A Good Thriller discussion

http://claremackintosh.com/

Go to Clare's website and see the great reviews for her book " I let You Go".

A book I gave five stars to and called outstanding.

A great read that I hope you will read for out BOTM in January.

Thanks Clare, and welcome to the group.

Sean, what time does the q&a with Clare begin on 1/25?

Hopefully ALL Day, as with all our Q & A's.

I ask the authors to pop in throughout the day, as we have so many time zones.

Hopefully all set for lots of questions tomorrow.

Clare, thank you for spending time with us tomorrow (I'm getting a head start here). I just finished I Let You Go and loved it. You did a great job with the characters. I especially like the portrayal of Ian! He was creepy to me from the get go. Was it difficult to write him? Was there any particular reason to write him in first person? I think it added intimacy.

Brenda wrote: "Clare, thank you for spending time with us tomorrow (I'm getting a head start here). I just finished I Let You Go and loved it. You did a great job with the characters. I especially like the portra..."

THanks for your question, Brenda! Ian was both easy and hard to write; easy because his voice came to me very quickly, and I didn't need to edit those sections, but hard because I didn't want to spend time with him in my head! I wanted to have him almost talking directly to the reader; I thought it would be unsettling, as well as give the intimacy you mention.

Clare.

1/ When does your next book come out.

2/ When you start writing to you have an idea of the end and the plot, or add as you are writing.

3/ Who are your favourite authors to read.

4/Do you listen to music, when you write. (Simon Kernick listens to Zero 7, lovely music)

Hello Clare! Thank you for being with our group. I loved "I Let You Go" and was wondering if you could give us some insight into your next novel? A lot of us are eagerly waiting for it.

Sorry I'm not finished yet. Characters with secret IDs fascinate me. But I got delayed when I misplaced my copy of the British paperback & await another. So let me ask: why isn't the book to appear in the US till May? I hope the US publishers don't do anything terrible to it - they often dumb down the vocabulary for us Yanks.

Hi Clare! It is such a joy to have you here with us. I loved I Let You Go and especially protagonist Jenna. What a well-written character. I cannot wait for your next offering. Please tell me it will be available in the US faster than I Let You Go (though I finally happily found it on Book Depository). Also, are you able to give us one sentence on what your new book is about?

What did your friends and family think of Ian? (-:

How do you go about planning and plotting your novels? Do you start with the end and work backwards? How do you manage to lace all the clues within the novel?

Sean wrote: "Clare.

1/ When does your next book come out.

2/ When you start writing to you have an idea of the end and the plot, or add as you are writing.

3/ Who are your favourite authors to read.

4/Do yo..."

1/ My next book will be out in August... hopefully!

2/ A bit of both. I have a good idea as to the twists and turns in the plot, although they always change a bit as I write each draft.

3/ I love psychological thriller writers; favourites are Sophie Hannah and Elizabeth Haynes, as well as newer authors like Jenny Blackhurst. I've just finished the new Lisa Gardner book, Find Her, which is incredible.

Pat wrote: "Hello Clare! Thank you for being with our group. I loved "I Let You Go" and was wondering if you could give us some insight into your next novel? A lot of us are eagerly waiting for it."

How lovely of you to say, thank you! I See You starts with a woman who finds her photograph in the classified section of a London newspaper, and sets out to find out why it's there. It's very dark and scary, and I'm enjoying writing it.

Bill wrote: "Sorry I'm not finished yet. Characters with secret IDs fascinate me. But I got delayed when I misplaced my copy of the British paperback & await another. So let me ask: why isn't the book to appear..."

Bill wrote: "Sorry I'm not finished yet. Characters with secret IDs fascinate me. But I got delayed when I misplaced my copy of the British paperback & await another. So let me ask: why isn't the book to appear in the US till May? I hope the US publishers don't do anything terrible to it - they often dumb down the vocabulary for us Yanks. "

Hi Bill

The US rights to I Let You Go were sold quite a few months after I began working with my UK publisher, so the publication dates were always going to be different. I did the copy edits quite a while ago and there are big changes, just vocab that might jar for a US reader (boot/trunk, pudding/dessert, canteen/cafeteria are ones I remember!)

Christine wrote: "Hi Clare! It is such a joy to have you here with us. I loved I Let You Go and especially protagonist Jenna. What a well-written character. I cannot wait for your next offering. Please tell me it wi..."

Hi Christine

Ian is universally hated! I'm not sure on the publication dates for I See You, but I suspect it will be closer to the UK date than I Let You Go was, because both countries will get it at the same time! I See You is about a woman who finds her photograph in the classified adverts at the back of a London newspaper.

Laura wrote: "How do you go about planning and plotting your novels? Do you start with the end and work backwards? How do you manage to lace all the clues within the novel?"

Hi Laura

It depends... With I Let You Go I started from the middle (if you've read the book, you'll understand why!) but with the book I'm writing now I started at the end, then went back to the beginning and plotted in order of events. In the second and third drafts I'll go back and check that 'clues' are in the right places.

Clare wrote: "Laura wrote: "How do you go about planning and plotting your novels? Do you start with the end and work backwards? How do you manage to lace all the clues within the novel?"

Hi Laura

It depends....."

Thank you for your answer! I am really looking forward to I See You.

Clare, I am just 80% through with Lisa Gardner's new book Find Me.

A unique story

Sean wrote: "Clare, I am just 80% through with Lisa Gardner's new book Find Me.

A unique story"

Isn't it? I thought it was spectacular.

Clare wrote: "Bill wrote: "Sorry I'm not finished yet. Characters with secret IDs fascinate me. But I got delayed when I misplaced my copy of the British paperback & await another. So let me ask: why isn't the b..."

I hate changes like that. Why do they assume we Yanks can't understand real English? Ruins the flavour - like getting an American hotdog & French's mustard instead of a sausage & Coleman's mustard wirh my Full English breakfast! And being told by the waiter, 'That's what you Americans like.'

Bill wrote: "I hate changes like that. Why do they assume we Yanks can't understand real English? Ruins the flavour - like getting an American hotdog & French's mustard instead of a sausage & Coleman's mustard wirh my Full English breakfast! And being told by the waiter, 'That's what you Americans like.'"

Sorry :/ I don't think there are that many changes... Hopefully you'll still enjoy the story.

Hello Clare!

Good to see you here, I know we've met on Twitter! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this for us. A real treat for the group.

I was blown away by your book last year and it got a 5* rating from me. That was interesting how you said that you started with 'that twist'. How did that idea come to you? I read a lot of crime fiction and that twist was spectacular. Did you have any inkling that your book was going to take off the way that it has? The media attention, etc.,? How long has the idea of the book been around and what's your background in terms of writing? Have you always know you could write?

Janet wrote: "That was interesting how you said that you started with 'that twist'. How did that idea come to you? I read a lot of crime fiction and that twist was spectacular. Did you have any inkling that your book was going to take off the way that it has? The media attention, etc.,? How long has the idea of the book been around and what's your background in terms of writing? Have you always know you could write? "

Hi Janet! That's a lot of questions...
The idea for I Let You Go came from my policing background; partly from a real life hit and run, and partly from learning that no one is ever completely good or completely evil. I wanted to explore these shades of grey and to play with the preconceptions we all have.
I started writing I Let You Go in 2011, and it was sold to a publisher in 2013. I then spent 18 months working with my editor before it came out, so it's been a long time coming! I've always written, but I've learned a huge amount over the last few years about structure and pace. I had absolutely no idea the book would be as successful as it has been. I remember hearing that if a debut novel sells 20,000 copies it's done pretty well; I Let You Go has now sold half a million copies, which is staggering. It's just starting to come out around the world now (it is being translated into 26 languages) and I'm really excited about seeing all the different editions.

Wow! That is an impressive number and congratulations on that. Because the book has been so successful do you feel any additional pressure for your next one? Hopefully not.

Do you miss policing?

Great news, and more to come with worldwide sales.

Thank you for answering my questions, Clare. Did you have to do much research into the psychological aspects of your characters' personalities?

Also, I see that you are also a feature writer and columnist and have written for a number of publications. Are you still involved in this? What sort of things do you write about?

Janet wrote: "Wow! That is an impressive number and congratulations on that. Because the book has been so successful do you feel any additional pressure for your next one? Hopefully not.

Do you miss policing?"

Thank you! I do feel a bit of pressure, but all I can do is write the best book I can, so that's what I'm concentrating on. I don't miss policing nearly as much as I thought I would, to be honest. I love writing, and it's great to be there with the children when they need me.

Christine wrote: "Thank you for answering my questions, Clare. Did you have to do much research into the psychological aspects of your characters' personalities?

Also, I see that you are also a feature writer and and columnist and have written for a number of publications. Are you still involved in this? What sort of things do you write about?"

Not research as such; I drew on my first-hand experiences of meeting victims, witnesses and offenders as a police officer.

When I first left the police I did a lot of freelance journalism (and copywriting) to pay the bills. I wrote mostly opinion and experience pieces, but also some interviews (eg; an amazing woman who cared full time for two disabled children). For the last two years I have written a crime-writers' advice column for Writing Magazine, and I have been a columnist for Cotswold Life magazine for almost six years. Nowadays I don't pitch for journalism work, but will write a feature if I'm approached.

Thanks, Clare. You have had such an interesting career path!!

Clare wrote: "Pat wrote: "Hello Clare! Thank you for being with our group. I loved "I Let You Go" and was wondering if you could give us some insight into your next novel? A lot of us are eagerly waiting for it...."

Thank you for answering and I look forward to "I See You".

Thank you very much Clare.

I hope you will stay in the group.

A great group

Yes, thanks Clare and best of luck with your future works.