Ask the Author: Chris Collett
Answered Questions (7)
Chris Collett
Hi Anne, sorry I've taken so long to reply! I'm glad you're enjoying the Mariner books. You may be aware that the first 7 in the series are being re-launched under different titles, so at the moment I'm busy working on (minor) edits to books 5,6 & 7, which will be out soon. I am in the early stages of the next in the series, but am also working on a book (also in the crime genre) with a new protagonist. Watch this space :)
best wishes, Chris
best wishes, Chris
Chris Collett
I can't do much better than Stephen King who said that to be a writer you must "read a lot and write a lot." I had no formal training, either in creative writing or journalism, but I had read lots of crime novels so I knew which ones I liked, and roughly how they worked (though at the time I had no idea they were called police procedurals!). I simply began to write the kind of story I wanted to read.
This next advice sounds contradictory, but I think it's important to listen and respond to editorial advice, but also to trust your instincts. As Raymond Chandler said: "Don't write anything you don't like yourself, and if you do like it, don't take anyone's advice about changing it. They just don't know." In the first DI Mariner book I was persuaded to rewrite a scene my then-editor felt was improbable, which featured Jamie who has ASD. I should have trusted my years of experience of working with young people with ASD, which told me that the scene as I'd written it was perfectly plausible and had some great opportunities for dark humour. At the time though, I didn't have the confidence to make a stand.
This next advice sounds contradictory, but I think it's important to listen and respond to editorial advice, but also to trust your instincts. As Raymond Chandler said: "Don't write anything you don't like yourself, and if you do like it, don't take anyone's advice about changing it. They just don't know." In the first DI Mariner book I was persuaded to rewrite a scene my then-editor felt was improbable, which featured Jamie who has ASD. I should have trusted my years of experience of working with young people with ASD, which told me that the scene as I'd written it was perfectly plausible and had some great opportunities for dark humour. At the time though, I didn't have the confidence to make a stand.
Chris Collett
I'm currently working on revising the 3rd DI Mariner mystery, which is due to be published in January 2018 by Joffe Books.
Alongside this I am coming to the end stages of a new crime novel, with a new protagonist, and thinking about Mariner's next outing, which may well take him back to a different era!
Alongside this I am coming to the end stages of a new crime novel, with a new protagonist, and thinking about Mariner's next outing, which may well take him back to a different era!
Chris Collett
Hi Jean, thank you so much for getting in touch. The DI Mariner series is currently being relaunched by a new publisher, Joffe Books.
Book 2; Innocent Lies is available as an e-book from amazon at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/INNOCENT-gri...
Books 3-7 in the series are to be relaunched over the next few months, with the 3rd due out in January 2018, so hopefully we won't keep you waiting long! But please do get back in touch if you are still having difficulty getting hold of the available titles. Best wishes, Chris.
Book 2; Innocent Lies is available as an e-book from amazon at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/INNOCENT-gri...
Books 3-7 in the series are to be relaunched over the next few months, with the 3rd due out in January 2018, so hopefully we won't keep you waiting long! But please do get back in touch if you are still having difficulty getting hold of the available titles. Best wishes, Chris.
Chris Collett
I spent almost thirty years working with young people with disabilities and their families, including young people with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Often the idea for a book comes in the form of a 'what if?'. For Deadly Lies I became preoccuptied with wondering: what if the only witness to a serious crime has ASD and is therefore unable to communicate what he has seen?
Chris Collett
It provides a legitimate excuse for daydreaming and people-watching, two of my favourite activities. I'd love to be able to go back to my school teachers and say: 'See? This was why did it.'! Plus (and this is going to 'out' me as the control freak that I am!) there is something hugely satisfying about creating this alternative world populated with characters whose actions, thoughts and words I determine.
Chris Collett
I don't really believe in writer's block - I tend to be rather more susceptible to writer's prevarication, especially after a book's been completed! But I always find that once I make the effort to get started I pick up momentum quite quickly. There can be occasional sticking points with plotting; usually when I've over-complicated things, and then I will literally just write down what each character needs to do to end up where I need them to be, and the means of getting there usually just 'emerges'.
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