Interview with Beverley Jones, author of Holiday Money
Tell us about Holiday Money. But it’s a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’! Soon she’s being blackmailed and Justin turns out to be not at all what he seemed – but then, neither is Jen! As a police press officer, she starts to use her insider knowledge to play Justin at his own game. She has to ask herself what she’s prepared to do to keep her dignity and her sanity. Even if that means becoming something she never thought she could or perhaps realised she was. Holiday Money takes a seemingly familiar premise and turns it on its head, asking the questions, Can you tell predator from prey at first glance? Is right the same as legal? And, what makes a victim? What genre is it? What kind of readers will it appeal to? If you like….? you’ll love Holiday Money Writing a book is never easy but other than that what has been the hardest part, editing or marketing? The marketing of the books seems to be a minefield by comparison as it’s a completely new area for me. My publisher is a small independent so in the last few months I’ve been trying to start doing some of my own marketing. I’d be lying if I said at the moment I wasn’t just flailing around in the dark but I’m learning a lot from self-published and e-authors – these guys really know their stuff! Social media is really coming into it’s own for this kind of marketing. You’re a journalist – does that help you as a novelist or is it a completely different kind of writing? From a more practical point of view it also makes you think about the importance of editing and how ‘stories’ are constructed – news is just a variety of stories constructed from facts and opinions and given a particular slant for a particular audience. In a way it’s not that different from fiction! How do you write, according or a schedule or when inspiration comes calling? I don’t think there’s any point in saying – ‘It’s 9.15am so I must start writing and I must write 10,000 words today!’ That’s not how it works for me. But equally there has to be an element of discipline. I suppose it depends on whether you’re a planner or a last minute crammer who needs the pressure to produce. I tend to treat writing like a job, say I’ll complete this draft/these chapters by a certain advance date, set my own deadline. If I finish sooner, then great. If I’m not producing anything I look at what’s not working and revise my approach but still try and work to that deadline as if it were fixed. Tell us a bit about yourself. There can be a tremendous amount of pressure in both these roles (which are actually quite similar, you’re just on opposite sides of the coin). The emergency services deal with death and tragedy and that’s the bread and butter of the press/media. There’s always something bad happening to someone, usually before you’ve eaten breakfast/just as you’re hoping to go home/at three a clock on a Sunday morning –it goes with the territory. But with the emergencies and deadlines there was never much time (or energy) left to write. So now I’m taking a year to give undivided attention to my next book. Ask me again in 12 months if this was a good, bad or mad decision! Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work? I’m on Twitter @bevjoneswriting What’s next? It’s a strange feeling to think that people could soon be reading my books in German and Dutch as well as English. They are set in the Welsh Valleys, Cardiff and South Wales but are modern and contemporary and I think they tell human stories that anyone can relate to. Maybe I can help put The Valleys and South Wales on the crime fiction and mystery map! In the meantime I’m finishing the draft of my third novel – it’s about 80pc there but needs one big push. I’m not telling you what it’s about yet – you’ll have to wait and see! It’s a crime thriller, similar in tone, though unlike the first two books this one is told by four people instead of a single narrator! If I can sort out the voices in my head, and not go mad, hopefully it’ll be in good shape by Christmas! Where can we buy Holiday Money? ***
Enjoyed this interview? Then check out our interview with Peggy Edelheit!
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Course I ‘like’ it – I wrote it! Hee, hee – thanks IndieAuthorland!
Yeah it woz well good Bev (Sorry, that was me being ‘street’)
Gripped by Holiday Money and Telling Stories and you’re bang on,this isn’t chick lit!
Loved the dark and twisted threads in both the books and that your female characters are refreshingly complex and flawed and even dark.
I loved them both. But did you think such complex female characters were a risk for your first books?
(Definitely a risk worth taking in my book!)