Recently I had the opportunity of hosting a Q&A session with author – Anna Willett, which I conducted, thanks to Anna Willett and Roi PR.
Welcome to my blog Anna and thank you very much for taking part in a Q&A session.
Anna has successfully had 16 published books. Her latest is The Newlywed, which sees Detective Inspector Veronika Pope tackle a cold case and finds there’s a vanishing bride and there’s more to the town that meets the eye. You can find out the blurb below, before seeing what Anna Willett has to say about her book and her writing, about her background and how she winds down and what she is working on next.
Blurb
Detectives dig deep to discover what happened to a lost bride
After travelling to the breezy seaside town of Seabreak with her new husband to meet his twin brother, Jane Wilson vanishes without a trace.
There is never any sign of her again, and despite blame initially being cast on the husband, with no evidence of a crime, nothing is done.
Years later, Detective Inspector Veronika Pope and her team at the Special Crime Squad reinvestigate the disappearance.
What really drove Jane to return to the town? And what made sure she would never leave?
Detective Pope is convinced the town and its windy dunes hold the secrets, but she is faced with the grim determination of others to keep them buried forever…
THE NEWLYWED is Anna Willett’s latest suspenseful mystery. It can be read on its own, or alongside two other books featuring Detective Veronika Pope, THE WOMAN BEHIND HER and THE FAMILY MAN.
Without further ado, onto the Q&A.
1. Who or what inspired you to write suspense/thriller novels and did you do anything different prior to becoming a writer?
I’ve always written but didn’t take what I was doing seriously until ten years ago. At the time I was teaching. I still teach part-time.
2. The Newlywed is your 16th book. How does it feel, knowing you’ve managed to write 16 books and where do you get your ideas from to keep each book fresh?
The ideas come easily; it’s deciding which ones to turn into a novel that can be tricky. For The Newlywed and The Family Man, book two in the Cold Case Mysteries, I drew inspiration from a couple of infamous Western Australian true crime cases. I take a small part of the crime itself and then everything else is pure fiction.
I try to keep crimes themselves fresh by drawing on true crime, delving into what’s going on in the world. And also immersing the reader in the setting. Characters, old and new, must be interesting. Recurring characters need to grow and reveal new snippets of their backstory and personality traits. They have to be as real as possible. Dialogue must be authentic. A story grows stale when the same old characters have the same old reaction.
3. The Newlywed is a cold case, what interested you most in choosing going down this avenue of police work?
I’ve always been fascinated by true crime, solved and unsolved, as well as crime fiction. I enjoy watching true crime documentaries and reading about infamous crimes. I’m interested in the methods used to solve or at least attempt to solve cases. I find myself theorising about certain aspects of the case. It’s a genre that intrigues me in a way that became the impetus to write about cold cases.
4. Your detective is Veronika Pope in the Special Crime Squad tasked with re-investigating the disappearance of Jane, how did you research this particular type of team and the re-opening of cases?
I have a close friend who was a detective in the West Australian Police force. He is a marvellous source of information. When I’m writing a colds case story, I turn to him form procedural information and also how investigators would react in certain situations.
I also do a good deal of online research. I try to make the stories as authentic as possible.
5. How did you feel getting into the mindset of a seaside town and your characters who harbour age old secrets they want to keep buried? Do you, for example, fully immerse yourself with them?
The town, Seabreak is a fictional place based on several small communities south of Perth. Before writing The Newlywed, I visited these towns, spent days taking photos and immersing myself in the lifestyle. I’ve visited almost all the setting I’ve used in the sixteen books. It helps me to get a feel for a place. It makes it easier to write about the views, the weather the flora and fauna.
I also live within hearing distance of the ocean, so that helped.
6. How do you unwind?
For me, reading makes me a better writer as well as being a fantastic way to relax. I’m also a huge film buff so I love watching movies. I enjoy walking our GSD girl, Karma. Living with a dog is a fantastic way to destress and unwind. There’s nothing like having a wet tennis ball dumped in your lap to remind you to stop and take a break. And I love going out for lunch, trying new cafes and restaurants.
7. Are you reading and/or writing anything just now?
I’m reading Watching You by Michael Robotham. He’s one of my favourite authors.
I’m working on a new cold case, again inspired by a infamous unsolved West Australian case. This story takes place in the Goldfields, a huge, rugged landscape dotted with small remote communities. An area where so many people have vanished or perished.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 
I had such a great time with the Q&A! Thank you!
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