I am absolutely over the moon to welcome Mel Sherratt back to Chat About Books today! 🙂

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I am a huge fan of Mel’s and have LOVED everything she has written to date. I can’t wait to share my review of Liar Liar, as part of the blog tour, on 1st March!

Follow, like and share the book love with these awesome book bloggers…..

In the meantime I have a fabulous interview with the lady herself to share with you today…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I’m Mel Sherratt and I write crime thrillers. I have fourteen out so far with my new one, Liar Liar, which came out on 10th February.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Predominantly, it’s from the newspaper or TV. As I write crime, there are a lot of petty crime stories that start my mind wandering and twisting and twisting to make a plot for a book.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

I hope not as most of them are murderers, crooks, gangland criminals. Occasionally there is a kick-ass female main character, and I suppose she has a few of my traits, if anything.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I have a baby book of names that I skim through. It’s important in my genre to keep the names very stereotypical. For example, Craig and Liam would be better suited than Dan or Ben. Mary and Annie would be more suited than Sophie and Beth. So it very much depends on the genre I am writing in.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I write each morning for a few hours if I’m drafting a book. If I’m editing, I edit 10% of a book per day. Mostly I work in the mornings when I am fresh. After lunch, I have to catch up with everything else – admin, company business admin, social media, emails, advertising, blog posts etc. There can be a lot!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Ooh, this is hard. I suppose if I had to choose it would be Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers, Lisa Jewell, CL Taylor and Caroline Mitchell.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Gosh, I have been fortunate to meet SO many over the past few years. I always go to pieces when I meet my favourites so I would actually just like to have a pleasant conversation without feeling like a geek!

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I loved Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and The Secret Seven. I would read anything from the library and loved a trip there each Saturday morning. I still like to escape to an imaginary world.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Oh my – controversial! I would have liked to continue Gone Girl. I would have liked one of them to end up dead. Does that make me mean? Having said that, I think Gone Girl had the perfect ending for the characters.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Gone Girl! Seriously, I loved the twist and the whole scheming woman thing. It’s one of the books that I feel was well adapted to the big screen too.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

The Worrier. I worry about anything, far too much of the time. I’m sure I’d worry if I hadn’t got anything to worry about.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I am terrified of the dark.

Tell us about your last release?

Liar – the truth can be a dangerous thing…
When a young boy falls from a balcony in a block of flats, DS Grace Allendale witnesses the shocking aftermath of the tragic event. But strangely, no one will admit to seeing anything – and the parents will only tell the police that it was an accident.

Determined to sort the truth from the lies, Grace is thrown into a case that takes her to the darkest corners of the criminal world – and strikes closer to home than she could have ever imagined…
A gripping and pacey thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the moment you turn the first page. The perfect read for fans of Martina Cole.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Sometimes I’m not at home for publication day. Often I can be in London or taking part in a panel at a literary festival. Most things like that are arranged around the launch of books. However, if I am home, I like nothing more than going to lunch with my best friend and then out for something to eat with my husband during the evening. Then I can also chat with readers online too.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m at @writermels on Twitter, at MelSherrattAuthor on Facebook and my website it http://www.melsherratt.co.uk All my books can be found on Amazon and in bookshops and supermarkets around publication time.

Mel Sherratt Amazon Author Page

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Mel! 🙂

Thank you!