British author Leigh Russell gained a masters degree in English and American Literature at the University of Kent. She taught English to adults and then moved into secondary English teaching. She ran a busy Learning Support department for many years. Leigh now teaches mainstream English full-time. She has been happily married for thirty years and has two grown up daughters. Cut Short is the first in a series featuring Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel. Road Closed, the second in the Geraldine Steel series, is scheduled for publication in 2010. Leigh is currently writing the next book in the series.
Cut Short has been fantastically well received, with a starred Publishers Weekly review, a listing on "best books of 2009," and a reprint order just weeks after release date. Are you surprised by the success you've had with your first novel?
Yes, I have been surprised by the success of Cut Short. I hoped friends and family would buy it but thanks to good reviews and word of mouth recommendation it has been selling well in bookstores and on amazon. All the interest is very exciting - BBC Radio interviews, a starred review on Publishers Weekly in the US, Crimefest 2010, an interview with ITW, and the appreciative emails I receive from readers . . . being published has changed my life.
You have an active blog and tour schedule. What's the most interesting--and most effective--self promotional effort you've participated in?
It's impossible to isolate one incident as I've been involved in so many interesting self-promotional events. I've given author talks to a lot of readers' and writers' groups at literary festivals, in libraries, and colleges, and have really enjoyed meeting so many book lovers. It's always a thrill for me when people are interested in my writing. It's been exciting to be interviewed on various BBC radio stations, and I've also been interviewed on my local hospital radio station. A lot of authors I meet are, understandably, only interested in sales of thousands, but I am thrilled every time I sign a book for someone. As a child I was terrified of daleks, along with the rest of my generation in the UK, so it was remarkable meeting a dalek who wanted to buy Cut Short. He was followed by a jedi!
You had a long career as a teacher before turning to publishing novels. Tell us more about what made you make the change, how long you have been writing, and how you feel today about where you've been and what you've accomplished in your life. Do you think your teaching background helped you as a writer?
Cut Short is my first venture into writing. The idea for the story occurred to me one day as I was walking through my local park. I went home, started writing, and couldn't stop. Within six weeks I had completed my first draft for Cut Short, writing in my spare time. It amazes me now that I didn't discover my love of writing earlier. I am very proud that I have become a published author - I still can't quite believe it!
My teaching career has helped me in my writing of psychological thrillers. A writer has to understand his or her characters, and see experiences through their eyes. As a teacher, I am intrigued by my pupils and my colleagues, and what makes them tick. I find people endlessly fascinating.
Tell us a little bit about Cut Short--what it's about, your favorite scene and character, what you were trying to do when you wrote it--was this meant to be purely escapist fiction, or did you have deeper meanings in mind?
Very briefly, Cut Short is about a female police detective trying to track down a killer. As the investigation proceeds, more bodies are discovered. The main narrative is written from the detective's point of view. The reader also sees the killer's experience through his eyes. I'm afraid the character I enjoyed writing most is my killer. Why are the villains always so interesting to write? I don't want to give away too much, but in Cut Short the killer is . . . no, I won't reveal any more. You'll have to read the book and find out for yourself! When writing, I was simply recording the story I had in my head, but the book definitely touches on serious contemporary social issues. Several reviewers have commented that Cut Short has "a convincing if disconcerting feel of contemporary Britain." (Paul Kane)
Do you have "first readers," and if so, how helpful have they been for you?
My publisher was the first person to read the manuscript for Cut Short. I wouldn't advise aspiring authors to follow my example. It's much more sensible to show your manuscript to people whose judgement you trust, so you can make sure it is as good as possible before you send it off. I showed the first draft of Road Closed, the second book in the series, to my immediate family and their comments have been very helpful.
If you were to write in another genre, what would it be?
Two years ago I had no idea that one day I would be writing crime thrillers, so I can't predict what might be happening two years from now. But whatever else I'm doing, I'm sure I'll be writing the fourth book in the Geraldine Steel series.
What are some of your own all time favorite books?
There are so many - Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguru, Dickens and Emily Bronte, and contemporary crime writers Val McDermid, Jeffery Deaver, Simon Beckett, and American authors Edith Wharton, F Scott Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, to name just a few. I could go on and my list would be slightly different every day.
Tell us what's next for Leigh Russell.
Road Closed is with my editor and will be published in 2010. I'm now thinking about the third book in the series, Dead End, which is due to be published in 2011, and wondering when I'll have time to write it!
Nate Kenyon is a two-time Bram Stoker Award finalist, P&E Horror Novel of the Year Award winner, and author of BLOODSTONE, THE REACH, THE BONE FACTORY and the upcoming SPARROW ROCK (May 2010). THE REACH has been optioned for film. He also has a trade paperback science fiction novella, PRIME, from Apex Books. Kenyon lives in the Boston area, where he is at work on his next novel.
