INFLUENCES: What Inspired WIDOW’S WELCOME by D.K. Fields

WIDOW’S WELCOME D.K. Fields (dkfields.blogspot.com) Head of Zeus (headofzeus.com) £8.99 What inspired Widow’s Welcome? In short: “Mi dispiace, il mio italiano non va bene”. This became a mantra for us when travelling in Italy – “I’m sorry, my Italian is not good”. Whether Kath was trying to order peach ice cream but kept saying ‘fish’, […]

INFLUENCES: Scooby-Doo Rules by Fran Dorricott

AFTER THE ECLIPSE Fran Dorricott (www.frandorricott.com) Titan Books (titanbooks.com) £7.99 To celebrate the release of her new novel, After the Eclipse, I’m very excited to welcome Fran Dorricott to Reader Dad to talk about her influences. Thanks for having me! When I first sat down to write After the Eclipse I didn’t think I would later […]

INFLUENCES: Rave Culture by RICHARD WILLIAMS

MOSTYN THOMAS AND THE BIG RAVE Richard Williams (richardwilliamsbooks.com) Graffeg Books (www.graffeg.com) £8.99 Thanks for asking me to write a piece for your blog, Matt! The idea of Mostyn Thomas and the Big Rave grew from the realisation, many years later, of a colourful and unique time in rural Welsh history that went largely undocumented […]

INFLUENCES: Murder Down a Dark Alleyway by TOM CALLAGHAN

Name: TOM CALLAGHAN Author of: A KILLING WINTER (2015) A SPRING BETRAYAL (2016) A SUMMER REVENGE (2017) A WINTER HUNTING (2018) On the web: tomcallaghanwriter.com On Twitter: @tomcwriter I’ve always been a voracious reader, and an indiscriminate one. My bookshelves are like a party where no-one knows anyone else and wonders if […]

INFLUENCES: Rebecca by RUTH WARE

Name: RUTH WARE Author of: IN A DARK, DARK WOOD (2015) THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 (2016) THE LYING GAME (2017) THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY (2018) On the web: http://www.ruthware.com On Twitter: @ruthwarewriter When I started writing my fourth novel, The Death of Mrs Westaway, I knew I wanted to do […]

INFLUENCES: On Inspiration by TYRELL JOHNSON

TYRELL JOHNSON Author of: THE WOLVES OF WINTER (2018) On Twitter: @tjohnso14 Inspiration is a funny thing when it comes to writing. At least it is for me. Some authors have really specific moments of inspiration; others have one important theme they want to explore; some start with a concept; some are inspired by people […]

INFLUENCES: What Made Me Write WHERE IN THE DARK by KAREN MILLIE-JAMES

KAREN MILLIE-JAMES Author of: THE SHADOWS BEHIND HER SMILE (2016) WHERE IN THE DARK (2017) On the web: www.karenmilliejames.com On Twitter: @KMillieJames My new novel Where In The Dark tackles some difficult subjects, from the search for justice of Holocaust survivors to the dark secrets of gold stolen by the Nazis and hidden in banks throughout the […]

INFLUENCES: Japanese Influences by MARK EDWARDS

MARK EDWARDS Author of: THE LUCKY ONES (2017) THE DEVIL’S WORK (2016) FOLLOW YOU HOME (2015) On the web: http://www.markedwardsauthor.com On Twitter: @mredwards I lived in Japan for a year, back in the early noughties, teaching ‘English conversation’. This involved sitting in a cubicle with three or four people – salarymen and schoolgirls, […]

INFLUENCES: Why I Write Crime Fiction by CANDICE FOX

Name: CANDICE FOX Author of: CRIMSON LAKE (2016) On the web: candicefoxauthor.com On Twitter: candicefoxbooks There was a lot of crime in my childhood, so my interest in crime began there, even if I wasn’t writing it as a young’un. My mother fostered 150+ kids who generally came from abusive, neglectful and criminal backgrounds. My […]

INFLUENCES: Finding My Own Voice by MATT WESOLOWSKI

Name: MATT WESOLOWSKI Author of: SIX STORIES (2017) On Twitter: ConcreteKraken It’s taken me years to find my own voice. I’ve spent the majority of my writing life mimicking; from a bargain-bin Enid Blyton when I was a kid, a teenage cut-price James Herbert to a snide Stephen King or else 50% off all Lovecraft, […]