Interview with Mel Sherratt, meddler of words, hoarder of killer heels and delightful lady

  I met lovely Mel Sherratt at the Harrogate Crime Writers Festival last year (though I’m sure she won’t remember).   I found out that Mel used to be a Housing Officer, as a Housing Officer myself,  I was very eager to read her novels and I haven’t been disappointed.   As well as publishing a standalone novel ‘Taunting the dead’, Mel has also published the first two books, ‘Somewhere to Hide’ and ‘Behind a Closed Door’, in The Estate series with a much anticipated third book; ‘Fighting for Survival’ due for publication very soon.

Questions on Mel:

 Q1.      Tell us about Mel

A1.      Hmm, well I write a bit of murder and mayhem… and I like shoes… and cake… and wine… and books!

 Q2.      Taunting the Dead has sold more than 50,000 copies and was no 1 on three kindle best seller lists, what sort of impact has the success of this book had on you?

A2.      Taunting the Dead has made an incredible impact. In the space of a year (I released it on December 8 2011), it’s enabled me to fulfil my ambition of writing full time – how amazing is that! But most importantly, it gained me readers and enabled me to release a series, The Estate, something that I’ve always been passionate about.  It’s cross genre between women’s fiction and crime thriller – real women, real problems, real crime. I can’t tell you how excited I am when I have a message from someone who has read all of my books and eagerly awaits the next. It’s like a dream come true.

 

Q3.      You seem to have had a wonderful year this year; including your first radio show and your own monthly column in the Sentinel.  What was the biggest highlight for you?

A3.      I think it has to be the generosity of other authors and readers. Authors I know in real life or virtually have been a great support, through all the highs and lows. It’s really important to have people who know exactly what it feels like to be in those situations. Readers have made everything worthwhile too – waking up to a tweet when someone has loved one of your books or when an email pops in to say when is the next book out – wow. I get a lot of support out there, it’s great.

 

 Q4.     I’ve heard you described as ‘a meddler of words’, I’ve never heard this saying before – is it a Stoke saying?

A4.      I have a confession to make – I pinched it! I can’t recall where from but it was another writer who said they meddled with words and I just loved it, because that’s what we do. I’ve seen writers describe themselves as professional liars which I like too!                                                                                                         

 Q5.      When I met you at Harrogate I remember a tall elegant lady.  Are you tall or was your height due to your penchant for a certain type of footwear?

A5.      Definitely down to my heels – indeed, recently I met my ‘Harrogate gang’ (a group of friends I met at my first Theakston Crime Writing Festival in 2011) for our Christmas meal earlier this month and I wore flat boots – one of them, David Jackson,  laughed when standing next to me as he said I’d disappeared!   And elegant is definitely something I can’t be in some of the heels I wear! They are miles too high but I just can’t resist them.

Questions on writing:

Q1.      Tell us about your writing day

A1.      I always get up early, around 6am, so when I’m drafting a book I use the first two hours a day to either catch up on emails or write blog posts etc with my laptop on the settee. Once the battery needs recharging, I head to my office. I’ve only recently made a room into an office but I can’t tell you the difference it has made. I don’t have Twitter on my PC so from ten until one I write. A quick break for lunch and writing again until four. Then that’s me done for the day writing wise – unless I’m nearing the end of the draft. When my brain takes over, I have to work until it’s done so I’ll often write for a few hours extra during the evenings on the last couple of weeks. It’s the same when I’m editing, although I only do this during the day as I need time to switch off. 

Q2.      You write about the harsh realities of life such as domestic violence and drug abuse, is it due to working on Estates that you are able to write with such a realistic edge?

A2.      Yes and no. The estates that I worked on were never as harsh as The Mitchell Estate in The Estate series. Indeed, I doubt I would have felt safe enough to work there if they had been. But what I did learn about was the enormous sense of community spirit and how people would go out of their way to help other people.  Couple this with the procedures I learned when I was a housing officer – evictions, anti-social behaviour etc – and it gave me a perfect background to create some really interesting storylines and characters.

 

Q3.      Which book do you wish you had written?

A3.      Only one – you sure I can choose only one! Wow, you are a task master! I wish I had written, BROKEN, Daniel Clay. I just love it for its grittiness, its sense of darkness and jeopardy. I often reread it and I still love it. In fact, I’m a little bit author struck as I shall be meeting Daniel in the New Year – there may be some squealing in my heels!  I’m so excited.

 Q4.      Have you got any tips for aspiring crime writers like us?

A4.      I think I’m going to write down some old favourites, because they do work:

Read, read, read.  Study the books and the market in your genre. Or be daring and create your own genre like I did – grit lit…

Write, write, write. Hone your craft. Keep an online dictionary open when you’re writing, just to be sure. 

Make every work the best you can.

Don’t give up.  But, if you feel something isn’t working, and it’s not just procrastination stopping you getting any further, then forget it and move on. You can always come back to it with fresh vigour or move onto something new.

Give yourself permission to write anything – it can always be edited, blank pages can’t.

Q5.      Tell us about Fighting for Survival.

A5.      FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL is the third book in THE ESTATE series and brings forward some of the minor characters from SOMEWHERE TO HIDE and BEHIND A CLOSED DOOR.

When Caren Williams finds herself back on the estate she fought so hard to get away from, little does she realise she’ll be living opposite her arch-enemy, Gina Bradley. Gina thinks she and her family rule Stanley Avenue so when Caren starts to become popular, she decides to hit her where it will hurt the most  – she wants her husband.

Lonely and depressed, Ruth Millington turns to drinking and self-harm to get her through the dark times but finds it’s a constant struggle. Spiralling out of control, maybe she should let Gina’s husband help her out when he comes calling.

Twins, Rachel and Claire Bradley, took control of the girl-gang, the Mitchell Mob, when their leader was sent to juvie for assault. But Stacey Hunter is out now and wants to hold the position again. No one will back down – let battle commence.

Brawling in the street, fighting on the square and conforming to peer pressure – it all comes down to holding your nerve. But this time not everyone will stay alive on the notorious Stanley Avenue…

 
And Finally:

What’s next for Mel Sherratt?

 You might have seen that I’ve recently been signed by Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency so I’ve been writing a dark psychological suspense thriller, something new that we are taking out to publishers in the New Year. I’m very excited about it all!

I'd like to thank Mel on behalf of CrimeWarp and myself for giving us this fab interview.

You can find out more about Mel and order her books via her website:
http://writerofmurderandmayhem.wordpress.com/

You can also follow Mel on Twitter @writermels

BREAKING NEWS - Somewhere To Hide, book one of the Estate series
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Hide-Estate-Book-ebook/dp/B008GE7D3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356047152&sr=8-1
and Behind a Closed Door, book two
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Closed-Door-Estate-ebook/dp/B009QOLBPE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356047152&sr=8-3
are only 99p for the next three days to 'celebrate' the launch of Fighting for Survival which Mel is hoping will be available on Saturday, Amazon willing!

Cheryll Taylor Rawling