Ask the Author: Chris Longmuir
Answered Questions (12)
Chris Longmuir
No mysteries in my life except for the ones rolling about in my head and the mystery of how I manage to get them on paper.
Chris Longmuir
I travel to many fictional worlds when I'm writing my books so I'm not sure I want to travel to another writer's fictional world in case it impacted on my own. On the other hand, I'm a voracious reader so I already visit many other fictional worlds on a temporary basis, until the book is read. But I don't think that's the same as actually travelling in a physical sense to that writer's world.
Chris Longmuir
Oh my, I'm hoping to make some inroads on my To Be Read mountain! Next in line to be read is Vile City by Jennifer Lee Thomson, then The Undertaker by Carmel McMurdo Audsley. after that The Piper's Promise by Alex Breck, and then I'll have to see, although I want to read James Oswald's books soon.
Chris Longmuir
I'm not sure how to answer this one. Inspiration is everywhere. But I think the overriding factor is a 'need' to write. If I'm prevented from writing I go into withdrawals.
Chris Longmuir
A historical murder mystery in my Kirsty Campbell Mystery series. It's called "Bloody Murder" and I'm five chapters in.
Chris Longmuir
Write, plain and simple. The more you write the better you will become. You also need perseverance because a writer gets a lot of knockbacks. And you have to develop a thick skin which is useful when negative reviews arrive.
Chris Longmuir
Being able to write. Writing is like an addiction and only by writing can that be satisfied. Plus, I like to make up stories, and I like it when readers enjoy them. It provides me with satisfaction and adds purpose to my life.
Chris Longmuir
I read and I write. What I write might be rubbish and I might have to delete it, but the actual process of writing exercises the writing muscle and sooner or later something good will emerge.
Chris Longmuir
Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, because I like crime thrillers and I like psychology. Val McDermid's Hill and Jordan provide both.
Chris Longmuir
Hi Avonna, I usually go to Crimefest in May, and I've sat on quite a few panels there, although I don't have a panel this year, so I can relax and just enjoy myself. I used to go to Harrogate, but haven't been for a couple of years and I'm not booked for this year. And I go to Bloody Scotland in September. Oh, and I nearly forgot, I also go to the SAW (Scottish Association of Writers) conference in March. I'm adjudicating the self-published novel for them this year and I might also have a workshop, although that hasn't been confirmed yet. I do enjoy writers' conferences, but I cut out the Harrogate one because I felt I was spending too much time on them, and I do need to leave time to write as well. Thanks for your interest.
Chris Longmuir
Hi Cathie, quite a few people have had a problem with this blog of the month thing, and as it's the first time I've taken part in anything of this nature I'm a bit of an ignoramus. So don't fret if you can't vote and I appreciate the thought.
Chris
Chris
Chris Longmuir
Several years ago I did quite a lot of research for an article on the birth of a women's police service. I discovered much that was fascinating including the fact that the origins of women police lay in the suffragette movement. In 1914, at the start of the First World War, the suffragettes decided to end their militancy in favour of supporting the war effort, and among some of the activities they focused their efforts on was a women's police service. Further research revealed that after the war there were only 2 policewomen in Scotland. One in Glasgow and one in Dundee. My contemporary Dundee Crime Series being set in Dundee, naturally I was interested in the Dundee policewoman. However, there is very little documentation about this lady, and that set my imagination working. So, out of my research and curiosity came Kirsty Campbell, my fictional first policewoman in Dundee, and of course, she has a suffragette background. If you are interested in finding out about her, the book is, The Death Game, and I plan it to be the first book of the Kirsty Campbell series.
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