What is your favourite childhood book?
Peter Pan has to be number one alongside, Treasure Island and Stig of the Dump. I was a real fan of anything that had a map at the front of it, so I could visualise where the story happens. I think my own writing is very visual, probably as a result of how I like to read.
At school, were you good at English?
I was in the 1st year group to take final exams after O-levels were withdrawn. I achieved A in 9 subjects except English which was a B, so it was probably my worst subject!
Who are your favourite writers?
James Herbert, Stephen King, although some of SK is away with the fairies. I struggle to read anything these days and have DNF every book I’ve started for the last 2 years. I put it down to writing without a break.What have you written to date?
I am writing my 33rd novel at the moment. There are 10 in the Anglesey Murders series, 7 in the Detective Alec Ramsay series, 5 in the Soft Target series, 4 in the Inspector Braddick series, 3 in the Journey series and there will be 3 in the Cuckoos on the Mersey series and a standalone, The Curious Haunting at 44 Brick St.
What are you working on at the present?
I am finishing the 2nd Cuckoos novel set for November and completing the edits for The Curious Haunting.What genre do you write?
I write thrillers but they blur into horror for some people. They are violent and tense and too much for some people.
What draws you to this genre?
I write what I enjoy reading. I can’t do padding and I can’t read a chapter where nothing happens!
What made you decide to sit down and start something?
In the summers of 2007 while on an extended holiday in the USA. I was burgled at home and rendered unemployed while abroad. My partner asked me what I was going to do and I said, I had no idea. She said, why don’t you write a book? I bought a pen and notebook that day and the rest is history.
Do you write every day?
Yes. I check my figures every morning and write from 8.30-4.30 Mon-Fri
Where do your ideas come from?
Every book has started with something I see on the news. Real life issues inspire everything I’ve written and weave the truth into the fiction to make them feel real.