Welcome Jane Isaac

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I studied creative writing, and later specialist fiction with the London School of Journalism. My non-fiction articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online. 

Two of my short stories, Duplicity and Perilous Truths, will appear in Crime Anthologies released in 2012. An Unfamiliar Murder is my first novel.

Apart from my personal blog, Caffeine’s Not a crime - http://www.janeisaac.co.uk/blog/   I blog about my writing experience, Diary of a Newbie Novelist - www.newbiewriters.com and am co-author on the Pyjama Club - http://pyjamaclub.blogspot.com/

I currently live in rural Northants, UK with my husband, daughter and dog, Bollo. When I’m not writing, I’m passionate about travel, love to read, walk my dog and spend time with my family. I believe life should be an adventure! 

2. What genre do you write?
Psychological Crime Thrillers

3. Please tell us about your latest release, AN UNFAMILIAR MURDER, and how you came up with the idea.
Let me share my blurb with you:

What secrets lurk beneath a normal, healthy skin?

Arriving home from a routine day at work, Anna Cottrell has no idea that her life is about to change forever. But discovering the stabbed body of a stranger in her flat, then becoming prime suspect in a murder enquiry is only the beginning. Her persistent claims of innocence start to crumble when new evidence links her irrevocably with the victim...
 
Leading her first murder enquiry, DCI Helen Lavery unravels a trail of deception, family secrets and betrayal. When people close to the Cottrell family start to disappear, Lavery is forced into a race against time. Can she catch the killer before he executes his ultimate victim?

Ideas pop into my head all over the place, a legacy of an overactive imagination, I guess! I do love to watch and listen to other people’s conversations too, and I’m sure snippets seep into my work.

I’m fascinated by what happens when extra-ordinary things happen to ordinary people. How do we react? The book is born out of this fascination and I try to make my characters real, so that we feel their journey.

An Unfamiliar Murder’s storyline developed as I wrote, I’m a definite pantser not a plotter, and I literally didn’t know how it was going to end when I first started it.

4. Is it part of a series?
Absolutely. I was only part way into this novel when I released that there was so much more I could do with my main character, DCI Helen Lavery. I am currently writing a sequel and enjoying stretching her character further.

5. A must have snack while you write.
Chocolate, always. And plenty of coffee.

6. A fact that someone might not know about you.
I dye my hair and have done since I was sixteen. I have no idea what the natural colour is now!

7. Advice to writers who have yet to be published.
Read everything you can get your hands on in your chosen genre and try to pen something every day. I don’t believe in imposing the pressure of word counts on myself, but my book is never far from my mind.

8. Any quirky habits?
I listen to music while I write and sometimes sing along into the headphones. Can be quite annoying for anyone else in the room!

9. What are you currently reading?
Payback by Simon Kernick

10. What are you currently working on?
I’m currently writing ‘Murderous Consequences’, the sequel to An Unfamiliar Murder. Hopefully this will be out by the end of the year.

What readers are saying:
"The characters are brilliantly crafted.... I can't wait for the sequel!"
 
"...as fast paced as it is full of twists and turns... "
 
"...compulsive reading. Brilliantly written, gripping plot."
Buy the book here:

 Paperback US:
 http://www.amazon.com/Unfamiliar-Murder-Jane-Isaac/dp/1937758060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326864285&sr=8-1
Paperback UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unfamiliar-Murder-Jane-Isaac/dp/1937758060/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328031646&sr=8-2
 Kindle US:
 http://www.amazon.com/An-Unfamiliar-Murder-ebook/dp/B006YK6U18/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326864285&sr=8-3
 Kindle UK:
 http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Unfamiliar-Murder-ebook/dp/B006YK6U18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326868728&sr=8-1

Contact details: 

You can contact me on my website at www.janeisaac.co.uk. I love to hear from readers and writers. Sign up to my newsletter for updates on An Unfamiliar Murder and its sequel which should be out by the end of 2013. Alternatively, follow me on Twitter: @JaneIsaacAuthor or on Face Book: Jane Isaac Author. 

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