, so I had to tweak a few other wee bits because the book was all finished and edited and I then thought, this needs something. So, I think it was because I had to make it realistic. I had to make it quite, I wanted it to really pack a punch, but it couldn’t be ridiculous, you know, there were no superheroes. No one was going to come in. There’s nobody been, you know, no knight in shining armour coming in on the white horse, saving the day. But it had to be something that packed a punch.

Theresa:                       00:39:21          I found that really challenging. There was another, there was another scene in the book and I deliberately kind of kept that to the end and really I struggled with it, and it was quite a horrific scene and I toyed with not fitting it in. And that to me was the last thing. And that one other scene in the book and a woman’s in a mental institution and that there was nothing very graphic in it, but the readers in no doubt what happens to her and I toyed with not doing that, but that again is based on something that actually happened and I thought, no, I’m putting this in. So that was quite a challenge as well. I don’t have an appetite for real gore. I can read it and I can watch it, but when I’m writing my books aren’t actually gory. There’s not a lot of blood and guts and things, you know, there’s no horrific crime that you’re, you know, you’re not kind of curling your toes. Um, it’s, it’s in a different way. So, I don’t really like writing anything that’s overly graphic.

Paul:                            00:40:34          One of your reviewers actually mentioned, this is a book you can’t put down, it’s filled with heart-wrenching chapters that will evoke many feelings, that sums up what you have just been saying, doesn’t it?

Theresa:                       00:40:44          Oh, that’s lovely, I like that, that’s nice. And I’m not sure if there would be many crime books that would maybe have that response and to be honest maybe with a different publisher, this wouldn’t be a crime book, it would be, crimes have been committed, but there are crimes, I’ve deliberately kind of peppered it that with certain crimes Um, but yeah, that’s, that’s the response I would like. You’ve pleased me saying that.

Paul:                            00:41:21          That’s not uncommon, I review reviews when I do a podcast obviously because I’d like to get a feel of what the readers think about the books as well. That’s not an uncommon comment from, from the reviewers, which I think is really quite heart-warming for you and complimentary. Um, and just sort of sums up what you’ve been saying.

Theresa:                       00:41:41          Oh, thank you. And that are scenes that I cry when I’m writing it. I don’t know if the readers will cry but I, know myself what I’m trying to get across and when I’m writing sometimes I go down to the Mitchell Library or sometimes my local library to write and bring my laptop. then I start getting a bit tearful and I have to go out for a walk. One time I had a lady come up and she patted me on the shoulder and she said, are you okay? I realised I had tears streaming down my face, I thought oh goodness, I’m in public and I’m crying. I’m trying to get inside the character so much and I’m thinking, oh goodness, this is, you know, in The Last Children, this isn’t giving any plot lines away, but you know, someone that has a baby and she only lives for a few hours and she’s so heartbroken, but as I’m writing I’m crying. And I’m thinking, oh goodness, pull yourself together.

Theresa:                       00:42:39          I don’t want it to be tugging the heartstrings for the sake of it. I don’t want to put it in, thinking, will tweak that emotion. I want it to drive the narrative. I want it to be completely integral to the plot I want to be, look, the reason that the reason this woman has behaved in this way is because that happened to her 20 years ago, you know, the reason, this guy’s doing what he’s doing is because, you know, two hours ago someone said that to him. I want everything that happens, I want it to drive the narrative. I don’t want it to be, you know, and the way that some people will put a sex scene in a book, or sexualise violence to make it slightly voyeuristic I don’t want to do that with heartbreak either. I want to make sure wherever I put in drives the narrative, and it’s, and it’s not too kind of tug the heartstrings, and if it does tug the heartstrings we want to emphasise with these characters, we want to understand what’s really happened to them. You know, it’s very easy to read a news item and to forget about it, hopefully with a book, we do attach yourself to these characters more.

Paul:                            00:43:50          Yeah. We invest a little more don’t we

Theresa:                       00:43:53          Yeah, I think we do. I have just read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, I don’t know if you’ve read that book yourself. Well, to advertise someone else’s book. I knew the book was coming to an end because obviously, you know, I was getting to the last final piece. I didn’t want it to end and it’s, it’s really a slice of life about a very troubled woman, but it is such an unusual book. And again, it’s, it was one of those things that really evoked so many emotions and I looked up different reviews for it and people were saying that as well, but it evoked so many emotions in the bad things that had happened to Eleanor Oliphant as a child and as a young woman she uses them, is such a matter of fact. She says it in a matter of fact way, but the reader it’s not put there to be salacious. It’s put there to drive the narrative and then you think, ah, that’s why she’s a bit odd. That’s why she’s doing things that isn’t the social norm. So I think if you’re putting in anything that’s heartbreaking or unusual, do it in a way that, that drives the narrative of, you know, don’t, don’t use the reader’s emotions, give them, give them a bit of payback for it if possible.

Paul:                            00:45:17          I know you are busy writing your third crime novel, can you tell us a little bit about it yet?

Theresa:                       00:45:21          I’m stuck, I’m at the muddle in the middle. I was chatting to another writer, my friend Douglas Skelton who I’d mentioned at the beginning of, this interview, he’s a very good writer. And I said, Douglas, I’m stuck, I’m at the middle, I’m at the 40,000 words, I have to give up. And he said, no, he said you were exact same with the last one. I said, was I? And he said yes, as was I, as was everyone. And we do phone each other and say we’re stuck. But when you’re in the eye of the storm, you can’t remember this happening before. So, this one, again, it’s a part of the Oonagh O’neil trilogy or series, it started off as a trilogy, but it may turn into a longer series, and again, it’s going back over a cold case. Something that happened a long time ago and it opens with the death of a very prominent businessman, a very, very popular philanthropic person who is loved by many people. And it’s quite a shocking murder and it’s not particularly horrific, but it’s shocking because who would kill this lovely, you know, middle-aged/ elderly man. And as you know, Oonagh looks further into the death and the, you know, who could have killed him, it emerges maybe he wasn’t quite as lovely as he would led us to believe.

Paul:                            00:47:09          Oh, I see, when is it due?

Theresa:                       00:47:18          It’s due out on April 1st, if I can get it finished, which I’m setting myself the deadline that the publisher said, if I can get it into her early December she will guarantee an April publication.

Paul:                            00:47:30          You’ll have to let us know.

Theresa:                       00:47:32          Oh yes. And crikey, I’m just, at that stage now, I’m thinking like that is it. Can I be like, like my last one. I’m thinking like this is more a social thing that there’s so many things going on with it, but it’s, I’m not saying, it’s based on any real person. I’m sure there are enough people out there that we could attach this on to, you know, the really nice face in public, but they are not all they seem

Paul:                            00:48:02          Well yes, a few of those around.

Theresa:                       00:48:05          Yep, absolutely. I’ll certainly let you know. Paul, of course,

Paul:                            00:48:09          We are at that point in the interview now where I ask rapid-fire questions and answers.

Theresa:                       00:48:13          Oh, goody, goody. I love these, I hope I get them right

Paul:                            00:48:17          Well the will not, there’s no right or wrong to these. It’s just so the audience get to know you a little bit better. So if you could chat with any crime fiction author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Theresa:                       00:48:30          Oh, Conan Doyle, I’ll tell you, Arthur Conan Doyle, because his Sherlock Holmes books may seem a bit old fashioned, a bit old hat. No, but he just paved the way I think for modern fiction and he was so clever and he just, he just got it right. I’d love to pick his brain and I like to find out, you know, I’d love to ask him as well, the fact now we have DNI, we have CCTV, we have so many ways of catching criminals. What his take would be on modern crime writing.

Paul:                            00:49:09          Yeah, that would be interesting, wouldn’t it? Mm. Mm. Okay. So that’s every chapter. Okay, next question. Can you name a tool, App or product you can’t live without and why?

Theresa:                       00:49:23          My kettle, that’s because if I didn’t have endless cups of tea, I wouldn’t be able to write. I’m probably one of the few writers that can’t stand coffee, but I just write using a work document and a simple, a simple word document, laptop, and a word document. But I heard rumour that for Christmas I’m getting a Samsung notebook. I thought they were too small, to write on, another chap at work, in the office, in the BBC office and he has one and I have a little shot of it, a little go. I’m in Glasgow, I don’t know if that’s what you say down south, a little shot of something. I had a little shot with the little notebook and it’s only about the size of an iPad, it’s smashing. So, it means I can take my notebook on the go because now I lug the lap tap around with me, but it’s a 17-inch laptop because I also do sound editing and I have to lug this thing around with me and crikey it’s too heavy. So, well I couldn’t live without is my kettle and my Microsoft word document.

Paul:                            00:50:28          Okay. What number one tip would you give for a new author?

Theresa:                       00:50:34          Write, just write, keep writing, and don’t stop writing. I was saying for years I wanted to be a writer and I then realised I wasn’t actually writing anything. And, I thought oh, I mean, apart from, you know, writing every day in work and I’m thinking, oh, I should have to write and that sounds daft, but people have a notion that they want to be a writer, but they don’t actually sit down and physically write. Don’t be put off by what other people say about your writing. And that’s not to say don’t take advice, do seek advice. But if people will say, oh, there’s no market for that, or you know, a little bit negative, or they’ll tell you, oh, there’s no money in writing. Or do you realise how difficult it is to make a living as a writer to it? Of course, it’s difficult. It’s almost impossible.

Theresa:                       00:51:22          Um, but write, just keep writing, decide what’s best for you. You may want to go to writer’s workshops. You may want to go to creative writing classes, that may not suit you that’s fine. Mix with other writers Use your local library. Go to reading groups. Read as much as possible. Just read, keep reading and don’t be afraid, don’t copy ideas, but don’t be afraid to be influenced by other writers. But I just say reads, don’t be afraid to send your work out but also I go to or used to go to, I now deliver writer’s workshops, but I remember going to a creative writing course and people were around the table saying you know, I sent an article out to such and such publication and that was about a year and a half ago and I haven’t heard back and no, I do understand that, you know as a new writer you don’t want to be pushy, you don’t want to be bolshy but value, value what you have. And if someone uses your product, ask them to pay for it. Now yeah, you do have to write for nothing to start with, you’re not going to write a best seller, but if people are, are asking you to do things for exposure, do that for a certain amount of time, but then value what you do. Make sure you value. And if other people don’t, people will spend three quid on a cup of coffee, but wouldn’t spend 99p on a download. So value your work and value other writers works.

Theresa:                       00:53:07          Definitely, you know, if you’re offered a website that has free downloads, if it’s legal and that’s fine. But, if you’re, stealing work from writers go to your library, libraries have a wealth of books, you don’t have to pay, not everyone can afford books, but value your work and value the work of other writers. And don’t be snobby about your writing and don’t let other people be sniffy and snobby about your writing If you are writing a romance or crime or whatever, you know, and you know, people say, but what you know, that doesn’t mean to see that you have to go to the moon to write a story about an astronaut. But you know if you are a gardener and you decide right? I’m going to write a book about going to the moon. You really need to know a wee bit about rocket science.

Theresa:                       00:54:01          And likewise, if you are a rocket scientist and you write a book about a gardener you need t to know your subject matter. I think just know your subject matter, write as much as possible and even if you’re, you’re, you’re stuck. I’m saying this more for myself today than anyone else folks, if you’re stuck just write because you can’t edit a blank page, write, and then you can edit it and even if it’s nonsense that’s fine just write. Don’t let other people steal your dream and then start and again when you started, when you start putting your work as well, you’re pitching it to agents or other publishers or wherever know your market Don’t just use a scatter gun approach. Don’t send to every single agent in every single publication or every single publisher. Don’t send a crime novel to someone that only does maths textbooks. Target who you are sending it to and be wary of someone who offers you a publishing deal for money up front

Theresa:                       00:55:01          Just don’t go near them name and shame them on social media, but also be wary, if someone comes along and offers. If an independent publisher offers to publish your book without anything, any editing. I mean it took me 15 years to get a publishing deal. My book was then republished by a new publisher and there were 237 edits in that book that got past a major initial edit. So it’s almost like people think that they have a god given, right to a publishing deal and there’s a lot of unscrupulous publishers that will exploit that. There are small independent publishers who are fantastic and they are turning the publishing world on its head and it’s brilliant, but on the back of that, there are a few unscrupulous ones piggybacking. Make sure you do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask what their editing process is like and be prepared, even if you are with the big boys, unless you’re the top author you have to do your marketing yourself, but the most important thing is to write. Enjoy what you’re writing and read. Read as much as possible and support each other. Support other writers.

Paul:                            00:56:21          Good advice.

Paul:                            00:56:24          Really good advice. A couple more questions. What’s your favorite book and why?

Theresa:                       00:56:32          Oh, crikey. It depends what mood I’m in. It should either be the Magos for the reasons I told you before because I read that I was reading that actual chapter on the island where it was set, so the Magos by John Fowles, but the book is 600 pages, it’s not one that I would go back to very often, I have read it twice both times really exhausted me. I think Jane Eyre has to be my favourite book. Jane Eyre I have read several times and I get something out each time, or no crikey Rebecca, I love Rebecca, oh goodness it’s going to depend what mood, I’m going to stick with Jane Eyre just now, because of the time it was written I think Bronte did such a tremendous job and when you think the way it was physically written that would be written in longhand with a quill and ink and you know, when you think what was available to writers then but also it was quite dangerous subject matter. You know, we had the child who was neglected, she was shunned by her stepfamily, she was put into care, so it’s so much, you know, that was a book with a lot of social responsibility that. We saw the way that kids in care were treated and the way that they were made to fear god. And then when she met Mr Rochester and she’s fell in love and realised that the, you know, the mad wife in the attic and oh, there was so much, there was so much going on in that book. So I, I just, I loved it because of the time that it was written and also she certainly wasn’t afraid to tackle really quite dangerous topics for the time because if had everything, madwoman in the attic and illicit love affairs with Mr Rochester even a dog called Pilot, what’s not to, like I said, I think I’m Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier would come really hot on the heels of that.

Paul:                            00:58:32          Okay. Okay.

Theresa:                       00:58:34          If you asked me next week it will be changed

Paul:                            00:58:37          What’s your favorite movie at the moment and why?

Theresa:                       00:58:41          Am I allowed to say Rebecca and Jane Eyre? You know, I’m not very good with, The Jane Eyre my favourite is the Orson Wells one, and Rebecca with Laurence Olivier and not Olivia de Havilland it is Olivia de Havilland sister who I can’t remember her name, is it Joan Simms? I loved those films. Modern day films are fairly interchangeable. One of the last films I saw at the movies was Three Billboards with Frances McDormand and it was really, really hard hitting. That was really a difficult one to watch. But for favorite films, um, I, I can’t think of any modern films. So, I would go back to the to the old classics and I’d probably say, Rebecca, if I cannot get Jane Eyre in I’ll say Rececca.

Paul:                            00:59:46          Okay, well we’ll let you do that then. What’s your favorite piece of music or song?

Theresa:                       00:59:54          Oh, I love La Vie en rose by Edith Piaf and I got married recently and I walked down the aisle to that and I think the lyrics, I love Edith Piaf and I think the lyrics are so beautiful. Um, they’re, they’re just give your heart and soul to me and life will always be La Vie en rose and when you speak angel sing from above, everyday words seem to turn into love songs. I mean, you just don’t get lyrics like that. Certainly not by rappers and the likes. And I, I love, I just love that song. But I was horrified to find my new husband, he doesn’t really like Edith Piaf. He thinks that she sounds like a sheep that someone’s just jammed their tail in the door and he doesn’t like it at all. But he loved the song. And we had a compromise for the wedding I chose the Louis Armstrong version because the trumpet solo is fantastic, absolutely brilliant. So, I think today my favourite song is La Vie en rose because it just means so much. But again, oh crikey, it was songs I love so many songs they evoke so many emotions. I love music. I think  Edith Piaf definitely, La Vie en rose

Paul:                            01:01:23          It can be different depending on the day, depending on the mood.

Theresa:                       01:01:28          Yeah, it really can be because it’s, you’re right and it depends what mood you’re in and because yeah, the wedding was fairly recent. I’m thinking, that’s definitely, that’s still the one that I’m still so close to my heart but next week I, a couple of month’s time. It may be something else. I also love Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, oh crikey I could be here all day with a playlist and never let you finish the interview.

Paul:                            01:02:01          Well, talking about that as it comes to the end now, how can our listeners get in touch with you and your books?

Theresa:                       01:02:07          Well, they can get me via my website which is www.theresatalbot.com. It is Theresa with an H. You can find my books on Amazon and they can email me at theresa@theresatalbot.com and they can find me on Facebook, Twitter

Paul:                            01:02:49          What format are your books currently available in

Theresa:                       01:02:53          They are currently available digitally and coming out on audio very shortly. Now readers can access a paperback. I wouldn’t recommend that, they may be coming out in paperback soon and you can buy paperbacks on Amazon, but they do have print on demand and maybe I shouldn’t say this. I think that a bit too expensive. Just know the print on demand on his own, but they can be downloaded and it will be on audio very shortly.

Paul:                            01:03:22          Well Theresa. I need to call us the time here in the Crime Fiction Lounge. And I want to thank you for a fascinating chat. Thank you for being here with us.

Theresa:                       01:03:30          Oh, thank you for inviting me, Paul. This was absolutely wonderful. I’ve loved being in the Crime Fiction Lounge, it’s lovely.

Paul:                            01:03:35          Oh, you’re welcome to have to come back again when your new book is out.

Theresa:                       01:03:38          Oh yes, please. If I’m invited, I’ll be there. Thank you so much. Okay.

Paul:                            01:03:41          Thank you very much.

Theresa:                       01:03:46          You to and enjoy the rest of your day.

Paul:                            01:03:47          Yeah, and you. Listen for all our listeners out there for Theresa’s details and the details of her books are on our website at The Crime Fiction Lounge and that’s at www.crimefictionlounge.club (now www.pstretton-stephens.com/podcast ). I want to thank you for listening and let you know that our next guest will be author Alison Belsham and we’ll talking about her latest book, The Tattoo Thief. I’ll see you then. Bye for now.

Outro:                          01:04:13          If you’ve enjoyed this episode. Why not subscribe? Leave a review and share with your friends, and don’t forget to tune in for the next thrilling episode. Until then, stay safe.

 

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Podcast

 

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: Crime Thriller, Keep Her Silent, The Lost Children, Theresa Talbot, Transcription

TCFL Podcast Episode #16 with Paul Bennett, Author of Blue on Blue

February 18, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Welcome to my podcast, The Crime Fiction Lounge.

Author Paul Bennett

 



Blue on Blue by Paul Bennett

Blue on Blue by Paul BennettWhen it’s police against the police it’s a Blue on Blue and no good ever comes from it. Nick Shannon, fraud investigator, spent seven years in prison for the mercy killing of his quadriplegic sister. The hit-and-run driver who debilitated her is still at large so when Shannon is asked to clear the name of a police officer accused of embezzling a million pounds it seems like a golden opportunity to delve into the police files that someone is trying to keep a secret. Shannon digs deep into the murky world of the police and doesn’t like what he finds. He wants justice and nothing will stop him. Except death, and that’s exactly what someone has in mind.

Order Your of Blue on Blue today:

Amazon UK


Catalyst by Paul Bennett

Catalyst by Paul Bennett

When a petrochemicals giant is set to become number one in the world there are no holds barred. The key factor is the launch of a product that seems like the answer to everyone’s prayers: an enzyme which biodegrades plastic into fertiliser. But Kit Harper knows that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Following the clues, he finds the answer. What was supposed to save the environment turns out to be something that would bring disastrous consequences for mankind. Blackmail, kidnapping, murder: there are some who will stop at nothing to prevent Kit from revealing the truth.

Order Your Copy of Catalyst here:

Amazon UK


Mercenary by Paul Bennett

Author Paul Bennett's Mercenary

When Johnny Silver’s brother, Carlo, the head of an investment bank, disappears along with ten million euros, Johnny, an ex-mercenary on the run, is persuaded to come out of hiding to track him down. The trail leads Johnny into the world of gambling, prostitution, drugs and human trafficking to a crime that shocks the core of a man who had thought he had seen everything…With a plot that twists and turns as it moves at a dazzling pace, “Mercenary” is a story not to be missed.

Order your of Mercenary today: 

Amazon UK


Killer in Black by Paul Bennett

Killer in Black by Paul Bennett

In a small town in Texas five ex-mercenaries reunite when one of their number, Red, half Comanche, half Texan, is threatened. Presidential candidate Senator O’Hara likes to keep his town whiter than snow and everybody firmly in their place and he’s taken a dislike to Red. The town’s sheriff won’t risk his job by helping so it’s down to Johnny Silver and his band of comrades to sort out the matter. The resultant attacks escalate from a simple poisoning of the ranch’s water supply, through frightening off the workers, to a full-scale war with a fifty-strong gang of bikers. And pulling the strings is their most formidable foe yet – a professional assassin, the Killer in Black. Are Johnny’s team still strong enough to take on the challenges posed by the unknown enemy? Or have they finally met their match?

Order Your of Killer in Black today: 

Amazon UK


You can discover Paul’s Books and contact details through his publisher Crowwood Press:

Website:  Crowood.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/crowoodpress

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCrowoodPress


Thank you so much to everyone who’s left a review for the show, it goes a long way toward helping convince someone who hasn’t heard the show whether it’s worth their time or not. If this podcast is something you’ve enjoyed, please leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher and subscribe if you haven’t done so already

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
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  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
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Special thanks to Paul Bennett for joining me in this episode of The Crime Fiction Lounge Podcast.

Bye, until next time!

If you liked this episode…

Then You’ll Love these too!

TCFL Podcast Episode #15 with L.S. Hawker, Author of The Throwaways


TCFL Podcast Episode #4 with David Tallerman, author of The Bad Neighbor

 

 

 

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: Blue on Blue, Catalyst, Crime Thriller, Killer in Black, Mercenary, Paul Bennett, Thriller

Full Transcription of Podcast Interview with N Lawrence Mann

February 11, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Author N Lawrence Mann

Paul:              00:00      Welcome to the Crime Fiction Lounge. You’re listening to episode eight with N Lawrence Man, author of Coma Dreams. The second book in the Blue Warp series.

Intro:              00:10      Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you the Crime Fiction Lounge, the place for crime fiction lovers. Sit back, relax and unwind, while you listen to some of your favourite crime fiction and thriller authors, and here’s your host, Paul Stretton Stephens.

Paul:              00:36      In this episode eight, on the Crime Fiction Lounge podcast. I talk with American author N Lawrence Man about his latest suspense novel, Como Dreams. Now, Nelson’s works are largely described as suspenseful, but frequently incorporate components of fantasy science fiction and humour, and you’ll find out why soon. Interestingly, Nelson also injects realism into his work themed with elements of self-disruption and addiction, the world with which he is familiar after struggling for several years with his own demons. In fact, in the interview, Nelson is refreshingly open, honest, and he says that his books are a means of an apology to those he has hurt over the years. Nelson’s first novel Full Breach was the first nail-biting thriller in the Blue Warp series, released in 2017. The novel draws on America’s love affair with thriller and suspense novels. Full Breach delves into the pathology of our innate nature A native of Michigan. Nelson was born in Detroit and spent his formative years in Kalamazoo. Years later, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended high school. He’s now a settled in the Greater Boston area of the USA with his family. Sit back, relax and enjoy the interview.

Paul:              01:51      Hi Nelson, welcome to the Crime Fiction Lounge. How are you today?

Nelson:          01:54      Pretty good. How are you doing today?

Paul:              01:56      Yeah, I’m good. I’m good. Thanks for, thanks for being here.

Nelson:          01:59      Thanks for having me.

Paul:              02:00      You’re welcome, you’re welcome. Can you, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

Nelson:          02:06      Sure, I write under N Lawrence Man, and I just finished my second novel. The series is called Blue Warp series and the first book was called Full Breach and the new one’s called Coma Dreams. So I’m an Indie author and my day job, I’m a project manager for a real estate company and it’s really boring. But, I I like to do , the writing thing as well, so that’s what I will be focusing on.

Paul:              02:45      Okay. Okay. I believe you’ve got a bit of a songwriting background as well.

Nelson:          02:49      Oh yeah, yeah, let’s see, I used to write songs back in the mid-nineties, to about, early two thousands, in my head My one bedroom apartment transformed into a recording studio where the bedroom was once became, the console room. And the living area had turned into a sound booth, very much so. I did that for many years. I wrote independent film soundtracks, so I did that for a while and, so yeah, so it was songwriting before I was writing, writing.

Paul:              03:36      And did that help you with your novel writing or was it a hindrance

Nelson:          03:40      No, actually, it helps, there’s a lot of similarities between songwriting and novel writing. you’re doing the same thing, you’re telling a story, you know you’re shortening it to three and a half minutes with a song, but it’s basically the same if you write an outline that would be your basic rhythm or your tempo, your beat You add some guitars, that would be your character’s. Baseline would be, you know, the theme I guess, of the story and the sound effects would be subplots and twists and things like that. So I just kind of all, it’s all a matter of tempo and timing and storytelling at the same time. So it actually helped me. All the songwriting helped me write the first novel and I believe it probably, I’m not sure I could have done it as easily if it wasn’t for the songwriting background. So it’s just a different way that I look at it, but it helps me, you know,

Paul:              04:52      That sounds really interesting. I’ve never heard it described that way.

Nelson:          04:56      Yeah. Yeah. I think. And you could probably apply that to all the arts really like painting. Same thing if you start out with your outline, your sketch, we fill in the colours, add effects and it’s all, it’s kind of all interconnected.

Paul:              05:14      And you still songwriting now you’re doing any now or.

Nelson:          05:17      Well, I had to sell all my recording gear a long time ago, which is the good thing about writing novels is all, you need your laptop, it is much more mobile, you know, you don’t have to have your, monitor speakers and your compressor and your limiters and your sound effects board and you’re mixing board and everything, you know, you can. Anything you create is right at the tips of your fingers. So, that part of the songwriting part would be really tough to, to swing these days because I have a little two year old and it’s, I can’t even, it’s hard to find time enough to write, let alone song write? Because they’re both very, very time intensive. So doing both. I don’t think I’d have time to do that. Fit It in this lifetime anyway.

Paul:              06:05      No, no. and with a two-year-old around as well. I understand that I remember it well. Having said that, now you have a got two year old around as well. And you’re writing and you are a project manager, do you have any spare time? Do you do anything in your spare time?

Nelson:          06:22      No not really, my wife and I watch a lot of like home improvement shows in our spare time. but that’s not really spare time, you know, that’s just like little bits of time you have in between what the babies doing. If he takes a nap maybe we squeeze in a little bit, but pretty much there’s not a lot, a lot of spare time. and we’re expecting another one, so I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. So I’m doing my best to try to try to write a third, it has been outlined, but that’s going to be a challenge.

Paul:              06:59      Oh, well, cool. Well, congratulations on the next one coming along. Oh, thank you very much. Obviously, you haven’t got time for volunteering or community activities, but I did read in the briefs that you did record audio textbooks for blind students.

Nelson:          07:15      Yes, I did, back when I lived in LA. Let’s see, I grew up in, born and raised in Michigan and, moved to Arizona for a very long time. And then, I’ve moved, I lived in LA at two different times in my life., so last time I was out there I did do volunteer at Learning Ally, reading, doing audio books, recording textbooks for blind students.

Paul:              07:42      Yeah, good job.

Nelson:          07:44      No. Was very rewarding.

Paul:              07:46      Really rewarding. Oh, well done. Well done. Okay. Let’s talk about your writing. I mean, when, when did, when did you first start to write your first novel?

Nelson:          07:55      Yeah, I think it was around 2014, it was just something that was on my bucket list and something that I’ve always wanted to do. I think I was hitting 44, 43 years old and you know, I always pictured myself retiring and settling down and writing a novel. So I just sped it up a little bit and started, started a little earlier, just decided it was time., I had a good story, a lot of good life experiences. I can a articulate into the stories. And, I just started, started on chapter one and then see, my mom got sick, she had cancer, so I was really, really trying to push to finish the book before she passed, and, you know, that helped me get through the first book anyway. And that’s kinda what, what did it. I and I had a lot of things I wanted to apologise to my mom about and I did it through the story, so I was really trying to, to get that out before before she left. And you know, so that’s kind of what started the, or realising the novel writing dream, I guess.

Paul:              09:15      And why did you decide to write supernatural thrillers?

Nelson:          09:19      Well, I’ve always liked the, you know, the unknown and I did like, let’s see, I don’t read too many authors, but I did read a Dean Koontz when I was little and I just,, it’s a good, a good format to, to you to add reality and things beyond reality, reality without going full fantasy, if that makes any sense.

Paul:              09:49      Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I know you said that you don’t read much, but which is would inspire you.

Nelson:          09:55      Uh, let’s see. The main one I guess would be, Alexandre Dumas really was the original read. We had to read The Count of Monte Cristo in high school, you know, and I didn’t, I was like, ah, whatever at the time. But as soon as I got into it I’ve, I’ve read that book, I don’t know how many times now, but just the way Dumas, used the way he played with perspective, as far as what the reader knows versus what the characters know. So it’s always fun when he would write and be talking to a character or a character would be talking to another character, but we know what the character knows who’s talking to the second character if that makes any sense. And it’s not until the next chapter where you learn the perspective of the second character if that makes any sense. So yeah, just the way he played with perspective was, was really interesting to me. And that’s something that I incorporate a lot in my writing.

Paul:              11:05      And where do your ideas come from?

Nelson:          11:09      I would say a lot of life experiences., you know, the book revolves around the addict, the protagonist is an addict and I’ve got, got a lot of experience with that. So there was a long, long period of my life, a pretty dark period that I’m able to draw from and it helps me to kind of get past that time in my life and put it behind me. It helps me too, use it as a form of apology. Like I said, I had a lot of things I had to apologize to my mom for, but also good friends and, and family. And it helps me if, knowing when they read the story, they can kind of see what I was going through and, and that, that’s more profound than, than just the typical apology. You know, it’s like you can’t apologize enough and it never feel sincere. But here’s a book, a few years, 400 pages of, of what I was going through. You know, hopefully, that, hopefully that helps, you know, with the both sides.

Paul:              12:28      Okay. So what’s your, I know you say you outlined, so what, what’s your process of writing?

Nelson:          12:35      I use the outline, straight into writing. So I’m the main plot points of each, each section of the outline and you know, I don’t want to get it to locked down because a lot of the fun happens kind of as you’re writing the outline and figuring out, figuring out how you can combine something from this first section, the middle section and the third section. So I’m just a skeletal outline and then just start filling in, filling it in this writing straight from the outline and filling in all the chapters. Usually, I have the chapters, already laid out in front of me. I mean, I, I have how pretty much how the book’s going to come together and it’s just a matter of filling it in.

Paul:              13:23      Okay. Okay. Now I want to talk a little bit more about your book in a minute, but firstly I want to ask what’s the significance of the series title The Blue Warp?

Nelson:          13:32      Well, that’s a loaded question. You have a blue warp is, you have your two definitions are two basic, our, our best theories is the way the universe works. You have the, a theory of relativity, which is the study of the things very large, and you have quantum mechanics, which is the study of things very small. And the problem is, is when you put those two theories together, they don’t get along with each other. They don’t agree. So that’s always fascinated me that, in our best explanation of what’s going on doesn’t really doesn’t work out. And to me that means somewhere, someone is wrong or there’s just something that we do. There’s things about the universe We obviously are well beyond our understanding and you mix that with the fact that human beings are only using a supposedly 10 percent of their brain capacity.

NelsonIt:        14:33      It makes for some interesting story. So I, the blue warp is kind of a what, what if and a why not a on a kind of a infinite consciousness that we’re all connected to, but we haven’t yet evolved enough into being able to figure out. So our protagonist is kind of a slip through that crack a little bit and kind of found, found that infinite consciousness, so to speak. So the blue water is kind of what he’s going through when he feels, when he feels connected here, it’s kinda like, a worm hole kind of situation and he’s kind of going through, and the reason it’s blue of course is when you’re moving towards something at the speed of light, they call it blue shifting. You’re, you’re seeing things with a blue hue, moving away from the speed of light your red shifting. So obviously you’re moving towards some and speed light. So he calls it the blue warp and that’s what happens when he takes this drug. He’s able to connect with the blue warp

Paul:              15:42      Okay. Okay. Before we move further into the book, as a series is essential to read your book in order or are the stories, standalone.

Nelson:          15:51      Yeah, it really helps. I’ve studied up so you can get through the second one, Coma Dreams and you’ll have some questions, but you’re not going to be completely just lost, but it really helps us just like the Game of Throne series and the song of ice and fire. And you could jump in. It’s the third one, but you’re not, it’s not going to be quite as profound as an experience experience that you’re going to be. Have more questions than answers really. So if you do start with the second one, that’s okay because you can go back to the first one.

Paul:              16:24      Okay. Okay. So just to be clear, Como Dreams is the second book in the series, the first being Full Breach, which is the one you’ve got an international book award finalist for, wasn’t it?

Nelson:          16:33      Yes. Yes. Yeah.

Paul:              16:35      Okay. Can you, can you tell our listeners a little bit more about Coma Dreams and I know you’ve said a few little things, but can you say a little bit more about the story, the plot line?

Nelson:          16:45      Sure, we have our same protagonist as the first one, Brendan Reynolds., he hears about a colonel, a war hero that is been in a coma for six months and is just about to be taken off life support. And from the first book he has discovered he has some ability or some type of healing abilities, but he really doesn’t have a grip on it, 100 percent, but he wants to be able to do some good and perhaps wake this colonel up from, from his coma. And when he does so, the person who comes out of the coma isn’t necessarily the colonel anymore and, it’s someone else. And Brendan has to struggle to try to reverse what he’s done, before the entity that has been awoken in the colonel, does any more damage because he manages to escape from where he was at and he disappears, causing havoc. And so, it’s more about figuring out who the colonel was, we don’t know much about the colonel in the beginning of the story, but you learn more about him through the story and also who the colonel now is. So you have to figure out, you know, both, figure out a little bit of the past and going a little bit towards the, towards the future. So that’s what Brendan has to deal with in the second one. And there’s obviously there’s other subplots with that. That’s, that’s the main, the main groove of it.

Paul:              18:32      What made you choose a retired air force colonel?

Nelson:          18:36      You know, I was trying to, would be a good way to reconnect with one of my childhood friends I’ve known, since, I was one and a half, you know, doing research on the air force and things like that. I’d be able to contact him and be able to catch up and kind of reconnect. And so I thought he’d be a great, great way, a great guide so to speak, , is, is in to the air force and so on and so forth. So that’s why I started, I couldn’t, I could never get ahold of him because he’s stationed over in a run Stein, so I really couldn’t ever get ahold of them. So I had to take other routes to figure out, you know, learn more about the air force and make sure that my terminology’s correct and doing the air force, it makes you giving them credit and respect a way as to, you know, the story, make sure I have my facts straight about the air force and things like that. So it was funny, it was, it was all so I could reconnect with, with my friend, but it never really happened. But the colonel remained. anyway.

Paul:              19:42      What’s the scene for the story, is it contemporary?

Nelson:          19:46      Yeah. Contemporary, you know, anytime in the next, you know, 10 years ago or 10 years from now, you know, any that it would work, you know, see it’s, a lot of it takes place in Arizona because I always write about kind of where I’m familiar with. So since I spent 20 plus years in Arizona, that’s a good setting. And Boston where I’m at now, I can write about Boston, so I thought it’d be a great way to write about both and that sets up a nice cross country trip kind of story, which is kind of what, what it, what it is a if you think about movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Rain Man, you know, those are always fun stories where it’s, you know, people taking a cross country trip. So I thought that was a good way to use all the different places that I’ve in buying them.

Paul:              20:48      Okay. And how do you blend the supernatural elements with a mystery plot?

Nelson:          20:55      Well, like I said, it’s based on, you know, where science can’t quite go at the moment, you know, trying to figure out why relativity and quantum mechanics don’t work. So it’s really based in science, you know, it’s fringe, but it’s like, what if this is what is going on because there’s really no way to prove that it isn’t yet. Like, what if the reason that Brendan can connect with this infinite consciousness, a consciousness, what if the reason lies, as the same reason why relativity and quantum mechanics don’t agree like somewhere, right, right in the middle. Like in the end, I think it’s when in black holes where, where it all breaks down. You have relativity yet it goes into a singularity and it just, the math gets all messed up and you know, somewhere in there maybe is the reason why Brendan’s able to do this. So it’s, it’s supernatural, but it’s kind of based, geared it around science or at least the one place science can’t reach yet, you know, so when I, when it’s supernatural, I tend to think of ghosts and things like that and it seems I’m more, it’s more a little more science-fictiony as far as I’m concerned.

Paul:              22:22      Okay. Okay. So which scene did you enjoy writing most?

Nelson:          22:28      Well, I guess I would go back to Full Breach, a lot of the, the climax of that was actually written next to my mom when she was unconscious. She hadn’t passed yet , you know, she was just succumbing to, to her, her cancer, but it was, felt like I felt like she was listening and I felt like she was there with me writing those parts so that the, that became pretty special and even though she could never really read it when I was done with it, I, you know, she knew I was working on it and you know, I know that she was proud of me. So when I think back, writing, I think that that was, that’s the, the most profound scene that I’ve written. And sorry I have to go back to the previous book, but that was, that’s very profound

Paul:              23:22      And in this book, which was the most, what was the most challenging scene to write

Nelson:          23:28 Let’s see?

Nelson:          23:32      There is a time frame that happens throughout the book. It takes place over a couple of days and it takes place, there’s a lot of cross country travel, like I said. So you’re dealing with time, timeline and time differences across the United States. So to make sure you’re in, you’re in the same timeline, in the same timeframe and it makes sure the readers are secure, somewhere in the middle, you know, like you have to, you know, eastern time this happens even though it’s happening at the same time is what’s going on in Arizona, which is, you know, Pacific Time. So that was pretty challenging. It’s constantly going back, you know, I had to study a lot of bus schedules, about, you know, if it’s, if it’s 3:00 here, what time is it here in this part of the country and what time is it East Coast. So I, you know, to, it’s tough to do that without completely confusing the reader. So like my Dad is, is my first editor in the, on the first draft I gave him, he’s like, I’m totally lost. So he helped me figure that out, but that was very challenging playing with time like that. I’m not sure that I would do that again.

Paul:              24:46      Okay. Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from with that. I’ve done something similar, just challenging Now what made you decide on the issues you’ve tackled within your books?

Nelson:          24:57      Personal experience. I want to, like I said, I wanted to tackle addiction. , and you know, having been through it. There’s just, there was no other subject to write about. So I wanted to write, you know what it’s like, first of all, being an addict. So I wanted to write a book where people could, could read it, read it and feel what it’s like to be an addict. So the, you know, Brendan does this drug, meth amphetamine derivative called glow and you know, every time he does it, you know, he, he can get deeper and deeper into people’s thoughts and kind of read people’s minds. He’s kind of tapping into that infinite consciousness that I was talking about. And, but the problem is that the more he does it, the more likely he’s likely to drop into a coma, and be stuck in the blue warp.

Nelson:          25:51      So you want him to do more drugs, but to feel guilty that you want him to do more drugs, but you just want to see what happens. Well, that’s a lot what is it the an addict, you just don’t want to do it, but your driven, you’re driven to do it, so it gives people that perspective and it gives people the perspective of someone who’s quit and is now dealing with someone who is still on the drugs. So since I’ve had both experiences, you know, the characters, the addict and his best friend who has three years removed from using is both me, you know, but I use that to, you know, to, to kind of ping pong against each other, which is, you know, which is like, they’re completely different people, but at the same time there are the same person. They’re just, one is using and one isn’t anymore. So I’ve got both perspectives on that which helps any reader, anyone who’s been an addict, anyone who’s dealt with an addict, anyone with friends and family who, who have been afflicted, they can all relate at some point to either of these characters.

Paul:              27:05      I see. I see. Now I’m curious here. Now you’re an ex singer-songwriter, you’re a project manager, but you’ve got all this knowledge about quantum mechanics and things that, I mean, how, how come?

Nelson:          27:19      Oh, the quantum mechanics is just strictly me in reading about Carl Sagan and, well, you know, one of my heroes, I constantly watch, How the Universe was made. I you know, all those different shows. The one with Morgan Freeman, I forgot, there’s several different ones and I just constantly watched him over and over again. It’s just a fascinating subject to me. Nothing I ever studied, I couldn’t give you any equations and write them out mathematically, but, you know, I understand the broad concepts and they’ve ever since I’ve learned ever since I watched Cosmos as a kid in the eighties with Carl Sagan. I was hooked on that. It’s a fascinating subject. So that , you know, my mind is there a lot as far as like, just contemplating a universe, our place in it. You know, how infinite it is, you know, is it even the universe now is there is an, a multiverse now. They’re talking multiverse. It’s just an ever-changing, fascinating subject to me. So, I just, I read a lot of different, you know, people who write about a brief history of time, you know, Stephen Hawkings all that, so I base base the books on that even though, you know, please don’t come to me and asked me to write out any formulas or try to explain it mathematically because I couldn’t do it.

New Speaker: 28:45      So what, what actually makes your book a thriller then?

Nelson:          28:54      There’s always tension as far as, the time, you know, deadlines, people run, they only have a certain amount of time to do things. There’s, there’s definitely criminal elements, you know, there’s murders that happen and murders that are going to happen again. People trying to stop that from happening. and so they are, you know, there’s, all the characters are all usually battling, some sort of tension and trying to stop something from happening so, that in, through, but throughout both boxes is a common theme. The first book, Beth, a character that’s in both of them. She is an escapee from a, a polygamist extremist group in from Arizona. So she’s been, she’s being tracked by her, her former cult, the whole book and in the trying, the book revolves around trying to get her out from under their thumb, you know, so that, that causes that thriller effect and then this one we need to, we need to find and stop the colonel before he does any more damage.

Paul:              30:13      Okay. So what’s the future for your writing then Nelson have you another book?

Nelson:          30:19      Yup. Yup. Third book, you know, this is I’m going to call it a series. It may stop it, as a trilogy for a while, but I don’t want to call it a trilogy because that kind of limits you if in case you have. I mean I have further ideas beyond the third one. So the third one, we’ll wrap up a lot of the questions for the first two and leave tentacles for, for more. So I don’t know, how far I’ll go, but I’ll, there’s definitely a third one in the making.

Paul:              30:52      Okay. Sounds good. Keep us posted. Yup. Will do. Now I come to the part in the interview where I ask you rapid-fire questions and answers just so I can get a get to know you a little bit better. So the first question, if you could chat with any crime fiction author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Nelson:          31:13      It would have to be to be Edgar Allen Poe. Because I think because he’s not here anymore., so you, you’ll never know what he was actually . You can never interview them. So that, just that see ultimate mystery, I think, his, his way of writing was also influential for me. And, I would just have so many questions. There’s so many right now, you know, there’s been new information, you know, was he an opiate addict or what? Did he have an illness? You know, he was, you found on the street unconscious, but you know, we just don’t know. So the whole, the ultimate mystery writer is someone who is life was the ultimate mystery . So that, that’s, that’s gotta be a ground for it. That’s the short answer, Paul.

Paul:              32:09      Now can you name a tool? Apple product you can’t live without. And why?

Nelson:          32:14      I guess it’s got to be Twitter because I follow a Michigan football because I grew up, my Dad went to University of Michigan, so he used to take me to the football games growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is the largest stadium in the country. And some about that, it never really leaves you, you know, when, when you have that experience as a kid. So I am in contact with the, my friend who I used to go to the games with and we both can’t stop following Michigan football. And so all my, the only thing that I really focus on is, you know, the beat writers to the University of Michigan Football. So that is my guilty pleasure for sure., and so if I didn’t have that, then I, I don’t remember life without that. So I guess that would have to be Twitter.

Paul:              33:09      Okay. Can you tell us something unique and interesting about you that not many other people may know?

New Speaker: 33:18      Interesting and unique. So if, you know, you know what I, I don’t, I don’t know, I can’t, I got a two year old and one on the way and there’s a lot of stuff, but I just can’t repeat it on a podcast.

Paul:              33:44      What number one tip would you give for new authors?

Nelson:          33:48      Just writing one word. Get that first sentence out, I think is the toughest part of any book. Uh, like I said, I’m outlining my third book, but I haven’t written that first sentence yet. And you start to like cower away from your laptop or you take your laptops in the living room, so you’ll take the long way to the kitchen to avoid your laptop, just like, it’s kinda like it becomes a little demon because you, you just, you can’t start it. So as soon as you get that first sentence, I think that’s the hardest part. And everything else will fall into play. They’ll always be people that will help you critique. But just get that first sentence down and keep going.

Paul:              34:32      Okay. And here’s one for you. If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

New Speaker: 34:40      Wow. Yeah, don’t, don’t do drugs, just just say no.

Paul:              34:48      Okay. And what’s your favorite book?

Nelson:          34:54      A Count of Monte Cristo? I think, I guess like I mentioned that was just the first, one of the first books I ever read and it was just so well, well done. Just really has action, had a motion. it was just a great, it’s a great pillar of, of the romanticism age.

Paul:              35:21      Now this next one might be tough for you being an ex singer or songwriter. What’s your favorite piece of musical song and why?

Nelson:          35:30      I would have to say a song ‘Burning Inside’ from Ministry was was really profound for me. I, it came into time in my life where I was just really, you know, had a lot, a lot of angry, unresolved issues, childhood issues, frustration with, with girls. Everything was, was coming to ahead and , that song, you know, they’d just chance burning inside, burning inside burning inside was exactly how I felt inside. And so, the, the group m

Nelson:          36:06      Ministry fronted by a Al Jorgensen, you saw I was wearing my, my little straw hat and the Skype portion, you know, that’s kind of an ode to him. I wear it when I’m trying to get creative is he used to wear that live, you know, he was the front man for Ministry, but he did several other side projects and really the versatility he had his, music really influenced me, not just music I am.

Nelson:          36:34      And I go from like Enya to Ministry in like zero point, two seconds. But just the fact that he produced his own music and he just kind of went against the record companies, you know, because his career started out. He sounded like Depeche Mode and he was really, really mellow and he just really hates that time period of his life. And he ever since then he’s gone against the grain, done things his own way, produced his own music, called his own shots. And that has been very influential to me and got me wanting to produce music, you know, to, to eat Kua, kick drum for two days to make sure it’s like perfectly sitting in the speaker anything just create creativity wise, you know, he’s gone through his own addiction. So even now he’s, he’s 50 something years old now and he’s still making music the way he wants to make it. So yeah, I mean that’s just, as far as an influence he would, he’s right up there. So and the pinnacle, that is the song Burning Inside from 1989. The mind is a terrible thing to taste.

Paul:              37:47      Okay. How can listeners get in touch with you and your books?

Nelson:          37:52      Go ahead. My books are on Amazon N Lawrence Mann. That’s N period. Lawrence Mann with two n’s. My Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter at, N Lawrence Mann, Instagram at N Lawrence Mann. And you can just like my Facebook page. Just look up N Lawrence Mann at N Lawrence, Mann, everything’s N Lawrence Mann, any kind of social media. That’s it.

Paul:              38:21      What formats are your books currently in?

Nelson:          38:23      You can get them paperback, through Ingramspark or Amazon and ebook through Amazon currently just Amazon.

Paul:              38:34      Okay. Do you have any plans for audio?

Nelson:          38:37      Audiobooks? , I don’t. I, I got something in email one saying, hey, you can do your own audiobook, record your own book. Like, I don’t want to record my own book. I’d rather someone else do that. So, I know no plants for audio yet. Okay.

Paul:              38:54      One for the future maybe?

New Speaker: 38:55      Yep, maybe.

New Speaker: 38:57      Okay. Well Nelson since it’s been really great chatting with you, I’m, we’re about up to time. I want to thank you for being so open and honest about your experiences of life in that and how you put them in your book.

Nelson:          39:08      Well, I appreciate you having me on Paul and, wish you the best and we will talk again. when the next one comes out, I’ll give you a call.

Paul:              39:18      Sounds good. Okay. For our listeners out there, Nelson’s details and the details of his book on our website to Crime Fiction Lounge. That’s crime fiction lounge.club. I want to thank you for listening and let you know that our next guest will be the lovely Debbie Young author of the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries, so make a note in your calendar because you won’t want to miss this one, I can assure you. I’ll see you then. Bye for now.

Outro:            39:45      If you’ve enjoyed this episode. Why not subscribe now? Leave a review and share with your friends, and don’t forget to tune in for the next thrilling episode. Until then, stay safe.

 

You can hear the podcast interview here.

 

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: N Lawrence Mann, Podcast, Supernatural Thriller, Transcription

TCFL Podcast Episode #15 with L.S. Hawker, Author of The Throwaways

February 5, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Welcome to my podcast, The Crime Fiction Lounge.
LS Hawker, author of the Throwaways

The Throwaways by L.S. Hawker

Just because everyone thinks you’re nothing doesn’t mean you’ve got nothing to lose. George Engle’s lived in the long shadow of his superstar twin brothers since they died in a freak accident when he was thirteen. Now, in the spring of 1986, George and his childhood friends are living lives they never wanted. It’s easy to sleepwalk through insignificance, until a second freak accident jolts them awake–only it’s no accident. One night, George regains consciousness just in time to watch an unfamiliar house explode, and finds evidence of the crime he didn’t commit planted on his back seat. He narrowly eludes what may or may not be police and subsequently learns the explosion was a cover-up for three baffling execution-style murders. George was supposed to take the fall, and now the killers are hunting him. George and his friends reunite to probe the mysterious deaths, a murderous drug cartel, and their own self-deception. But in the process, they’ll discover they can trust no one and nothing–not even their own memories. Order your of The Throwaways today:  Amazon US Amazon UK

Body and Bone: A Novel by L.S. Hawker

He wants to destroy her reputation. He wants to destroy her life. He wants to destroy . . . her. Nessa Donati used to be a happily married mother with a successful music blog and satellite radio show. But that was before her husband John relapsed on drugs and went missing. That was before he was presumed dead. And before she was framed for his murder. When a commenter on Nessa’s blog starts harassing her online, Nessa shrugs it off. Trolls are a part of internet life. But eventually the troll begins threatening her safety and releasing personal details . . . details only her husband would know. As Nessa’s life is dismantled piece by piece, her only option is to find John and put a stop to the lies. But when their son becomes a pawn in his twisted game, she must face a disturbing truth: Maybe John isn’t tormenting her, after all. But if he’s not . . . who is? And how far will this monster go to exact revenge? Published by William Morrow

Order Your Copy of Body and Bone here:

Amazon US Amazon UK

End of the Road by LS Hawker

Great minds can change the world or leave it in ruins . . . When tech prodigy Jade Veverka creates a program to communicate with her autistic sister, she’s tapped by a startup to explore the potential applications of her technology. But Jade quickly begins to notice some strange things about the small Kansas town just beyond the company’s campus—why are there no children anywhere to be seen, and for that matter, anyone over the age of forty? Why do all of the people living here act uncomfortable and jumpy? On the way home one night, Jade and her co-worker are run off the road, and their lab and living spaces are suddenly overrun with armed guards, purportedly for their safety. Confined to the compound and questioning what her employers might be hiding from her, Jade fears she’s losing control not only of her invention, but of her very life. It soon becomes clear that the threat reaches far beyond Jade and her family, and the real danger is much closer than she’d ever imagined. Order your of End of the Road today:  Amazon US Amazon UK

The Drowning Game: A Novel

They said she was armed. They said she was dangerous. They were right. Petty Moshen spent eighteen years of her life as a prisoner in her own home, training with military precision for everything, ready for anything. She can disarm, dismember, and kill—and now, for the first time ever, she is free. Her paranoid father is dead, his extreme dominance and rules a thing of the past, but his influence remains as strong as ever. When his final will reveals a future more terrible than her captive past, Petty knows she must escape—by whatever means necessary. But when Petty learns the truth behind her father’s madness—and her own family—the reality is worse than anything she could have imagined. On the road and in over her head, Petty’s fight for her life has just begun. Fans of female-powered thrillers will love debut author LS Hawker and her suspenseful tale of a young woman on the run for her future…and from the nightmares of her past. Order your of End of the Road today:  Amazon US Amazon UK

Lisa’s Contact:

Website: https://LSHawker.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSHawker_Author Facebook: https://facebook.com/LSHawker Instagram: https://instagram.com/LSHawker_Author YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LSHawker
Thank you so much to everyone who’s left a review for the show, it goes a long way toward helping convince someone who hasn’t heard the show whether it’s worth their time or not. If this podcast is something you’ve enjoyed, please leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher and subscribe if you haven’t done so already Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts:
  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
  • Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
To help out the show:
  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.
Special thanks to LS Hawker for joining me in this episode of The Crime Fiction Lounge. Bye, until next time! If you liked this episode… Then You’ll Love these too!
Podcast Footer Image of Mark Edwards
TCFL Episode #6 with Mark Edwards, Author of Bestseller, In Her Shadow
The TCFL Interview with Sam Blake
TCFL Podcast Episode #3 with Sam Blake, Author of No Turning Back  

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: Crime Thriller, LS Hawker, The Throwaways, Thriller

TCFL Podcast Episode #14 with Alison Belsham, Author of The Tattoo Thief

February 5, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Welcome to my podcast, The Crime Fiction Lounge.

 

Alison Belsham, author of The Tattoo Thief


The Tattoo Thief by Alison Belsham

Alison Belsham Author of The Tattoo Thief

‘Creepy and compulsive, this is Belsham’s first excursion into crime and it announces the arrival of a fine new voice’ Daily Mail A policeman on his first murder case A tattoo artist with a deadly secret And a twisted serial killer sharpening his blades to kill again…

When Brighton tattoo artist Marni Mullins discovers a flayed body, newly-promoted DI Francis Sullivan needs her help. There’s a serial killer at large, slicing tattoos from his victims’ bodies while they’re still alive. Marni knows the tattooing world like the back of her hand, but has her own reasons to distrust the police. So when she identifies the killer’s next target, will she tell Sullivan or go after the Tattoo Thief alone?

‘Better than Lee Child . . . Well written and gripping, would definitely recommend!’ Amazon review 5*

‘Edgy and ice cool – Marni Mullins is my kind of heroine!’ Marnie Riches

Order your of The Tattoo Thief today: 

Amazon US

Amazon UK


Poison Ink by Alison Belsham

Poison Ink

He leaves his victims fighting for life, And with the mark of death… After old remains resurface in a heatwave, a young woman is attacked and left fighting for her life in hospital. 24 hours later she dies and a deadly tattoo is discovered on her body.

When another young woman disappears, Detective Francis Sullivan and his team fear a serial killer walks the streets of Brighton.

His team identify a suspect, Alex Mullins, son of his lover, Marni. Can Francis forget their shared past and save the next victim before it is too late?

Pre-Order Your Copy of Poison Ink here:

Amazon UK


Alison’s Contact:

Website: http://www.alisonbelsham.com

Twitter: @AlisonBelsham

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonBelshamWriter/

Instagram: AlisonBelsham


Thank you so much to everyone who’s left a review for the show, it goes a long way toward helping convince someone who hasn’t heard the show whether it’s worth their time or not. If this podcast is something you’ve enjoyed, please leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher and subscribe if you haven’t done so already

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
  • Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

To help out the show:

  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.

Special thanks to Alison Belsham for joining me in this episode of The Crime Fiction Lounge.

Bye, until next time!

If you liked this episode…

Then You’ll Love these too!

Podcast Footer Image of Mark Edwards

TCFL Episode #6 with Mark Edwards, Author of Bestseller, In Her Shadow


The TCFL Interview with Sam Blake

TCFL Podcast Episode #3 with Sam Blake, Author of No Turning Back

 

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: Alison Belsham, Crime Thriller, The Tattoo Thief

TCFL Podcast Episode #13 with Theresa Talbot, Author of Keep Her Silent

February 5, 2019 By Paul Leave a Comment

Welcome to my podcast, The Crime Fiction Lounge.

Theresa Talbot author of Keep Her Silent


Theresa Talbot is a BBC Radio Scotland presenter, best known as the voice of Traffic & Travel and as the former presenter of The Beechgrove Potting Shed.

Born at a very young age in Glasgow, the locals quickly took her under their wing so she decided to stay. Theresa studied Economic History at Glasgow University where she gained an Honours degree, and tried numerous careers (including Library Assistant, Medical Rep and Pepsi Challenge Girl) before an eavesdropped conversation on the 66 bus led her into a career on radio.

Theresa’s broadcasting career has been varied – she was a freelance comedy writer for BBC Radio Scotland, produced music documentaries for both Radio Scotland and Radio 2 and even sang for Children In Need (for which she offers her sincere apologies.)

A natural born story teller, Theresa appeared at the Tidelines Festival before her first book was even published!

Her hobbies include gardening, yoga, making soup and playing around with different font settings. She also rescues chickens and makes very good soup. The two are in no way connected!

About Theresa’s work…

The Lost Children is a dark crime novel based on the real-life events surrounding the closure of Glasgow’s Magdalene Institution. It’s the first in a  three-part trilogy featuring investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neil.  Oonagh is in no way based on Theresa as Oonagh drinks and has nice hair.

Theresa’s new career as an author has attracted the attention of the press, with features in The Sun, The Daily Record,  and The Irish Times among others…. She was also a guest on Radio Scotland’s ‘Off The Ball’; Scotland’s most petty and ill-informed football programme, where presenters Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove more than met their match!

Glasgow Crime Writer Denise Mina described The Lost Children as ‘A brilliant debut by a writer who spins an unputdownable tale.’ 

Read The Full Transcription of Podcast Episode #13 with Theresa Talbot


Keep Her Silent by Theresa Talbot

Keep Her Silent by Theresa Talbot

A totally gripping thriller with a twist you won’t see coming (Oonagh O’Neil Book 2)

Oonagh O’Neil is back with another dark and chilling investigation.

‘Do that which is good and no evil shall touch you.’

This is the message the so-called Raphael killer leaves on each of his victims. A clue – and a reminder – that three decades later they’re still at large.

When investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neil is given a tip-off about one of the biggest tragedies to hit the NHS, the tainted blood scandal, she can’t help but spot that the two seemingly different events could be linked.

People were dying at the hands of those who were meant to save them and with a scandal this huge, those responsible will stop at nothing to keep it quiet…

Could Oonagh be the key to piecing together the web of lies in order to catch the killer?

Authentic and gritty, Keep Her Silent is a gripping and page-turning thriller that will leave you breathless. Perfect for fans of Susie Steiner, and Karin Slaughter, Patricia Gibney.

Order Your of Keep Her Silent today: 

Amazon US

Amazon UK


The Lost Children by Theresa Talbot

The Lost Children by Theresa Talbot

First in a gripping new thriller series featuring investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neil. Perfect for fans of Susie Steiner, Patricia Gibney and Broadchurch.

Investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neil’s instincts tell her when a story is worth pursuing. And the death of an elderly priest on the altar of his Glasgow church, just as she is about to expose the shocking truth behind the closure of an infamous Magdalene Institution, tells her a sinister cover up is in play.

DI Alec Davies is appointed to investigate the priest’s death. He and Oonagh go way back. But now they’re united in uncovering not only what happened to the lost babies secretly born in the Institution, but what happened to the young women that survived by vowing loyalty to one another… forever.

The doors of the Magdalene laundries hid the most harrowing secrets from the world – secrets Oonagh is determined to reveal, whatever the price…

‘The Lost Children is Theresa’s debut crime novel.

Get Your Copy of The Lost Children here:

Amazon US

Amazon UK


Theresa’s Contact:

Website: Theresa Talbot

Twitter:   @theresa_talbot

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheresaTalbotBooks


Thank you so much to everyone who’s left a review for the show, it goes a long way toward helping convince someone who hasn’t heard the show whether it’s worth their time or not. If this podcast is something you’ve enjoyed, please leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher and subscribe if you haven’t done so already

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
  • Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

To help out the show:

  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
  • Subscribe on iTunes.

Special thanks to Theresa Talbot for joining me in this episode of The Crime Fiction Lounge.

Bye, until next time!

If you liked this episode…

Then You’ll Love these too!

Podcast Footer Image of Mark Edwards

TCFL Episode #6 with Mark Edwards, Author of Bestseller, In Her Shadow


The TCFL Interview with Sam Blake

TCFL Podcast Episode #3 with Sam Blake, Author of No Turning Back

Filed Under: Author Friends, TCFL Podcast Tagged With: Crime Thriller, Keep Her Silent, The Lost Children, Theresa Talbot

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