Guest Post with Claire Sheldon
Welcome, Claire. We haven’t met in person but I feel I ‘know’ you from being part of the same publishing family and your support on Twitter and Facebook.
Perhaps you’d like to introduce yourself and tell us a little about your writing journey.
My writing journey started in 2016 when my work hours were cut due to my failing health and I joined an adult education creative writing course. After a lot of highs and lows, my debut novel was published four years later! I like to say by day I work in insolvency insurance and by night I’m an author.
Your books are part of a series, The Lisa Carter Files. Can you explain the link between the books?
My publisher wanted to call the series something so people would easily know that A Silent Child is in the same series as Perfect Lie and any future books will also be linked that way. For example, Angela Marson’s books are all known for being part of the detective Kim Stone series. My books are all being linked by Lisa Carter who is my main character Jen Garner’s alter ego.
Lisa Carter. It was born out of the question of what would happen if a child was found wandering the street asking for someone but no one knows who this person is and they can’t be traced. In A Silent Child, there is one person who knows who Lisa Carter is but what does DI Jackson do? Go to Jen and ask for help or deny all knowledge? Then there’s Jen's dilemma. She almost lost her family in Perfect Lie, can she risk it all again? Can either character live with themselves if they did nothing? But nothing is ever straightforward…
Before I read a word of the A Silent Child, the cover drew me in. What were your thoughts when you saw the cover for the first time?
Mikel is a very central part of the story so it was important that he appeared on the front cover in some form. My brilliant book cover artist tried various scenes of a child alone on the street as that is what Mikel is at the start of the novel and this one was chosen by the fantastic stars.
Perfect Lie has received well-deserved, excellent reviews. Have those had an impact on your feelings pre-publication of a second novel?
To be honest, I really don’t know how I feel. There were so many highs and lows getting Perfect Lie out into the world and A Silent Child has been pretty much plain sailing. I think I am more scared that my readers are suddenly going to realise that I’m not as good as they think I am and Perfect Lie was a one-hit-wonder. So if I don’t get as excited and do as much bouncing off walls if it all falls through it won’t be the end of the world and the low won’t be as bad. What is it that Will Young sings in that song “If I lose the highs, at least I’ll accept the lows”?
They won't think that, Claire, but I can remember having similar thoughts about readers' expectations of novel two.
How much planning do you do for your novels?
I am fast discovering that planning is a good idea. Perfect Lie was written flying by the seat of my pants and a lot of work was done to it before it reached Choc Lit. A Silent Child wasn’t so when it came to the edits, I had a lot of work to do on it and a lot of re-shaping of the storyline. Also, a lot of the inspiration for both books came from being at work. I used to be renewing “bonds” and get ideas and inspiration. With spending the past year at home, things haven’t been coming to be as easy!
Are any of your characters based on real people?
A lot of the names in the book come from people I know Nikki Hayward exists in real life, George Curtis comes from another former work colleague, Christine Curtis. I also work with an Adam, James and Tim which was really funny when I heard the audio for the first time. The first line Adam says is “What the f___” which I found really funny seeing as Adam is my boss in real life. One of the teaching assistants at my child’s school is called Mrs. Littlefair, so I had to speak to her about using her surname as I didn’t want her to pick up the book and see I’ve used her surname and Hannah Littlefair is a bit of a minx. This means I am now starting to struggle with names, having almost used everyone's names that I know.
Is there going to be a Lisa Carter Files Book 3 and if so, when will it be out?
Yes, it’s in progress, or not as it seems. I had big dreams of getting a book out every six months. But I think it's going to be more like yearly so all being well 2022 if not before…
Finally, what is the biggest compliment you could have for writing ‘A Silent Child’?
It's as good if not better than Perfect Lie.
Thank you, Claire. I wish you good luck with your new novel and hope the sales will soar for you.
BIO:
Claire lives in Nottingham with her family, a cat called
Whiskers and a dog called Podrick. She suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and as a result of the disease had to
reduce her hours working in insurance for an Insolvency Insurer. This spare
time enabled her to study a creative writing course which inspired her to write
her debut, Perfect Lie.
When Claire isn't working she enjoys reading crime novels and listening to
music - the band Jimmy Eat World is her biggest muse! Claire is also an avid
reader and book blogger. The inspiration for her novels comes from the hours
spent watching The Bill with her grandparents and auntie; then later, Spooks
and other detective programmes like Morse, A Touch of Frost and Midsummer
Murders.
LINKS:
To buy the book - https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Child-compelling-thriller-Carter-ebook/dp/B08W59SQ16/
Blog and website: https://csheldonblog.wordpress.com
FB Author page: https://www.facebook.com/clairesheldonauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaireEESheldon
You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBaynham and on my Facebook Jan Baynham Writer page.
I love the sound of Claire's books - right up my street. Thank you for another great post, Jan!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Perfect Lie’ and I want to read more about the child found wandering the streets alone in this one. The fact that it’s part of a series also appeals to me.
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