Authors Electric

  I recently watched an online clip of Robbie Williams making an acceptance speech for an award. He’d ‘like to thank drugs, alcohol, ADHD, anxiety, addiction, body dysmorphia’ – (and a whole host of other crippling conditions) ‘without which none of this would have been possible’, he tells us. Yes, it was funny, but as an author who is also a performer, I found myself relating to that strange dichotomy between self-deprecation and loud obnoxious drama-queen. You may think that we lie when we describe ourselves as socially awkward and shy – after all, we jump up to show off with the most massive egos at every opportunity. We can’t wait to grab the limelight in a blaze of ridiculous costumes and glitter – and in my case giant gold wings! But I’m here to tell you that underneath every mammoth motor-mouth is a quieter, sensible and often anxious human being. Just consider how many people in show-biz are addicts, alcoholics, reclusive, exercise junkies, dysfunctional, depressed – or use...

  Pseudonyms. That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with over the past few weeks. I’ve been writing crime fiction for many years now, and in a parallel vein (pun intended), horror, for even longer. I understand the conventions of the genres, and my books and stories are generally well received. However, starting about four years ago, I started writing Young Adult fiction as well. Not quite crime, and not quite horror (although there are elements of both in there), and with a generous helping of adventure and grounded fantasy. I now have two books completed, with a third plotted out (and ideas for a further two after that). I also have a couple of books that sit in the metaphorical bottom drawer, as neither of them are suitable for publication – I see them as my coursework in learning the craft of writing for young adults. I may revisit them, at some point, but equally, I quite like the fact they’re sitting there as an indication of how I’ve improved. And it is dif...