Tell me what inspired you to write crime books? When I was a kid I lived in Africa. My parents used to go to sleep for an hour or two every afternoon because it was so hot. I never could, so I worked my way through their green-backed Penguins. I think boredom is a great […]

Tell me what inspired you to write the Boy at the Back of the Class? I’ve been so fortunate as to be travelling out in my spare time to the refugee camps of Calais and Dunkirk in France since 2015, to aid the phenomenal long-term volunteers working to help refugees stuck there. But there was […]

Tell me what inspired you to write action thrillers? Just being a fan of thrillers written by people like Lee Child, Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly, but also enjoying action movies like the Bourne and Bond films. I’ve always enjoyed fast-paced stories that make you want to keep turning the pages. Where did the inspiration […]

Tell me what inspired you to write historical crime set in India? Hi Fiona, thanks for featuring me on your blog, and thanks for the great questions. I think Raj-era India was a fascinating place and time, unique in many respects and one that’s been overlooked, especially in terms of crime fiction. I think that […]

Tell me what inspired you to write The Puppet Show? It was my agent actually. I already had a series with another publisher but he wanted something new to sell. He suggested I stick with the Cumbrian setting as it seemed to work well. The idea was one I’d had for a while and I’d […]

What Inspired you to write the Territory series? I wanted to write about two issues that I’m really interested in: the environment and education. Turning to the environment first – it’s going to sound corny, but I have two young girls and I’m really worried about the sort of world we’re leaving behind for them. […]

Tell me what inspired you to write fish boy? Ooh I would say – a love of mysteriousness, the sea and David Attenborough! What can you tell us about your second book? It’s an adventurous road trip of you tube, self discovery and death avoidance with an awe inspiring scandinavian backdrop and fun bunch of […]

Tell me what inspired you to write your children’s series and are you limiting yourself to a certain number of books in this series? I write the books that I wish I’d had as a child. I was obsessed with murder mysteries (I discovered Agatha Christie aged 12) but could never find stories that starred […]