THE STORY BEHIND: 'SEVEN DAYS TO DIE' A GRIPPING CRIME BY MICHELLE KIDD
On the night before the release of her gripping London-set crime thriller SEVEN DAYS TO DIE, we caught up with author Michelle Kidd about her publication journey.
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Q: Did anything surprise you during the writing process?
A: Probably how fast I can write! I’m an old-fashioned, old-school writer — I use pen and paper for all my drafts and editing. I do sometimes surprise myself with the number of words I can scribble in a day, but whether I can understand what I’ve written when I come to type it up is another matter. I do think I would have made a good doctor, based on my handwriting.
Q: Hardest thing about writing?
A: Knowing when to stop! It’s very easy to get caught up in a plot line or scene and drag it on for far too long. Sometimes less is more but it takes a while for that to sink in sometimes! And writing the ending can be a bit tricky too. I find ideas come to me very easily — I can be doing something completely random like washing up, running on the treadmill in the gym, walking to work, and ideas just pop into my head.
Q: What’s your favourite thing about this book?
A: I like the way Jack and his team may not get everything right the first time round. They make mistakes and errors of judgement just like everyone else does. The police aren’t infallible, they’re human — and mistakes do get made. I didn’t want to create an investigative team that always make the correct decisions or plots where everything falls into place too easily.
Q: Tell us about the setting?
A: Seven Days To Die is set in London in the run-up to the Olympic Games in 2012. It’s a time I remember well and thought it would make a good backdrop to a story. The DI Jack MacIntosh series is set predominantly in London, although I do allow my characters to make the odd trip out to other parts of the country on occasion — so long as they come back again! London is a fantastic city that offers so many different opportunities for storylines and settings.
Q: What’s the biggest distraction in your writing day?
A: Work! I currently still work fulltime for the NHS at my local hospital, and that certainly keeps me busy during the week. I tend to confine my writing to the weekends, and also annual leave days. When I’m at home writing, I need peace and quiet. I can’t have music or the TV on as I find it too distracting. Putting my phone out of reach is also a good plan! My cat, Livi, does her best to help me by sitting on my legs to stop me moving — and everyone knows you never disturb sleeping babies or cats!
Q: How do you want readers to feel when they’ve finished your book?
A: Hungry for more! I would love readers to get so attached to my characters that they can’t wait to find out what happens to them next! Also, an overall feeling of satisfaction — that they’ve been taken on a rollercoaster ride through my immersive plot lines with the characters, and emerged unscathed the other side, ready to do it all again with the next book!