Today it's my pleasure to welcome Rebecca Bradley to the blog for a chat about her latest book Love Lies Bleeding.
Thanks for having me, Sharon. It’s great to be here again. I published my first novel, Shallow Waters, the first book in the DI Hannah Robbins series, in December 2014. In May 2015 I officially retired from the police service on medical grounds and I’ve been a full-time writer since. I’ve released eight books in the Hannah Robbins series, two standalone novels and two books in the DI Claudia Nunn series. A new series set in Sheffield.
If you had to give an elevator pitch for your latest book Loves Lies Bleeding, what would it be?
When a women is found stabbed in her home Hannah enters the world of women who love lifers.
Audrey King, a teacher of young children, did nothing but fall for Wendell Hayes. A man serving life for slaughtering his family. She’s found dead in her home with the murderous signature of the very man she visited, but there’s no way he could have killed Audrey from inside prison.
Hayes, the son who took a hammer to his parents, his pregnant sister and her husband, horrifies detective Hannah Robbins. The threats he made against her when she arrested him for those murders still haunt her. Yet she must confront him if she is to get to the bottom of this brutal crime.
But Hayes isn’t the only one haunting Hannah’s slowly fracturing mind. A previous case where she was the victim is destroying her. Can she find justice for Audrey before her world spirals out of control, or will she take the investigation down with her?
Love Lies Bleeding is an intriguing title, how easy do you find it coming up with the titles for your books?
This is the hardest part of writing a book! Honestly, I’d rather write 80,000 words than come up with a three to five word title. Though saying that, I’m writing Hannah 9 and I already have a title and I’ve only just started it. This is rare for me. Usually I get to the end and turn to crime writing friends to help me come up with something. For Claudia 3 I’ve completely abdicated from the process and sent it to my publisher with the title, Claudia 3, giving them free rein over what it will be called!
Love Lies Bleeding is book 8 in your Detective Hannah Robbins series, how has her character evolved since you first created her?
Hannah has been through so much since the first book in the series and Love Lies Bleeding sees the culmination of those events come to pass. It’s not a happy story for Hannah and there are a lot of questions for readers at the end, but they don’t have to worry, she will return as I’m in the process of writing book 9.
Which comes first for you, characters or plot?
A mixture of both but I do love a character driven book when reading myself, so I try to put a lot of work into my own characters. It’s not just a police procedural, it’s about the people. How are the people affected by events that occur in the plot? They can’t just swan about from one scene to the next with no emotion. Real people just don’t do that. And that’s what I hope I bring to the police procedural genre. As a retired police detective myself I know what toll difficult investigations take on the investigator and can bring that to life.
If your Detective Hannah Robbins stories were to be made into a TV series, who would be your dream cast for the leading roles?
This is something I honestly haven’t thought about. You’re putting me on the spot! Probably Vicky McClure for Hannah as it’s set in Nottingham and Vicky is from Nottingham. And maybe Christopher Eccleston for DS Aaron Stone.
What would you say is the best thing about writing? And on the flip side, what is the hardest?
The best thing is creating worlds that didn’t previously exist. Having that finished product that came from your mind. The hardest is that it doesn’t actually look like it did when you were imagining it in your mind in the beginning. You can never fully get the image down into words and that can be frustrating. You can only do your best though and with the help of good editors, mould it into an emotional ride the readers will enjoy.
If you could give some advice to your younger self about writing, what would it be?
Start now. I didn’t start writing until just before I was forty. I so wish I had started writing a couple of decades earlier. Writing is all about the practice and I’m still practicing. You’re always learning your craft. I wish I’d started sooner.
What advice would you give to other aspiring authors who are thinking about writing a novel?
Write every day. Even if it’s just 200 words. You can find ten minutes just before you go to bed. It keeps the story alive in your head and keeps the flow going. If you keep stopping and starting it makes it so much more difficult. There’s nothing worse than sitting down and wondering who your characters are and what they were doing and feeling last time you were with them. You spend half your allotted time catching up with them and you’ve wasted time. If you don’t have the time for a proper writing session one day, just sit down before bed and knock out 100-200 words. It all adds up and it keeps the story alive for you. Then one day you’ll be surprised to find you’ve actually finished the project.
Website: Rebeccabradleycrime.com
Twitter: @RebeccaJBradley
Facebook: Rebecca Bradley Crime
Oooh, I love those casting suggestions! All for it! Great interview with Rebecca - whom I've known (and read) ever since her first book came out!
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