In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Jake Lamar

 Name: Jake Lamar

Job: - Author

Website: https//jakelamar.com

X: @jakelamar

Introduction

Jake Lamar is an author of a memoir, seven novels and numerous essays, reviews, and short stories. His novel The Last Integrationist won France’s Grand Prize for best foreign thriller. His most recent book Viper’s Dream was a New York Times top 4 thriller of the month. It was one of The Guardian’s best thrillers of 2023 and is currently shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2024

Current book?

I am writing a crime novel about chess. I describe it as a cross between Stefan Zweig and Chester Himes.

Favourite book?

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Read it when I was fourteen. It was the first time I really understood satire. That Heller could describe the horrors of war in such a darkly humorous way was a revelation for me.

Which two musicians would you invite to dinner and why?

John Lennon and Paul McCartney in their 1966 incarnations. This is the toughest question in the bunch for me. Because some of the musicians I revere most might not make the greatest dinner party company. Billie Holiday would show up hours late. Thelonious Monk would probably just glower benignly, hardly speaking at all. Miles Davis might insult the other guests. Lennon and McCartney might very well insult the other guests but hearing them riff off each other would more than make up for it.

How do you relax?

Just hanging out with Dorli, my partner of 28 years. A very wise, older friend of mine once said: "The most important thing isn't having someone to do something with. It's having someone to do nothing with."

Which book do you wish you had written and why?

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Read it when I was fifteen. An astounding literary feat on so many levels. Veering from tragedy to satire, the novel encompasses the madness of the USA's racial caste system, from the rural South to the urban North. Ellison gave the world a metaphor for social marginalization---invisibility---that resonates with people to this day, as when groups and individuals say they want "to be seen." And, amazingly, in this 500-plus page epic, the reader never learns the name of the first-person narrator.

What would you say to your younger self of you were just starting out as a writer?

Writing and Publishing are two different planets. You will live on Planet Writing. Every once in a while, you will get in your spacecraft and fly over to Planet Publishing. But you will live on Planet Writing. Never let the volatile climate on Planet Publishing negatively impact the atmosphere on Planet Writing.

How would you describe your latest published book?

My friend and colleague David Peace was the first to call Viper's Dream "jazz noir." I think that nails it. The book is a hard-boiled crime novel---in the tradition of Hammett, Chandler, and Himes---set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961.

With A Dance to the Music of Crime: the artful crime to murder being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite albums?

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis

Monk's Dream by Thelonious Monk

Purple Rain by Prince

If you were given the ability to join a band which, would it be and why?

Sly and the Family Stone, circa 1969. The music of my late childhood/early adolescence, naturally. Check them out in the magnificent concert documentary film Summer of Soul. A band made up of men and women, of different ethnic origins, mixing gospel, rhythm-and-blues, jazz and soul, to create the ultimate feel-good Funk.

If you were to re-attend a concert which, would it be and why?

Easiest question in the bunch. Prince: The Fox Theatre; Detroit, Michigan; April 1993. A relatively intimate venue---5,000 seats---not an arena or stadium. His Purple Majesty was at the peak of his powers. The crowd was 75% African American. By the third hour, the place was delirious. Prince screamed from the stage: "I got too many HITS! Y'all can't STAND it!"

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda’s?

The conversations!

  

Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar (Bedford Square Publishers)

A hard-boiled crime novel set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961, Viper's Dream combines elements of the epic Godfather films and the detective novels of Chester Himes to tell the story of one of the most respected and feared Black gangsters in America. At the centre of Viper's Dream is a turbulent love story. And the climax bears an element of Greek tragedy. For the better part of 20 years, Clyde 'The Viper' Morton has been in love with Yolanda 'Yo-Yo' DeVray, a singer of immense talent but a woman consumed by demons. By turns ambitious and self-destructive, conniving and naive, Yo-Yo is a classic femme fatale. She is a bright star in a constellation of compelling characters including the chauffeur-turned-gangster Peewee Robinson, the Jewish kingpin Abraham 'Mr. O' Orlinsky, the heroin dealer West Indian Charlie, the corrupt cop Red Carney, the wife-beating singer Pretty Paul Baxter, the pimp Buttercup Jones and the brutal enforcer Randall Country Johnson. But Viper's Dream has a fast-paced vibe all its own, a story charged with suspense, intrigue and plot twists and spiced with violence and humour. It is also steeped in music. The Viper's story is intertwined with the history of jazz over a quarter century.

Information about 2024 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here. 

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Kia Abdullah

 Name:- Kia Abdullah

Job:-Author and Travel Writer

Website: kiaabdullah.com

X: @kiaabdullah

Instagram: @kiaabdullah

Introduction:- 

Kia Abdullah is an author and travel writer.She has written for The Guardian, the BBC, The New York Times and The Times as well as a number of other papers. Her 2019 debut crime novel Take It Back was chosen by The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph as one of the best new crime and thriller novels. Her third novel Next of Kin was long—lsted for the CWA Gold Dagger.

Current book? 

I’ve carved out time to read IT by Stephen King in between the proofs I get sent for work. The book is 1,067 pages long, so is quite an undertaking, but I’m halfway through and absolutely love it so far. After the first few chapters, I literally went and checked that my front and back door were locked so that Pennywise couldn’t creep into my house from the gutter outside. That’s a pretty skilful thing for an author to make you do. King truly is one of the best storytellers of our time. 

Favourite book: 

My favourite book that I’ve read as an adult is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It’s beautifully written, rich in character and just completely immersive. 

My favourite book overall, however, has to be Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. I read that as a child and it had such a strong impact on my life. I grew up in a conservative Bengali family and much of my life felt prescripted: education, marriage, motherhood. Anne taught me that you could subvert cultural expectations and expect more from life. 

Which two musicians would you invite to dinner and why?

Mariah Carey because I genuinely think she’s one of the greatest philosophers of our time. When she was in her early twenties, she insisted on paying for half the mansion she bought with her then-husband Tommy Mottola. Years later, when she was 40, she was asked about this in an interview. “Oh yeah,” she said drily. “Quite the silly little girl, I was.” I love that there was no pretence at feminism; she just said yeah that was stupid of me. I like that she is unapologetically who she is. 

I’d probably also ask Jon Bon Jovi frankly because I’ve always had a crush on him. 

How do you relax?

I go boxing three to four times a week, which completely de-stresses me. I came to boxing a year ago purely by chance. My next novel has a character, Safa Saleem, who takes a few boxing lessons and I thought, “If I’m going to write these scenes realistically, I’ll have to take a couple of lessons myself.” I booked two lessons with a local boxing coach and absolutely fell in love with the sport. 

I like that it’s changed how I think of myself. I was never sporty or particularly active. In fact, there is a long history of British-Asian women not exercising enough, partly because our roles were traditionally in the home. To find myself in this very male dominated sport is both a surprise and a delight. 

Which book do you wish you had written and why?

There are so many books I love which are not in my style or genre: The Secret History, The Time Traveler’s Wife, One Hundred Years of Solitude among many, many others. If I can narrow the focus to crime, then I’d choose Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It’s so sharply observed and brilliantly written – and of course has one of the best twists of all time. 

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.

It will happen. Be patient. But also look up compound interest. 

How would you describe your latest published book?

Those People Next Door is a tense courtroom thriller about nightmare neighbours and how far we’re prepared to go to defend the people we love.

With A Dance to the Music of Crime: the artful crime to murder being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite albums?

Can I say HIStory: Past, Present and Future by Michael Jackson? It’s a bit of a cheat because it’s a compilation album, but I’ll have it if I can.

Moondance by Van Morrison. I’m never sad when listening to Van Morrison.

I honestly can’t decide between Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill. Please let me have both. - Of course!

If you were given the ability to join a band which would it be and why?

I’d choose the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Critics of the band say all their music sounds alike and maybe there’s some truth to that, but I’m a fan. In reality, I’d probably have a breakdown. I am very organised and methodical, and don’t know if I could cope with their vibe of ‘California whatever’. 

If you were to re-attend a concert which would it be and why

I was lucky enough to see Michael Jackson in concert in 1997, but I was in the second row and had to be pulled out because I was getting crushed. I watched most of the show through a crack in the makeshift medical room. I’d like to do that concert again. 

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I hear that St Hilda’s has a really relaxed, informal vibe. I’m looking forward to meeting readers and catching up with author friends long into the night, perhaps with a glass or two of wine. 

Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah (HarperCollins Publishers)

You can choose your house. Not your neighbours. Welcome to your dream home. Salma Khatun is extremely hopeful about Blenheim, the safe suburban development to which she, her husband and their son have just moved. Their family is in desperate need of a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like the place to make that happen. Meet your neighbours. Not long after they move in, Salma spots her neighbour, Tom Hutton, ripping out the anti-racist banner her son put in their front garden. She chooses not to confront Tom because she wants to fit in. It's a small thing, really. No need to make a fuss. So Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window instead. But the next morning she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint. And prepare for the nightmare to begin. This time she does confront Tom, and the battle lines between the two families are drawn. As things begin to escalate and the stakes become higher, it's clear that a reckoning is coming... And someone is going to get hurt.

Information about 2024 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book online tickets can be found here. 

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Andrew Wilson

 Name:- Andrew Wilson

Job:- Author and Journalist

Website:- https://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk

Twitter: - @andrewwilsonaw

 Introduction

Andrew Wilson is an award-winning author and journalist. His first book 'Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith' was shortlisted for the Whitbread biography prize (2003) and won an Edgar Allan Poe award for biography in 2004 and a LAMBDA Literary Award in 2003. His journalism has appeared in a wide range of newspapers and magazines. He also writes under the pseudonym E V Adamson where he is the author of psychological thrillers.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

I always have lots of books on the go - and because I read so much for work, I have to carve out the time to read books for pleasure. I’ve just finished Christine Mangan’s Palace of the Drowned, set in Venice in 1966. I adored her first novel Tangerine and I loved this one just as much. I write non-fiction as well as crime fiction, and at the moment I’m working on a new book about Marilyn Monroe. So I’m reading lots of books - novels and memoirs - about old Hollywood, which is enormous fun. 

Favourite book:

Too many to mention - of course! But in the list there would have to be a Christie, a Highsmith, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt. 

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why?

I’d love to sit back and observe Christie’s two greatest detectives: Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. They could compare case notes, reminisce about murderers they have known, discuss their various methods and perhaps indulge in a little light flirtation over the black coffee. 

How do you relax?

I’m lucky enough to live by the sea in South Devon so I each day I make sure I go for a long walk. But often as I walk through the fields or by the beach I find that this gentle activity is conducive to solving a tricky plot point or untangling a stubborn knot in the narrative.

Which book do you wish you had written and why?

It would have to be Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. I remember devouring it when it was first published in 1992 and being blown away by its compulsive narrative, gripping characters and stylish writing. I like to reread it every couple of years.

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.

You will do it! Growing up in a working class family in the north of England, I had no connections with writing or the arts. I always wanted to be a writer and my route was through journalism - after university, I worked as a feature writer and interviewer for national newspapers and magazines. From this I moved into biography and then into fiction. Although all three disciples are very different, I like to think that journalism helped me with discipline, deadlines and also how to tell a story. 

How would you describe your latest published book?

My latest novel is one published under the pseudonym E.V. Adamson. It’s called Murder Grove (HarperCollins) and it’s about a young couple who leave London to live in an eco-village in southern Spain. Soon after arriving in this paradise, their green dream turns into a nightmare. I based it on my own experience of six years living in an eco-village in southern Spain - without the real-life murders!

With Celebrations: innocent parties, guilty pleasures being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite psychological books and why?

• The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Highsmith cleverly seduces the reader into identifying with a twisted mind - the charming psychopath Tom Ripley. This book changed the course of crime fiction.

• Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie. This is one of the Queen of Crime’s best books. It uses the device of multiple narrators - something which has become increasingly fashionable in recent years - to tell the story of a murder committed years before. If anyone (not familiar with Christie) proclaims that she only wrote cardboard cut-out characters I give them this to read. 

• A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell. I love Rendell’s novels - particularly her Barbara Vine ones - but this novel first published in 1977 has to be one of my favourites. The reader knows the name of the killer and the motive for the murders in the first paragraph, but the suspense is extraordinary. 

If you were to rewatch a psychological film which film would it be and why?

I love Hitchcock’s Vertigo and I must have seen it a dozen or so times. I’ll never forget the first time I saw it - when the final twist was revealed I felt such a sense of shock and awe. It’s such a compelling study of obsession and when I write I often have Bernard Herrmann’s score playing in the background. 

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

This will be my first time in person at St Hilda’s - I took part in a digital event for the festival during Covid. So I can’t wait to meet some of my heroes and heroines in the crime writing field. I’ll have to stop myself fan-boying them. But I hope to break the ice with my secret weapon - Patricia Highsmith’s dressing gown. 

  The Murder Grove by E V Adamson (HarperColins)

Two bodies. Thirty years. And a secret that connects them both… 1990 A woman’s body is found brutally murdered in the woods, and next to it, a shallow grave hiding a terrified young girl. 2021 ...When Mia and Rich move to an eco-village in Spain, they’re looking for a new start. Val Verde is everything they wished for – at least to begin with. But when someone is murdered in an olive grove, Mia realises the village isn’t the safe haven she was hoping for… There’s a killer in the village – and they’ll stop at nothing until they get revenge…

 Information about 2023 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here.

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Robert Goddard

 Name:- Robert Goddard

Job:- Author

Twitter :- @RobertGoddardUK

Introduction

Goddard's first novel, Past Caring, was published in 1986. Into the Blue, (1990) the first of the Harry Barnett novels won the first WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award, Long Time Coming which was published in the UK in 2009 won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Original Paperback and was nominated for the 2011 Anthony award in the same category In 2019, Goddard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers' Association. He has also received acclaim for his historical Wide World trilogy, set in Europe and Japan during 1919, and featuring the intrepid ex-flying ace James ‘Max’ Maxted.He has since written more than twenty novels; the majority have been Sunday Times Top Ten best-sellers in the UK.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both) 

I’m currently immersed in a lot of background reading for a new novel in which we will return to some of the characters who featured in This is the Night They Come for You.

Favourite book: 

It’s a close call between The Calculus Affair and The Castafiore Emerald - Hergé’s greatest achievements in his Tintin series that so captivated me as a child. 

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why? 

Bearing in mind my previous answer, I think it should probably be Captain Haddock and Bianca Castafiore. Sparks are likely to fly, but Haddock’s fondness for whisky has blinded many to his appreciation of fine wine - plus he can entertain us with anecdotes culled from his nautical career and, late in the evening, perhaps a sea shanty or two, accompanied by the Milanese Nightingale herself. 

How do you relax? 

Walking, watching cricket and loitering in pubs. 

Which book do you wish you had written and why? 

I’m not really sure how to answer this question, as we all write in our own way and if I wrote somebody else’s book I’d end up re-writing it in my particular style. 

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer. 

You really are going to be able to sustain a career as a writer! 

How would you describe your latest published book? 

The St Hilda’s event is set to coincide with publication of my latest novel, The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction, which features a second appearance by Japanese detective Umiko Wada and sees her drawn into a nest of mysteries concerning her former boss Kazuto Kodaka and the troubled past of Japan itself. 

With Celebrations: innocent parties, guilty pleasures being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite psychological books and why? 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Magus by John Fowles and The Secret History by Donna Tartt - classics of psychologically intriguing storytelling all three. 

If you were to rewatch a psychological film which film would it be and why? 

Picnic at Hanging Rock - there’s a chance that one day I’ll be able to work out what actually happened at Hanging Rock that summer’s day in 1900, even though I realize the scriptwriter didn’t know himself.

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda’s? 

The unexpected! 

The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction by Robert Goddard (Transworld Publshers Ltd) Out 17 August 2023

Umiko Wada never set out to be a private detective, let alone become the one-woman operation behind the Kodaka Detective Agency. But so it has turned out, thanks to the death of her former boss, Kazuto Kodaka, in mysterious circumstances. Keen to avoid a similar fate, Wada chooses the cases she takes very carefully. A businessman who wants her to track down his estranged son offers what appears to be a straightforward assignment. Soon she finds herself pulled into a labyrinthine conspiracy with links to a twenty-seven-year-old investigation by her late employer and to the chaos and trauma of the dying days of the Second World War. As Wada uncovers a dizzying web of connections between then and now, it becomes clear that someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the past buried. Soon those she loves most will be sucked into the orbit of one of the most powerful men in Tokyo. And he will do whatever it takes to hold on to his power...

Information about 2023 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here.

In the St Hilda's Spotlight - Winnie LI

 

Name:- Winnie Li

Job:- Author and activist

Website - https://www.winniemli.com/

Twitter - @winniemli

Instagram:- @winniemli

Introduction: 

Winnie M Li is a Taiwanese American author and actvisit who writes across a range of media, including fiction, theatre, journalism, and memoir. Her debut novel, Dark Chapter, is a fictional retelling of her real-life stranger rape in Belfast, from both victim and perpetrator perspectives. It won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize in 2017, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, and shortlisted for The Author’s Club Best First Novel Award.  

Her second novel Complicit was sold in a six-figure pre-empt to Orion Fiction, and later, in a heated five-way auction to Emily Bestler at Atria Books for US rights. It was released in the Summer of 2022 and was The New York Times ‘ monthly book club pick, as well as being on several Best of 2022 lists. 

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

Current book I’m reading: The Red Canoe by Wayne Johnson, a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee. It’s a beautiful and brutal story of violence, corruption, and justice set on the bleak landscapes of a Native American reservation in Minnesota. 

Current book I’m writing: 

My third novel (working title Mother Road), about three estranged adult siblings who are forced to go on a road trip across post-Covid America to see their ailing mother on the West Coast. Along the way, they confront the strange incident that happened on a previous family road trip when they were children. 

Favourite book:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why? 

Letitia from Lovecraft Country (the book, not the TV series) and June/Offred from The Handmaid’s Tale. They’re both feisty young women who come up with smart and subversive ways to survive in an oppressive society – and to find adventure in the process. 

How do you relax?

A solo hike on my own in nature. That, or lose myself in a good novel! 

Which book do you wish you had written and why? 

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It’s ingenious, and there’s so much to admire in it. The audacity of creating six nested stories set in entirely different time periods and locations, written in entirely different styles. The way he nails every single genre he writes in. The new worlds he creates. And the breadth of terror and wonder and humor in these stories. 

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.

As long as you still love the act of writing, that’s what matters most. All the other stuff (book deals, promotion, agents & publicists) is icing on the cake. 

How would you describe your latest published book?

Complicit is a mystery set in the world of filmmaking, which follows Sarah, a young woman eager to make her mark behind-the-scenes in Hollywood. Ten years later, when a New York Times journalist approaches her about a notorious male producer, she confronts the truth of her ruined career and reveals the danger and injustice that lurks behind the supposed fun and glamour of moviemaking. 

With Celebrations: innocent parties, guilty pleasures being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite psychological books and why?

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier 

These books all probably emphasize the viewpoint of the ‘innocent parties’ in quite menacing settings, but they forge a strong emotional bond between the reader and narrator/protagonist. Oh, and I think they all have some celebration scenes in there, many of which feel very ‘earned’! 

If you were te rewatch a psychological film whiich film would it be and why?

Mulholland Drive. Because it’s David Lynch, and you always get something new from another viewing of a Lynch film. 

Another film I want to shout out is Searching by Aneesh Chaganti, which is a very clever concept, but also very moving, very rooted in family dynamics, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I’ve heard so many great things about St Hilda’s, but I think the Oxford setting, the intimate atmosphere, and the chance to connect with readers and to hear authors deliver their own lectures on an aspect of storytelling they’re passionate about. It’s a chance to glimpse into each of their minds and see how different authors find inspiration in their creative journeys. 

Complicit by Winnie M Li (Orion Publishing)

You know what it's like. A comment here, a closed door there, turning a blind eye to get ahead. My name is Sarah Lai. You won't have heard of me. A decade ago I was on the cusp of being a big deal. But that was a long time ago. Now, instead of working in Hollywood, I teach students about it. And these are the two most important lessons you need to know about the film industry:1) Those with the money have all the power. 2) Those with the power get whatever they want. Ignore these rules and the whole system will crumble. Stick to the rules and you'll succeed. But at what cost? Ask yourself, what would you have done?

Information about 2023 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here.

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Chris Brookmyre

Name Chris Brookmyre:

Job:- Author

Website:- https://www.brookmyre.co.uk

Twitter:- @cbrookmyre

Introduction:- 

Chris Brookmyre is a Scottish author whose debut novel Quiet Ugly One Morning (1996) established him as a firm favourite of readers who like their books with lots of dark black humour. They mainly have a police procedural frame, mixed with comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. Quite Ugly One Morning won the Critics' First Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel of the Year in 1996. Boiling a Frog won the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective in 2000.. All Fun And Games until Someone Loses an Eye was the winner of the seventh Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2006.

His novel Black Widow (2016) won the McIlvanney Prize and the and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. In 2020 h won the CWA Dagger in the Library for his body of work. 

Chris Brookmyre is a member of the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers,

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing)

The book I'm working on, as yet untitled, is one of the most baffling mysteries I've ever conceived. It revolves around the concept of what would happen if an octogenarian Miss Marple-esque cosy sleuth crossed paths with a hardboiled noirish Harry Bosch figure, playing with how the styles and values of their sub genres would collide.

Favourite book:

Swing Hammer Swing by Jeff Torrington. It’s by no means a crime novel; in fact its author said of its lack of plot, “plots are for cemeteries”. But try to imagine a four hundred page Billy Connolly routine about someone going around his favourite haunts in the Gorbals in the 1960s as the world he knows is demolished around him. It’s the spirit of Glasgow distilled in literature, and quite simply the funniest novel I've ever read and reread and reread.

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why? 

As I co-write with my wife, Marisa, I would have to invite James Young Simpson. He is a character in our Ambrose Parry novels, but he's also the historical figure Marisa is most fascinated with. He would be uproarious company if history is anything to go by, though we would need to be wary of him plying us with what he called his “special champagne”, which was basically chloroform diluted in soda water.

I'd also like to invite Danny Weir, aka Weird, from Ian Banks’ novel Espedair Street. I’d love to hear him regale us with debauched stories of excess as a Seventies rock star, and maybe he could also get out a guitar and let us hear what Frozen Gold’s songs actually sounded like.

How do you relax?

At the age of 49 I took up the guitar, which remains one of the best decisions I have made in the last five years. I can lose hours playing it, and it is the one activity that keeps my mind from straying back to whatever story I’m working on. I rehearse songs for Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers shows and learn other songs just for the pleasure of playing them.

Which book do you wish you had written and why?

Douglas Adams’ SF time-travel crime caper Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. To be able to write a fast-paced mystery story that is also warmly optimistic and gloriously funny, and to bring it in under 80,000 words would be the apex of my aspirations.

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.

Don't consider it skiving off to go for a walk around the block. Walking is writing, and sometimes the worst thing you can do is force yourself to sit at the computer.

How would you describe your latest published book?

I would describe The Cliff House as a respectful riposte to And Then There Were None. It’s about seven women invited to a party on a private island, where the consequences of past misdeeds will finally catch up to them, but while Agatha Christie’s is a book about retribution, The Cliff House is a book about forgiveness.

With Celebrations: innocent parties, guilty pleasures being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite psychological books and why?

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. It was the first book to give me a disturbingly authentic perspective into the mind of a serial Killer.

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. As disturbing as it is funny, it puts you in the mind of an inventively twisted individual who lives for murder and mayhem, only for you to find out ultimately that they are the victim via the second greatest twist I've ever read. (The greatest twist I’ve ever read was also written by Ian M Banks, in Use Of Weapons.)

The Alienist by Caleb Carr. A pungently atmospheric depiction of Nineteenth Century New York and the pioneering days of criminal psychology.

If you were to rewatch a psychological film whiich film would it be and why?

Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee. In essence, all heist stories are psychological thrillers, as they're all about social engineering and manipulating perception. I can watch Inside Man over and over because it's a Swiss watch of a movie, intricately constructed, perfectly played and directed with such panache.

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I am looking forward to hearing some great writers offer refreshing perspectives on the work that has inspired them. It’s the kind of experience that tops up your creativity tank.

Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre

One hen weekend, seven secrets... but only one worth killing for. Jen's hen party is going to be out of control. She's rented a luxury getaway on its own private island. The helicopter won't be back for seventy-two hours. They are alone. They think. As well as Jen, there's the pop diva and the estranged ex-bandmate, the tennis pro and the fashion guru, the embittered ex-sister-in-law and the mouthy future sister-in-law. It's a combustible cocktail, one that takes little time to ignite, and in the midst of the drunken chaos, one of them disappears. Then a message tells them that unless someone confesses her terrible secret to the others, their missing friend will be killed. Problem is, everybody has a secret. And nobody wants to tell.

Information about 2023 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here.

In The Lyme Crime Spotlight: Amanda Jennings

 Name:- Amanda Jennings

Job:- Author

Website:- https://www.amandajennings.co.uk

Twitter:- @MandaJennings

Introduction:-

Amanda Jennings is the author of 5 standalone novels. The most recent being The Haven. She is a regular guest on BBC Berkshire’s Book Club, and is a judge for the annual Henley Youth Festival writing competition. 

Current book?

The Gone and The Forgotten by Clare Whitfield

Favourite book

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why? 

I would invite Romeo and Juliet to dinner and beg them not to muck about with deadly poisons. This is a tragedy that might have been avoided if only they’d thought through a better plan. After coming for dinner I would urge them to pack a small bag and disappear together and live happily ever after away from their meddling families. 

How do you relax?

I do a lot of walking with my dogs. I also look after ponies and chickens. I play tennis if I can. And get up into the mountains or to the sea for holidays. Getting outdoors and into nature is a natural valium. 

What book do you wish you had written and why?

I would have loved to have written The Beach. It’s everything I would love to create. Page-turning, with strong characters, a vibrant and evocative setting, growing tension and darkness, moments of shock, and - oh - the way Alex Garland writes the beach and the sea and those scenes of communal bliss. I think it was quite influential for me when writing The Haven. A utopian idyll gone awry.

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as an author?

“Dear Amanda, I know, it’s bonkers, but you’re going to actually get published. I know! Not only that but you’ll see your books translated into other languages and see them on supermarket shelves. There’ll be times when it feels bleak, a total waste of time, but soon the rejections will be a think of the past. Keep going!”

Why do you prefer to write standalone books as opposed to a series and would you consider writing a series.

My stories are centred around the personal journeys of my characters and are very much concerned with a path to some sort of resolution. Once the story has come to its end, there is no more drama there in my mind. Life returns from the extraordinary to some semblance of normality. It becomes time - as tough as it sometimes feels - to bid fond farewell to these people I know like family. Though I can clearly picture them existing beyond the final page, their lives into become mostly unremarkable. (Which is probably a great relief for them given the trauma I put them through…) 

What are you looking forward to at Lyme Crime?

Getting back to live events following the pandemic and lockdowns feels like a real privilege. I can’t wait to be with other authors and readers, and come together to indulge our common love of books. And what joy to be beside the sea as well. Books, readers, and the sea. How perfect!

The Haven by Amanda Jennings (HarperCollins Publishers)

It was meant to be paradise...Winterfall Farm, spectacular and remote, stands over Bodmin Moor. Wanting an escape from the constraints of conventional life, Kit and Tara move to the isolated smallholding with their daughter, Skye, and a group of friends. Living off-grid and working the land, they soon begin to enjoy the fruits of their labour amid the breathtaking beauty and freedom of the moor. At first this new way of life seems too good to be true, but when their charismatic leader, Jeremy, returns from a mysterious trip to the city with Dani, a young runaway, fractures begin to appear. As winter approaches, and with it cold weather and dark nights, Jeremy's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. Rules are imposed, the outside world is shunned, and when he brings a second girl back to the farm, tensions quickly reach breaking point with devastating consequences...

You can also find her on Instagram @amanda_jennings1 and on FaceBook.

Tickets can be bought here:- https://www.lymecrime.co.uk/tickets--contact.html