ITV West Country have run this great article about the success of If I Die Before I Wake, and how my car accident eleven years ago partly inspired the writing of it.
Emily Koch pictured in 2008
Next week I will be joining Sunday Times bestselling crime writer C. L. Taylor at Foyles in Bristol to discuss our latest books and the art of writing suspense.
C.L. Taylor’s latest novel, Sleep, came out this week. It’s a wonderfully creepy psychological thriller, set on a remote Scottish island in the middle of a storm.
I asked her to answer a few questions to introduce her to my readers, so here you go!
1. How would you sum up your latest book in one sentence?
A gripping psychological thriller with a hint of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.
2. What are you reading at the moment?
I’m currently reading a proof of Nathan Filer’s non fiction book The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia. I studied psychology at university and have always been fascinated by the way the mind works and mental illness. I also have an ex-boyfriend who suffers from schizophrenia and a relative who developed it so that has added to my interest. Fiction-wise, I’m listening to The Last by Hanna Jameson which is set in a hotel in Switzerland after a world wide nuclear attack. I am hugely enjoying it and would describe it as The Road meets And Then There Were None meets The Walking Dead!
3. What was the last book you gave as a gift?
I bought Becoming by Michelle Obama for my mum for her birthday (she had been dropping BIG hints!)
4. What’s the best bit of writing advice you’ve been given?
It wasn’t given to me but I read it online and it’s become my writing mantra. Elmore Leonard said, ‘When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.’
5. What question do you wish you were asked at events or in interviews – but nobody ever does?
‘Would you be prepared to sell the movie rights to this book?’ preceded by, ‘Hello, my name’s Reece Witherspoon.’
You can find out more about C.L. Taylor on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and at her website.
The event at Foyles is on Friday, April 12 from 7.30-9pm. More info here.
Beautiful copies of the Czech translation of If I Die Before I Wake were delivered today – don’t they look great?
It’s called Co když zemřu, než se probudím, is published by Knihy Dobrovský and was translated by Jitka Fialová.
I will be adding them to my bookshelves along with the Polish and Dutch translations.
If I Die Before I Wake is a Times bestseller
It was a lovely surprise to find out this morning that If I Die Before I Wake was in The Times’ bestsellers list!
It’s been a busy week – I’ve visited nine different Waterstones stores to sign all their stock of If I Die Before I Wake and help sales along.
I’ve done all three Bristol shops, been out to Weston-super-Mare (and snuck in a walk on the beach while I was there), visited the huge Birmingham store, and seven different branches in London.
It’s been a good week or so for If I Die Before I Wake – I think perhaps being Thriller of the Month at Waterstones might have had something to do with it!
Industry magazine The Bookseller has something called the Heatseekers charts, which – as far as I understand – lists books which are selling well, even if not well enough to get into the top 10 bestsellers list.
And If I Die Before I Wake is at number three in the Heatseekers list this week!
I will be at Waterstones in Cheltenham next month to talk about If I Die Before I Wake.
It’s been a bit of a week!
My debut novel If I Die Before I Wake has been longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award.
I found out yesterday as I dashed around signing copies of it at Waterstones branches in Bristol (they have selected it as their Thriller of the Month!). Suffice it
to say, my heart was bursting yesterday. Continue reading
Here’s something I didn’t think I’d be saying – my debut novel If I Die Before I Wake is Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month.
I’m not just talking about my local Bristol branch – this is NATIONWIDE! Continue reading
I’ve just added another event to my busy calendar for 2019 – CrimeFest.
This annual event, held in Bristol, is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. It has not only become one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, but is also one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar.
