Interview with Clare Revell

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START WRITING? 

I've always written. From when I was five, when I rewrote fairy tales, through fan fiction, and finally, my own stories. If I don't write, I get frustrated.

WHAT AUTHORS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING STYLE? 

Probably Tom Clancy and Rosamunde Pilcher. As I write a mix of crime/mystery/romance all rolled into one.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING AUTHORS? 

Don't give up. You'll get plenty of rejections—I did, still do, at times. Read the publishers guidelines carefully before you submit. Read lots in the genre you want to write in. And enjoy what you do. If you don't cry over a really sad scene, or get scared when the villain suddenly appears at the window when the heroine pulls back the curtains, then your readers won't because the emotion just isn't there.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND IN RESEARCH BEFORE YOU WRITE A STORY? 

A lot. I also do it as I go along, depending what the plot throws up. For Tuesday's Child, I watched a lot of TV without the sound on. I also consulted with one of the police officers from church. And Granddad was deaf, so I drew a lot on things I remembered from talking with him. For Sunday's Child, I visited a lifeboat station and spent three hours asking questions. Other ones are done by email. I've found people are only too eager to help me get the facts right.

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM YOUR RESEARCH? 

The fact that UK cars driven by detectives don't have flashing lights in them. They are also pool cars. I knew none of our cops were armed, with the exception of CO19, but didn't realise just how little protection uniformed officers took on the beat with them each day. Just a baton and pepper spray. Sometimes a taser, but that's still relatively new, and most officers prefer not to carry them.

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN? 

14 that have been contracted :) When I got the last contract, I still reacted the same way as when I got my first. It never wears off. (And 5 that sit in the "never to be opened again" folder from where they got rejected.)

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR TIME WHEN YOU'RE NOT WRITING? 

I have 3 kids of my own and 1 extra so there is lots of cooking, cleaning, laundry to do. But I also read a lot. I do cross stitch, watch crime drama, and love walking.

Blurb:

Tuesday's Child tenders direction...

Deaf from the age of five, Adeline Munroe operates a hospital for injured dolls, but lately her quiet life is disturbed by violent, haunting visions. Perhaps it's just her unspoken fear--a serial killer has struck in Headley Cross. But Adeline soon realizes she's seeing each murder just before they happen and reluctantly contacts the police.

Detective Sergeant Nate Holmes has enough to deal with between caring for his orphaned niece and his current assignment--the Herbalist killings, so when a woman comes forward who claims to be "seeing" the crimes in dreams, he isn't hopeful she'll be of any help. But he knows her from church, and she inexplicably describes how each crime is committed. Is God answering his prayers through Adeline?

Adeline assists the police, yet more women die and she becomes the prime target of the killer. Will Nate crack the case before the Herbalist can complete his agenda--or will the next murder Adeline foresees be her own?

Excerpt:

All of Nate’s senses kicked into action, his copper’s antennae twitching.

She knew something, or at least thought she did.

“What is it?”

Adeline sucked her lower lip into her mouth, worrying it with her teeth. “This is going to sound stupid, but…” She took a deep breath. “I saw them. All of them. They all had their hair tied back or up.” She picked up the top clipping. “She was playing on a swing and wearing a red jacket. This one was walking the dog and wearing blue.”

Nate jolted as if he’d been struck by lightning. Those details hadn’t been released. Was he wrong about her? Was she somehow involved with the murders? “Wait  a minute. How did you know any of this?”

Adeline carried on speaking as she shifted through the papers. “She was on her way to dance class in pink. This one was jogging in a gray toweling track suit and the first one…”

Nate put a hand on her arm, cutting her off.

She jerked her head upwards in surprise.

He held her gaze. “How do you know all this?”

“I told you, I saw them.”

Tagline:

Guilty of love in the first degree, a deaf witness who 'sees' the murders and a cop torn between doing his duty and going out in faith.

Bio:

Clare lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, reading, sewing or keeping house or doing the many piles of laundry her children manage to make, she's working part time in the breakfast club at one of the local schools.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of three registrars.

Other titles by Clare Revell:

Season For Miracles

Saving Christmas

Cassie's Wedding Dress

Time's Arrow

Kisses From Heaven

After The Fire

Monday's Child

You can find Clare here:

http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/

https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor

https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/