Available now Paperback or kindle edition click hereQ & A with Dreda Say Mitchell. I would like to say a huge Thank You to Dreda for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Dreda Say Mitchell: Vendetta 1. Do you have any rituals that help you get in the mood to sit down and write? My dad worked in a factory and my mum worked as a cleaner and I have the same attitude to work as them - you turn up on time, roll up your sleeves and crack on. The one tiny thing I will admit to indulging in is starting the day with an invigorating cuppa of Matcha green tea. Umm, lovely!! Gives me bags of energy! 2. Are the characters of your books based on anyone? Many writers work with what they’ve got and sometimes you’ll invent a character and it turns out later they do seem rather like someone you know. Obviously, my lawyer would deny that, (hahaha). When I look back at some of my novels I realise that many of the characters have represented real life issues, rather than real life people, that I’ve been interested in, such as ending up in the care system, trying to get out of a life of crime, leading a respectable life all the time afraid that people will find out both your mum and dad are hardcore criminals. In the case of ‘Vendetta’ my big issue and question was, what happens to an undercover cop when he’s put into a crisis situation and he’s already carrying the baggage of a traumatic past? 3. Where do you get your ideas from? From absolutely everywhere. Writers are like magpies always ready to borrow and nab stories around them. You can take even the most innocuous story, event or incident and turn it into a thriller. If someone says to you, ‘I’m leaving town’, you can imagine – what’s the real reason they’re leaving town? Have they murdered someone? Are they really leaving town or just pretending to as a cover while they get involved in a serious crime? The woman who’s crying at the bus stop - are her debts so bad, she’s desperate and will do anything? And so on. Dropping the question, ‘What if’ into a seemingly innocent situation can have some really dramatic results. 4. How long did it take to write a book like Vendetta? There is a three-year gap between the publication of my last book, ‘Hit Girls’ and ‘Vendetta’, plus I decided to turn another crime sub-genre corner to write thrillers, so I needed as much help as I could get! My agent Thomas Stofer and partner Tony were invaluable in helping to create exciting plotlines and develop characters. It took me roughly six months, but you know once it gets to your publisher there are a few more months worth of editing that needs to be done to fine tune your book. Its sequel, ‘Death Trap’, took about three months. I think if you’ve got all the basics building blocks right and you don’t mind putting in a shift, it shouldn’t take very long. 5. On average how much time a day do you put into writing? I wear lots of different hats in terms of employment, so it depends what else I’ve got on at any particular time. But if my diary is clear, I will spend 8 hours a day doing it. As I said above, I have the working person’s attitude to getting things done. I’m a morning person, so I’m usually at my computer by 7:30 and aim to write around 3,000 words a day. 6. Who or what always makes you happy? In the community I come from, music is very important so I would say music makes me happy. I’m a really foodie – ah, what a pleasure – and my recent discovery of Japanese cuisine is making me very happy indeed! Now I’m going to get a complaint from my partner Tony because I haven’t said him - he makes me deliriously happy too!! 7. What book are you reading at the moment? And what books would you recommend for others to read? I’m reading ‘The Informant’ by Susan Wilkins. It’s her debut novel and it’s gripping, which is no surprise as Susan has a long track record of writing for television. As for recommending novels, I would say the thing is to step outside your comfort zone. If you love Tolstoy, read a thriller as well. If you love thrillers, read Tolstoy as well. Some of my crime favs are the novels of Lee Child and going on another dramatic journey with Jack Reacher, the Carrigan and Miller books by Stav Sherez and anything that Nick Stone writes. 8. Which author do you most admire? It depends which mood I’m in. If I’m suffering from existential angst then it might be Dostoyevsky; if I want a reminder how good thrillers can be then it might be Lee Child. But the author I keep returning to is Alice Walker. I read her Pulitzer Prize winning ‘The Colour Purple’ when I was in my mid-twenties and its stunning impact has never left me. Alice Walker drew me into a world I knew little about, that dragged me through such a range of emotions; I was totally strung out by the end of the book, but with a huge smile on my face. Another novel of hers, ‘The Third Life of Grange Copeland’ also had an amazing impact on me. I was very privileged to see Alice Walker while she was in England recently. 9. Where do you write? The guest bedroom doubles up as my office. I don’t need much space, just enough for my gorgeous Mac and me and a few shelves for supplies and books. What I do enjoy about this space is when I need to stop and think I just stare out into the garden, usually at Tony’s much-loved vegetable patch. 10. Any advice to those who hold the dream of becoming an author? Dreams only come true if you do them, so crack on and get writing. And ask the question, how do you best get started? Some people go it alone, just them and their computer, while others find joining a creative writing class more useful and supportive. The latter worked for me. And be prepared to be in it for the long haul – many writers don’t get published with the first novel they commit to paper; it may be their third or fourth novel that’s the one to take off. Read my review here. Purchase the book here. You can also follow Dreda on
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