Georgia Pattison's 2019 Christmas novella

It has become one of those things some writers do to include in their annual output a Christmas short story or novella featuring their series character. But how does a writer find a protagonist strong enough to be the lead in a succession of books?

My contemporary series character is early-music soprano, Georgia Pattison, who sprang from my experiences as a choral soprano with Worcester Festival Choral Society. The memories of my involvement in the musical life of that city in the 70s and early 80s are very happy ones. Being invited to sing in Three Choirs Festivals was an honour. For one week, we lowly amateur singers mixed with the best and the brightest - and royalty on occasions. I loved it. In all the years I was with Worcester, there was only one piece of music I never grew to like and that was Tippett's Child of Our Time. I can, hand on heart, say that every other piece, even if I didn't much like it when we started, I loved by the time it came to the performance.

Georgia came into being during a performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius. There is quite a bit of sitting down in the second part of this oratorio as far as the choir is concerned. With the best will in the world, one's attention can wander.

Mine began to wonder what would happen if the Angel sang a fabulous concert to ecstatic acclaim, and was murdered shortly afterwards. I tried several attempts to get the story down, but it was 30 years before I had the time and the determination to really write the book. Dearly Ransomed Soul was the result and the beginning of the frequently rocky relationship between Georgia and DCI Hamilton of the Three Counties Police.

To come full circle to the beginning of this blog, Georgia, poor girl, is now well and truly destined to find a body every Christmas. This year's adventure comes about when she stands in for the music teacher at a school in Worcester during their nativity play, followed by a concert from the school choir.

The fact that a man is killed virtually under Georgia's nose she regards as something of an insult, not least because she had no idea that it had happened. She resolves to find the killer. What drives her resolution even harder is the fact that DCI Hamilton is facing a disciplinary hearing and possible instant dismissal. The detective and the singer may have had a volatile relationship but it is one built on mutual respect. If Georgia can find evidence to prove that Hamilton is innocent, she will. If she can find the killer, that will also help Hamilton's case.

The killer, however, has other ideas and this time it could well be that Georgia has put herself in danger once too often.

You can find While Shepherds Watched here: mybook.to/Shepherds

You can find out more about April Taylor and her books here: https://amzn.to/34zf90n

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Interview with Lesley Cookman, the Queen of Cosy Crime

I am delighted to welcome Lesley Cookman to the blog today. We first met Libby Serjeant in Murder in Steeple Martin in 2006. Murder Repeated, published on 5th December is Libby's 20th outing.

There were several reasons I wanted to interview such a seasoned and successful crime writer, not least because my husband reads the Libby books, but not mine. Yet.

How was Libby Serjeant “born”? What did you immediately know about her and what characteristic was a surprise?

That’s an interesting one – but an easy one! One day, probably during the school holidays, I was driving home from my younger daughter’s best friend’s house, where I had dropped her off. For some reason, I took a slightly different route home, in a spirit of exploration. Said friend lived with her family on the edge of a tiny country village – the stuff of many a girlhood fantasy, ponies and all. So off I went on a little tour of other villages. And I was driving past a piece of open ground with some cottages the other side, and suddenly, I knew who lived there. I went home, and despite not currently being a novelist, wrote the first paragraphs of the first Libby Sarjeant book. And there she was – as were two of my other characters, Harry and Peter.

What is your writing process: What sparks that initial ‘that would make a great story’? moment. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you know the end before you start?  How much leeway do you give yourself to veer off at a tangent?

I’m definitely a pantster, and mostly, it’s my son Miles who comes to me with an idea: “This would make a great story, Mum.” Trouble is, I then have to make it up! No, I don’t know the end, and the murderer often changes as the story goes on, and I’m a champion veerer. I never believe people who say the spotted the murderer at the beginning – I never do!

Walk us through your writing day. 

Wake up, stagger out of bed, go downstairs, put kettle on, feed cats. Read emails on laptop with tea. Eventually make it into the office, muck about on computer and finally get down to writing. Work until I feel I can legitimately stop.

If you could give your younger writing self any piece of advice, what would it be?

I don’t know, because I wasn’t actively trying to become a novelist, until I fell into it!

What three things are you grateful for?

My immediate family, my cats and having a roof over my head.

Name one essential quality you believe a writer needs and one essential element for a successful book?

A good imagination, and an understanding of your readers.

Setting aside the plethora of Indies, what has been the greatest change in the world of publishing for you since ‘Murder in Steeple Martin'?

Ebooks. I started before the digital revolution, and believe me, I couldn’t  have foreseen the sudden upsurge in my royalty statements when my back list became available in ebook. Dropped off, now, of course, but it was the biggest change I remember.

Thank you, Lesley. I wish you continuing success.

If you want to find out more about Lesley, go here: http://www.lesleycookman.co.uk