Good morning Rebecca and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Hi Jo, thanks so much for having on the blog today. I’m a retired police detective turned crime writer who would love for cake to be a required food group.
How did your writing journey begin?
I was a late starter to writing. Although I often thought about writing a novel, I never did anything about it and when I tried, I got as far as writing a few paragraphs and then it was abandoned. As I approached my 40th birthday I thought I had better do something about my dreams. Life felt as though it was ticking away without me. So, I sat down and started typing. I didn’t have a plan, just a starting place and an ending in mind and I went from there. At the time, I was doing an OU degree in Geosciences and had completed all my level one courses. I decided to take a year out to see if I could write a novel, and I have never looked back.
Currently crime seems to be very much in vogue, whether in TV Drama, Films or books. What do you think is the reason for its popularity?
Crime fiction in novel format is the most borrowed book in UK libraries. Fantasy tends to be the highest grossing films, but crime TV dramas do seem to be on a constant production line. I don’t know why it’s so popular. It’s such a dark subject matter we’re reading about and watching, isn’t it? I would imagine part of it is the resolution at the end, having followed the good guy through the story, there’s a resolution where in reality we don’t always get that. But, it can’t be that simple. I think we like the darkness, but from the safety of our armchairs. Knowing it’s not real, but feeling as though we’re getting an insight into the people who do actually investigate this stuff or even an insight into the perpetrators, depending on what it is we’re reading and watching. We can do it vicariously and safely.
Can you tell us something about your current WIP?
I’m trying the ridiculous feat of trying to write two books at the same time. I’ve written the first draft of a standalone and that is now sitting quietly marinating as I write the first draft of DI Hannah Robbins 3, the third book in my series. To be honest, it’s stressing me out a little at the minute. I had written 23,000 words of it before deciding it was the wrong story, so I ditched it and I’ve had to start from scratch. I haven’t written an outline and only have the inciting incident which contains lots of questions for Hannah and her team to figure out the answers to – and me! Hence the stress. So, it’s in it’s very early stages. The stage where there’s lots of musings happening. Where it’s constantly in my head and options are playing out. I could tell you a little something of it, but at this stage it could change completely or I could even ditch another one! I’m working hard though, so I do hope to have it out by the late summer.
Name the top two destinations on your bucket list.
Now, this is a difficult question. Travel is one of the most prominently listed items on my bucket list. I was lucky enough to go to Washington DC for three weeks last year and loved it. Two other places high up on the list? I think I’d choose, New York and… probably Iceland. There’s so much to see and do in Iceland. So many natural wonders. And as you can see from my previous answer with the geosciences degree, I love that kind of thing. So, yes, New York and Iceland.
Are you sure you only want two…?
And lastly if you could have been a famous historical figure (real or fictional) who would it be and why?
Emmaline Pankhurst – for the obvious reasons. Her advancement of women’s rights, her sheer force of will and belief in what is right along with the energy to mobilise swathes of women to join her.
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Made to be Broken
A rising death toll. A city in panic
A young mother is found dead in her home with no obvious cause of death. As DI Hannah Robbins and her team investigate, it soon becomes clear that the woman is the first in a long line of murders by poison.
With the body count climbing, and the city of Nottingham in social meltdown, the team finds themselves in a deadly race against a serial killer determined to prove a point.
And Hannah finds herself targeting an individual with whom she has more in common than she could possibly know.
Amazon link (It will take the user to whichever site they are based in, it is an intuitive link.) myBook.to/MTBBWebsite
ABOUT REBECCA
Rebecca Bradley is a retired police detective and lives in Nottinghamshire with her family and her two cockapoo’s Alfie and Lola, who keep her company while she writes. Rebecca needs to drink copious amounts of tea to function throughout the day and if she could, she would survive on a diet of tea and cake while committing murder on a regular basis.
Rebecca’s Social Media Links
http://rebeccabradleycrime.com
JO LAMBERT 