Maria Thomson writes with Linda Watson-Brown under the pseudonym of Grace Monroe. This interview with Maria Thomson was first published in November 2007. The first Grace Monroe novel is Dark Angels.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Leith and I lived in Leith and
Edinburgh until I went to Dundee University .
What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start
writing?
I come from a very large, extended Irish family. At
Christmas we would all gather together to sing sad songs and tell
stories. I used to tell my cousins horror stories upstairs in the bedroom when
the adults were partying downstairs.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
I love Lewis Grassic Gibbon. 'Sunset Song' made me weep for hours.
What kind of things do you write?
Crime novels
What are you working on now?
I am working on the third book in the Brodie McLennan series, published by Avon,
an imprint of HarperCollins.
What is your writing day like?
I start at 9.30 and I try to do an eight hour day. I am frequently interrupted
by children coming in for lunch and friends stopping by for coffee. Sometimes if
I have been at my desk for more than two days in a row I have to go out for a
long drive. I am fortunate that I live in
The Highlands of
Scotland so I have a big sky to dream under. My road trips might be the
'Whisky Trail' or the
Banff coast - either way it's inspiring.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
I get excited when readers come up to me and tell me that they like a character.
It is interesting when they can tell me little details of the character's
actions that I have forgotten about. For example women are very taken with 'Glasgow
Joe' - they love the fact that he brought in special toiletries for Brodie to
use when she needed to stay in his flat.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
Rewriting. I find that instead of tweaking it slightly, I want to rewrite the
whole piece. My greatest mistake is throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Thankfully, co-author Linda keeps me in check.
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?
I had an email from a lawyer in
India who loved the book and wanted to know when the next one was coming
out. It was awe inspiring - these books are written on
kitchen tables in the highlands of Scotland , so to know that we had made
a connection with a reader so far away is mind boggling.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to
satisfy your own creativity?
I write to please our readers. I enjoy feedback. I have immersed myself in so
many books - it is my greatest enjoyment as a writer to think that for a
few hours someone could 'lose ' themselves in Brodie's world.
Do you have a homepage?
www.gracemonroe.net
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