It was when the dog chased me down the driveway that I knew I wanted to write… Robert Gold

I should probably take a step back from there – just as I did with the giant dog (I remember it as giant-sized anyway) that was pursuing me (a fairly naïve English kid in their first real job) down a sweeping driveway in northern Virginia at the home of a former Attorney General of the United States.

The first job I remember ever wanting to do when I grew up was to become a football manager (I’d already realised I’d never be a footballer, so this seemed like a decent second choice.) It didn’t take too long for it to dawn on me that this wasn’t exactly an uncompetitive career either.

The other thing I remember clearly from my childhood is that I was by far the worst speller in my class at school. I have vivid memories of a school spelling exam at primary school, when the teacher announced to the whole class that everyone had achieved over fifty percent – I was doing cartwheels in my mind as for me fifty percent was like winning a gold medal – only to follow up with “except for Robert.” Nicely humiliated, I decided there and then never to let somebody else tell me I can’t do something. I’m sure that attitude helped me throughout my career – that, and spellcheck. 

But it was still many years before I settled on the ambition to write. After university, I went into journalism (like my protagonist, Ben) and I ended up working as an intern at CNN in Washington DC. At the start of the Clinton administration, the revolution in digital media was still a year or two away and all our work was done on videotape and in editing booths. I was the bag carrier at the bottom of the journalistic pile, but it was an amazing experience and it felt like I was living in the centre of political world (and I guess in a way I was).

One of the early controversies to hit President Clinton was the Nannygate scandal, when it was revealed his nominee for Attorney General had employed an illegal alien as part of her childcare arrangements. Determined to demonstrate the double standards by which the nominee was being judged, the producer I was working for despatched me and another intern to doorstep the homes of former Attorney General’s to try to question them (or more likely their staff) on their employment records. Residential addresses in hand, we headed into some of the wealthiest parts of northern Virginia, knocking on doors.

And that was when we came into contact with the giant dog. We safely made it back into our car but I was pumped with adrenaline. I knew uncovering stories, and find interesting ways to tell them, was what excited me most. 

But for various reasons, a glittering career in journalism did not follow for me and instead I ended up making my way in the world of publishing. Interaction with many great authors followed, often leaving me with the inspiration (but not always the time) to sit down and write. At first I wrote a couple of stage plays (my childhood habit of picking the hardest route to success has never left me) and then, after a number of years working in publishing, I wrote a full novel which still lives in my desk’s bottom drawer.

It was when James Patterson launched his short book Bookshots series that I saw my first real opportunity. I pitched a series idea to him, and I was fortunate enough that he liked it. I co-authored three Bookshots with him and it was soon after that that a friendly editor said to me I should take the chance to write my own novel. 

I thought back to my time at CNN and decided to create an investigative journalist as my lead character. Although Ben Harper is in no way based on me, I think he does fulfil my frustrated journalistic ambitions. I loved writing Ben’s story as the great thing about having a journalist as a lead character is he can get pulled in all kinds of directions. TWELVE SECRETS tells his story but also those of all the people around his as he gets drawn into both present day and historic crimes. 

And he definitely has a slightly devil-may-care attitude to life. He would very happily walk up to the front door of the former Attorney General of the United Sates to ask if they were employing any illegal aliens – and in Ben’s case he would be happy to ask a whole lot more.

Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold (Little Brown) Out Now.

Ben Harper's life changed for ever the day his older brother Nick was murdered by two classmates. It was a crime that shocked the nation and catapulted Ben's family and their idyllic hometown, Haddley, into the spotlight. Twenty years on, Ben is one of the best true crime journalists in the country and happily settled back in Haddley, thanks to the support of its close-knit community. But when a fresh murder case shines new light on his brother's death and throws suspicion on those closest to him, Ben's world is turned upside down once more. He's about to discover that Haddley is a town full of secrets. No one is as they seem. Everyone has something to hide. And someone will go to any length to keep the truth buried...

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