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