Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

Something Borrowed, Something Dead is about a woman in a small Cotswold village who has the irritating habit of borrowing things and not giving them back - a nasty habit which eventually drives someone to murder.

Please can you tell us about the Hamish Macbeth tales and a quartet of Edwardian murder mysteries?

 The Hamish Macbeth mysteries are set in Sutherland where we used to have a croft and my husband had a flock of black sheep.  It is a beautiful part of the British Isles and the least populated.  The Edwardian mysteries concern Lady Rose and her on off and on romance with Captain Harry Cartwright and all the murder and mayhem they get involved in.  I hope readers will find the background to these stories authentic.  I did masses of research.

What is the appeal of a good murder mystery for you?

 I like a murder mystery with a bit of P.G.Wodehouse, a bit of romance and a crossword puzzle mystery. I like whodunnit not whydunnit.

Where did your inspiration for the story come from?

 The inspiration for the latest Agatha came right out of my head.  I do not write about real people or real places.

Please tell us how you pieced together the character of Agatha.

Agatha just happened.  I wanted someone you might not like but would want to win through in the end.  She says a lot of the things I would like to say but I haven't got the guts.

You live between Paris and the Cotswolds, so what attracted you to spending your time between these two locations?

 We moved to the Cotswolds because we thought son, Charlie, would go to Oxford but he went to Cambridge University instead.  We rented a flat in Paris after I had cancer because my husband said it would take my mind off it and it did.

What is your writing process?

 I write two hours every morning, very quickly.  I do not do drafts.

Who do you most like to read?

 Who do I like to read?  So many authors I can't name them all.  Eric Ambler, Jim Kelly, Stuart McBride, Denise Mina, Alexander McCall Smith to name only a few.

What is next for you?

 I am now writing the latest Hamish Macbeth called Death of a Liar about a woman who cries wolf once too often.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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