Linda Watson-Brown interview

Linda Watson-Brown writes with Maria Thomson under the pseudonym of Grace Monroe. This interview with Linda Watson-Brown was first published in November 2007. The first Grace Monroe novel is Dark Angels.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in the old Elsie Inglis maternity hospital in Edinburgh and stayed in the Capital until I was 18 – but I don’t think I was actually ‘raised’ until I went to university in Glasgow when I was 18.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I started writing when I was about 5 and spent a lot of time ill in the Sick Kids Hospital. Everyone on the ward was older than me, so it was something I could do to keep myself busy, and there was no end to ‘Twinkle’ stories that I could occupy myself with creating. I’d always had lots of books around me, and always loved reading as that was something else which I developed in a superbrat way when I was in hospital too, so it was just a natural thing.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

Bad ones – if they can do it, so can I.

What kind of things do you write?

I split my time between ghostwriting and fiction. I started ghosting a few years ago when I was pregnant with my third child and thought it would be easy peasy (ha!), and now I also co-write the Brodie McLennan crime series with my close friend, Maria Thomson, under the pseudonym of Grace Monroe. Of course, there are a million other projects festering in my brain as well – but it’s so much nicer to hide behind other people.

What are you working on now?

The first Brodie book, ‘Dark Angels’ has just been published, and I’m working on the edits for the second, ‘Blood Lines’ as well as the third in the series. Maria and I are also developing a new batch of characters which begin life in a book called ‘The Blasphemer.’ I’m ghostwriting three other books just now and always looking for great stories.

What is your writing day like?

Disorganised and largely dependent on how much food is lying about.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

The time when my agent, Jenny Brown, has sent out a manuscript to publishers but we haven’t heard back yet . . .

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

The time when my agent, Jenny Brown, has sent out a manuscript to publishers but we haven’t heard back yet . . .

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

‘It’s alright I suppose’ – or maybe that was my internal critic on a good day.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

With ghostwriting, it has to be about the client, but with Maria, we write for ourselves – it’s quite indulgent to make all these little worlds and then be able to get away with saying it’s your job. It’s just grown up ‘Twinkle’ story telling in a different form.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

www.lindawatsonbrown.co.uk

www.gracemonroe.net

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