Getting away with murder

Over the last nineteen years, I've worked on a lot of murders. I can't discuss or disclose the details of any of them, of course, but I remember them all. One thought that has often occurred to me is why those who deal with murder in their professional capacity, such as police officers, crime scene investigators, paramedics, scientists, don't commit more murders.
Perhaps they do and just don't get caught. That's a very frightening thought.
I suppose that it comes down to being able to cope mentally after the deed, rather than the practicalities of planning and carrying out a killing.
How long would you be able to live with yourself if you took another life? I know that I'd almost instantly go insane but I wanted to explore the area of historic murders so I wrote the second in the DC Nina Foster series.

Remember, Remember

Have a good feeling about 2015

On the whole, 2014 treated me very kindly. There were a few minor problems along the way, one or two that sent the air around me blue at the time, and a family bereavement.

It was a busy year socially as well as all things writing-related, not to mention my 'other job'. In the last twelve months, I've been fortunate enough to attend book launches, have one of my own, be interviewed for magazine articles, been on the radio twice, taken part in World Book Night, met and spoken to readers in Kent libraries. I've been invited to book clubs, been on panels at First Fictions in West Dean and at Brighton's Dark and Stormy, given after breakfast talks, after lunch talks and after dinner talks, and I've spoken to children at their school. I was invited to all of these things, in case you were wondering. Otherwise the school one would be especially worrying.

I've loved it all and I've met some brilliant people along the way but what made 2014 particularly pleasant was two lovely holidays with my husband, the weddings of friends and relatives, my mother-in-law's eightieth birthday celebrations, friends having babies, finding a new pub and ending the year there with my husband.

The last sentence isn't strictly true as we decided that going out to see the new year in was a little bit raucous for us, so we had lunch there and were at home by 2.30pm. I make no excuses - it's been a busy year and I needed a siesta.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Forget-Lisa-Cutts-ebook/dp/B00CCTWR8U/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Scones, cream and a seal sanctuary

Last week was spent in Tintagel on the north Cornish coast. What a beautiful place it is too.

The weather held out and we sat eating many fantastic lunches in the sun, drinking Cornish beer in the evening and sampling local seafood.

Due to a dental emergency - I can't say enough good things about St Austell Community Hospital and the NHS helpline - I was dosed up with antibiotics, so spent most of the week on the wagon.

And still I managed to enjoy myself. I think it gives you some idea of what a great week it was.

One evening we met some old friends for a meal at Widemouth Bay. It has a beautiful beach and watched the sun set as we chomped through fish and chips (no, the tooth wasn't that bad). It was a great way to spend the last night of our holiday.

My favourite day out was the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. I have a bit of a soft spot for seals and it was such a pleasure to spend some time there, hearing about the care and welfare of them. I even eavesdropped on a conversation some of the staff were having as I queued for a Cornish pasty (ok, so it wasn't that painful to eat). The staff were talking about the animals they were looking after in such a caring way, and how they didn't blame them if they bit now and again - they were only frightened.

If you're in the area and get a chance, pay it a visit. You won't be disappointed.

We stayed at the fantastic fully equipped Gilbert Lodge in Bossiney Bay, a short walk from Tintagel where I even managed to get some writing done. Information and bookings here

Blog Tour and writing processes

Many thanks to Adrian Magson for asking me to take part in this blog tour. It's something I've never been a part of before, and other than my gratitude to him for the invite, I'm also really pleased he explained to me exactly what I had to do.
Adrian is the author of 16 spy and crime thrillers, short fiction anthologies and writes book reviews for Shots magazine. In addition, he also writes a column for Writing Magazine which I had the pleasure of appearing in last April. Adrian Magson




What am I currently working on?

Remember, Remember is the second book in the Nina Foster series and is due to go to print on Tuesday 27th May 2014. It has been intense finishing the editing straight after completing Never Forget but worth the hard work. I am thinking of starting another police procedural series, but have to confess, I've done no more than think about it. I'm certainly not leaving Nina Foster behind. She's here to stay.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

As a serving police officer who investigates murders for a living, my books have an authenticity about them. Everything that happens in the books could happen in real life, and if I was working on an actual murder, the working practices and procedures I use in my job as a detective constable, are the same as the ones I write about in my books.

Why do I write what I do?

Murder investigations are fascinating and people are intrigued about the work of police officers. I wanted to write accurate crime fiction with believable police characters, and most importantly of all, I was desperate to show the team work involved. It's not about one lone detective doing everything, but a team of dozens and every murder investigation will involve in excess of two hundred police officers and police civilian employees to bring it to a successful conclusion.

How does your writing process work?

I have to make myself sit down and get on with it. Working full-time and often unpredictable hours means that I write when I find the time. It's never been a case of setting a target for a number of words or writing on particular days of the week or times of the day.
Once I have the first draft, I ask my husband to read it. He's good at spotting errors and will say if something doesn't read quite right. It's then a matter of taking a deep breath and sending it to my publishers to wait for the editing to begin...


Next week Caroline Mitchell is taking over. She is the author of the fantastic Paranormal Intruder, a true life story of paranormal activity in a family's home.
You can catch up with her on her blog here.

The President's Wife is a Cheeseboard

My hearing has always been good. Granted, I am often lost deep in thought and conversations take place around me with little notice on my part. When I am paying attention, I am all ears. Therefore, it surprises me when I frequently mishear the odd word. The situation has everything to do with the quality of listening, and not only the acoustics. The setting prepares you for the type of conversation you're likely to have or witness going on around you. Sometimes, you're just not prepared for what you're about to hear, largely because it's so out of context.
Visit any city or large town in Western Europe or the US (I can't comment on the rest of the world as my travel to these places is limited) and the chances are that a coffee shop, bar or restaurant may well be staffed by those from overseas. This is never an issue when there isn't much background noise, the waiter/server doesn't have a strong accent and I'm sober. A combination of all three is bound to end in confusion.
A very pleasant dinner in a New York restaurant was topped off by the waiter asking if myself or my husband would like a dessert. It's true that we had consumed a few drinks, it was busy and I don't think the waiter was a local either, but in answer to our boozy nods, he informed us that, "The President's wife is a cheeseboard."
I still have no idea what we ordered.

One of the reasons why my husband needs a job.

When my husband retired three years ago, we decided that it would be a good idea if he took over the running of the house, including the housework. This suited me down to the ground, as apart from never having to clean the bathroom again, I had more time to myself on the weekends.
Within a year of his retirement, I'd started to write and so I was even more grateful for my lack of household chores.
Lately, I've wondered if he should seek some form of employment. It's not the money, although a few extra quid here and there would come in handy. My change of heart is more to do with his reaction whenever the phone rings. He seems quite excited to talk to whoever's on the other end of the line. Mostly, the callers are trying to sell something or tell us about the compensation we can claim for an accident we've been in. Neither of us have been in an accident for about ten years and I do take exception to people ringing me at home, disturbing my time to sell me something I don't want.
My husband takes this one step further by goading them. I must admit, it's pretty funny.
So far, I've heard him refuse to confirm his name, meaning that he couldn't take part in a survey. His reply was, "So, let me get this right - if you can't confirm who I am, you won't let me take part in your survey. You mean the survey I don't want to take part in anyway."

He seemed surprised when the caller ended the call on him.
Hardly a day goes by without him having one of these calls. It seems to be his new hobby. I suppose it's cheaper than golf.

Don't let your husband retire unless you want to hit yourself on the head with packets of tea

Perhaps I should explain that my husband is tall and I am short. This will come in handy later to get the full understanding of my plight.
Three years ago, we moved house. As is often the case with most couples, I arranged the kitchen and placed the most frequently used items where they were easier to reach. This also included anything brought out only on high days and holidays remaining on the highest shelf, but still within grasp of my stubby little fingers.
All that changed when my husband retired and took over the running of the house. My carefully thought out plan of what went where in the cupboards was abandoned. In came his idea of where everything should go.
Many aspects of this new arrangement appealed to me - no more supermarket shopping for a start. The problem with this setup is that currently I have no idea how much anything costs. The price of everything has gone up so much too since I've been relieved of my food shopping duties. This means that I'm clueless whether 80p is a fair price for a pint of milk or not. Fear not though as I'm completely aware how much I should pay for a bottle of decent red wine.
Frequently, I perform daredevil feats in my own home by flicking packets of teabags from the top shelf with the tip of a steak knife. Too lazy to get a chair, I much prefer the excitement of whether the serrated knife will pierce the bag and leave a dusting of tea everywhere. If I'm having a slow day, the object will sometimes land on me. I've yet to drop the knife on my toes but it's bound to happen. The wine is kept at grab level and the corkscrew's in the drawer. Think you can see where I'm going with this...