Today I have the pleasure of being one of two stops on Alice Castle’s Death In Dulwich blog tour! 🙂

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Emma Mitchell for the opportunity to join in.

Author Interview 3…..

What process do you follow for your writing? Are you a planner or do you just let it flow? Straight to PC or pen and paper?

I tend to do a bit of a thumbnail sketch of where the story is going in a notebook, where I also jot down the bare bones on various characters, in the hope that they’re not going to pop up with green eyes one minute and lustrous brown ones the next. Once I’ve sketched things out, I go straight to my beloved MacBook and get going with the hard bit – the writing.

Do you attend writing/author focused conferences? Which is your favourite?

I’m a bit shy about attending conferences but I’m hoping to be bolder in future. I’m a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Crime Writers’ Association and the Society of Authors, so I’m spoiled for choice.

How many manuscripts do you have that you never submitted? Will you consider approaching your publisher with them now?

I have two manuscripts that I’ve never submitted for publication – one is a children’s novel with a historical whodunit theme, and one is a crime fiction story that I didn’t quite feel brave enough to submit anywhere. Both are stuck on a computer that I didn’t get custody of during my divorce, so I think they count as lost works.

What one piece of advice do you wish you received before you started writing?

I think, when it comes to writing, a well-known brand of sportswear says it best: ‘just do it.’

What is your favourite thing about the whole writing process?

Holding your own book in your hands is a magical moment which never gets old.

Was there a particular book that made you sit up and think ‘that’s it, I’m going to be an author too’?

As soon as I read C S Lewis’s The Horse and His Boy as a child, I knew I wanted to write. That book opened my eyes to a world of wonder and imagination that I wanted to escape into, and draw others into as well.

Who do you envisage as playing your characters if your book was ever turned into a movie?

Oh gosh, this is every writer’s dream, isn’t it? I’m loving playing with this idea. My heroine, Beth Haldane, is very tiny and a lot of her view of the world is informed by the way that people subconsciously patronise a short woman. I think as long as we could find someone little with a swishy ponytail, I’d be happy. Emma Stone is short, isn’t she? And of course, Ryan Gosling would make an adorable Detective Inspector York. York is that very rare beast, a nice, reliable man who is nevertheless a little bit edgy and unknowable, and Gosling is brilliant at portraying these types. I hope he can do a good English accent.

What do you consider is your greatest accomplishment?

I have two fantastic daughters who are the lights of my life. They are my finest accomplishments by a long way, but having a happy home and finding a superb publisher for my books is a great source of pride. There’s nothing like seeing your own book in print to give you a real sense of achievement.

Description…..

Thirty-something single mum, Beth Haldane, has her hands full – with a bouncy young son, a haughty cat, a fringe with a mind of its own, and bills to pay. She loves her little home in plush London suburb Dulwich, but life here doesn’t come cheap.

She is thrilled to land the post of archivist at top local school, Wyatt’s, though she secretly fears she’s not up to the job. But even Beth couldn’t have imagined how badly things could go, until she discovers a hideous crime and finds herself prime suspect.

Setting out to clear her name, Beth encounters a cast of characters who will follow her through the London Murder Mystery series, proving along the way that the nicest places can hide the nastiest secrets.

Buy a copy…..

About the author…..

Alice Castle had a long career as a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph before becoming a novelist. After a day writing about her prime suspects, she loves nothing better than curling up with a murder mystery at night. Alice grew up in south London and, after a brief stint in Brussels (where her first novel, Hot Chocolate, is set) she is back where she belongs, dreaming up more adventures for her heroine, amateur detective and single mum Beth Haldane. She is married with two children, two stepchildren and two cats, and writes about parenting on her mummy blog, DD’s Diary http://www.dulwichdivorcee.com. Her latest book, Death in Dulwich, is being published in September 2017 by Crooked Cat Books.