What inspired you to write crime set in Turkey? I’ve always been a crime fiction fan. But when I wanted to read something set in a country I’d been going to all my life, I couldn’t find anything at the time (1990s) except the 1950s espionage novels of Eric Ambler. And so, first of all […]

Tell me what inspired you to write The Mystery of The Colour Thief? I was volunteering as a school governor at an inner city primary school, where the headteacher had recently introduced an in-school counselling service. She was telling us about its positive effects, and mentioned a pupil who had come to her office saying […]

Tell me what inspired you to write for children? Two things really.  First, I have two young children myself, 8 and 11 now, and over the past few years I have really enjoyed getting back into children’s literature and reading them stories at bedtime.  There’s so much excellent new stuff nowadays! (although I also read […]

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 […]