Thriller Women

AJC: I’m honoured! Since our last chat, I’ve released my second novel Don’t Come Looking and have started writing my third novel. I’m about halfway through the first draft. I’ve been developing my cozy mystery series, too. 

I’ve also worked tirelessly on marketing Leave Well Alone. Several publishers approached me to buy the audiobook rights, and in April, I sold them to publisher W.F. Howes. The audiobook will be released on July 22nd. 

TW: Don't Come Looking has the same heroine as Leave Well Alone, Eva Barnes, and a few of the original characters, but isn't a direct sequel. It's more of a standalone story. What inspired you to move on a few years in Eva's life and see her in a new career?

AJC: I couldn’t leave Eva alone! Many readers contacted me after I released Leave Well Alone saying they wanted to know more about what happened to the characters after the dramatic events of the story, especially Eva. So I set about writing the next phase of her life. 

TW: The very intriguing premise of Don't Come Looking is that of a man who goes missing but first tells the police not to look for him. How did you come up with that idea?

AJC: I read a BBC article about a man who did precisely the same as my character - Marc O’Sullivan. Out of the blue, he upped and left his life. Before he did this, he made statement at his local police station to say, when his family report him missing, he doesn’t want to be found. It made me question, what could possibly have happened to make someone want to do this? And then I began plotting...

TW: There are lots of great twists in the novel - how did you think them up?

AJC: I couldn’t tell you! They just come to me – not always straight away. Some of them took a good few weeks to slot into place.

 
TW: Will there be more Eva Barnes stories? What's next for her?

AJC: There will be one more, at least. After the ending of Don’t Come Looking I feel I have to write the next stage of Eva’s life.

TW: What are you writing now?

AJC: The book I am writing at the moment features Eva Barnes again.

TW: As a self-published author you are brilliant at marketing your novels on social media, including setting up your own readers' group on Facebook. Why do you think this is so important and what are your marketing tips for other writers?

AJC: As a self-published author, I am one hundred per cent responsible for marketing my books. If I don’t, they don’t sell. Social media is a great avenue for doing this. 

Marketing tips for other writers – I guess the most important thing is to know your ideal reader and find the best way to target them. And start marketing your brand and your book as soon as possible! As far as social media is concerned, it’s time-consuming and hard work, so choose one or two platforms and do them well. For me, Facebook and Instagram work best, so I’ve concentrated on these two.

TW: What have you learned about the publishing industry since you started out? Is there anything you wish you knew at the start that you do now?

AJC: Goodness, considering I knew nothing, I’ve learnt heaps, and to coin a phrase, it was a very steep learning curve. And I still have so much to learn. I wish I’d known it all at the start! In hindsight, I would have started marketing the book earlier than I did.

TW: How do you manage to juggle your writing life and your personal life?

AJC: Given I have three children, and my husband has been seriously ill this past year, I have to grab every opportunity I can to work on my writing. I get up early, very early, and get a good few hours in before everyone else stirs. That’s the only way I can fit everything in.

AJC: Ruth Ware.

TW: Writing groups or a solo writing retreat?

AJC: A solo writing retreat. Somewhere hot, please!

TW: Browsing a second-hand bookshop or big new book chain?

AJC: Big new book chain.

TW: Your favourite way to wind down on a Friday night?

AJC: I’m a simple girl at heart – a generous G&T and Netflix.

TW: Your treat to yourself when you've finished writing a book?

AJC: A bottle of bubbly with hubby!


Thanks AJ!

A missing man. A desperate friend. A circle of deceit.

Would you refuse your friend’s desperate plea for help?

It’s eight years on from the dramatic events of Leave Well Alone, and Eva is now a police detective. When Eva’s close friend Marc disappears, his wife Sasha is distraught, and Eva is baffled. Sasha and Marc were happily married with three kids. They were the perfect couple… or so everybody thought.

Sasha begs Eva to help her find Marc. But he has appeared at the police station where Eva works and has made a statement. It’s on record – when his family report him missing, Marc doesn’t want to be found. Why?

Eva and Sasha search for the truth, and, as each day passes, the mystery deepens. What was Marc up to? What drove his inexplicable actions in the weeks leading up to his disappearance? And then a disturbing discovery changes everything.