Deadly Wishes was the first crime book I wrote, and it came about as the result of frustration with my day job and an ‘aha’ moment when I realised I’d been getting this writing and publishing thing all wrong.

I started publishing books in 2017. I actually hit ‘Publish’ on my very first book (a post-apocalyptic novella called After the Flood) in the Mere Green branch of Costa Coffee on Christmas Eve 2017.

I was supposed to be doing last-minute Christmas shopping, but I was too excited by the prospect of getting a book out there in time for Christmas.

In the following two years I published two series: a political thriller trilogy and a post-apocalyptic psychological thriller trilogy.

I thought I’d get fans of all three genres reading my books.

I was wrong.

What I learned the hard way is that readers don’t want books that take a bit of one genre and a bit of another, and mash them up. They want to know what they’re getting.

And then in January 2020, I came to a realisation about my day job, that would involve me having to learn a whole new set of skills if I was to continue to earn a decent living.

But I wanted to learn about writing, and publishing.

So I sat back. I considered what I enjoy reading, what readers love to read, and what I thought I could be good at. I was an avid fan of authors like Val McDermid, Angela Marsons and Elly Griffiths, and I knew I could write suspense. So I decided to turn to a life of crime.

Of course, shortly after that, the Covid-19 pandemic turned the world on its head. Lockdown meant that my house was feeling cramped (the whole family going a bit stir crazy), so I wrote Deadly Wishes sitting at the table of a campervan on my front drive. It was the least remote form of remote working ever.

And I discovered that I loved writing crime. I loved getting to know Zoe, Mo, Connie and Rhodri (as I hope you will if you read the book). They kept me company during those long months when we weren’t allowed to see family or friends, and they helped keep me sane.

My writing process has changed a lot since I wrote Deadly Wishes. I plotted the book out meticulously, with a huge spreadsheet printed out and nailed to the back of my office door that detailed what would happen in every scene. Now, 25 crime books later, I’m more of a ‘headlights’ writer, plotting ten chapters or so ahead as I write, so I can only see what’s in the beam of my headlights.

But I’m very glad I turned to a life of crime. I’ve loved getting to know Zoe and the team. I’ve loved building lives for them and even giving some of them spinoff series. If you pick up a copy of Deadly Wishes and enjoy the characters and the story world, I promise you there’s plenty more to come.