I made one (very simple) change to my writing process a couple of years ago that’s been truly transformative. Previously, when I had an idea for a story, I used to start with plot-related notes or an outline or just dive in to the first scene. Now I start with character. I commit to writing…
In the last month, short stories of mine have appeared in the Sunday Express S Magazine and The People’s Friend. When I got the brief to write a 980-word story for the Sunday Express, I was apprehensive. I like big plots (and I cannot lie). How was I going to fit a twisty, turny, plotty…
Find out the secrets of audiobook narration in this interview with one of Dead Ringer‘s narrators, Nathalie Buscombe. You’re also a talented artist and writer, in addition to being an actor. How does audiobook narration fit into your schedule and why do you enjoy it? I have separate agents for Acting and Voiceover and my…
This is a longer version of the quiz I ran at my book launch event. Test your knowledge of doppelgangers and imposters with these questions. (Answers below.) Questions Q1. Which language does the word ‘doppelganger’ derive from? Q2: Which sitcom star was accused of robbery in 2018 after his dastardly doppelganger was caught on CCTV…
What is the likelihood that you have a doppelgänger somewhere in the world? The scientific facts are stranger than you think. The idea of the doppelgänger – a stranger who looks uncannily like you – stretches back through history. The superstition is that encountering your “double” is a bad omen that could lead to your…
On Wednesday 26 February 2020, I stopped by the BBC Radio Bristol studios to chat with Steve Yabsley about cats, ice skating, and the time I got fired from a job for insubordination. Play the interview below or find it on YouTube…
How did Dead Ringer go down with the book bloggers? Here’s a round-up of what happened on part 1 of the blog tour. “Littered with moments of dark humour and flawless insight, I found myself inside the head of both girls as their story came tumbling out.” (Full review at Chapterinmylife) “Fast paced, addictive and…
As the focus of crime fiction shifts to GenZ, the horrors are becoming more mundane – debt, burnout, poor mental health – but no less terrifying. “Generation Z” typically describes the post-Millennials, those born between the late 90s and the early 2010s. It’s a generation shaped by the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing global instability;…
Here’s a quick look into my writing process with a few fun facts behind the scenes of Dead Ringer. A five year journey It is almost exactly 5 years from the time I started writing Dead Ringer to its publication. When I tell people that, I think they imagine I’m just a really slow typist….
Bob Cornwell gives his review of Dead Ringer for CrimeTime. “When I first met my double, I was disappointed how little she looked like me.” So thinks Ella Mosier, 24, a native of Walney Island, close by Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria as she meets Jemima Coottes-Mitchell, 25, London for the first time. Both have been intrigued by…
Friday 28 February saw the official launch of Dead Ringer at Foyles in Bristol. Here’s some pictures and notes from the big night. I started off with a little speech and a reading of the first chapter of Dead Ringer. As you can see, there were many #faces during the reading… I missed my calling…
Inspiration isn’t always linear; oftentimes, story ideas emerge out of unexpected nuggets colliding. Here’s how the premise for Dead Ringer ultimately came together. A clickbait article “I found my twin on YouTube.” When you’re scrolling distractedly through Twitter, that’s the sort of thing that catches your eye. Some 5 years ago, I stumbled across the…
What books have I been reading and enjoying over the last couple of months? Here’s a quick rundown… Non Fiction Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators – Ronan Farrow Even if, like me, you never want to hear the words “Harvey Weinstein” ever again, this book is still a must….
I wrote a feature for CrimeTime about the North/South divide in crime fiction and how setting can impact on a story. Name an island off the coast of England. Isle of Wight? Isle of Man? Maybe Lundy, if you’re feeling clever. How about Walney Island? It’s an island, a beautiful windswept island, off the north…
Christena Appleyard of the Daily Mail gives her review of Dead Ringer. The idea of this book might sound a bit far fetched — two girls find their doppelgängers via a new facial recognition app and decide to swap lives. Nicola Martin spins this slightly dodgy idea into a tense and compelling story that courageously…
Have I ever met my double? Is Dead Ringer secretly a true story…? Er, no. But here’s a quick rundown of the times I’ve been mistaken for people who look like me. I was on the island of St John in the US Virgin Islands recently, (and, yes, I know this is a hideously braggy…
