Goodreads asked Jim McGrath:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Jim McGrath Ideas for stories come to those with a prepared mind.

You have to be constantly on the lookout for ideas that you can use and bend to your purpose.

A Death in Spring: 1968 contains two very different stories.

The first deals with a killer of homosexuals. In the 1960s someone told me that there had been one or more murders of homosexual men in Birmingham during the late 50s early 60s. I've never been able to verify this but I've often thought it would make an interesting story. The reason I thought it would be worth writing about is that at the time homosexuality was a crime and most homosexuals did everything they could not to attract police attention and that included acting as a witness. (Note I've checked with gay friends and they tell me that the term gay was not in use during the 60s).

The second story is about the centralisation of criminal power. I have no idea where that came from. Mind you I'm watching A Game of Thrones, in which the centralisation of power is a key concept so maybe it came from there.

The best advice I can give anyone interested in writing is to keep a note book handy and write down any ideas when they get it. Don't delay. If you do you'll forget it.

Cheers,

Jim

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