Cambridge Festival of Ideas – Crime Fiction, Extreme Pleasures, Part Two

Likes and Dislikes

The panel- Nicola Upson, B.A. Paris, Alison Bruce and Mick Finlay- went on to discuss their likes and dislikes about the writing process. The consensus seemed to be that writing crime is fun, as anything is possible and it deals with the basic themes of humanity: love, hate, greed and jealousy.

Alison Bruce said that it takes a long time to write 100,000 words and around 500 hours to write a first draft, which means, I suppose, that if you manage 1,000 words a day, it would take about 3 ½ months.  She said that she really enjoys the editing process, once that first draft is done, but always gets flu at the end of a book and sleep goes out the window.

B.A. Paris said that finding a new idea is quite hard in a saturated market. Her editor rang her up about a case in Poland and she really liked the idea and thought up a really good twist r the end. Then she came back from holiday and saw that `The Cry’ was on TV, which was almost exactly her own idea.

For Nicola Upson one of the best parts of writing is the research and she says that she can get lost in it.

They all agreed that they had little say on the covers (would that I had a problem like that!). Mick Finlay said he cringed at the American cover of his book. B.A. Paris said no black please on her cover, so the cover was largely black on `Bring me Back’ and no orange writing and so the writing was orange! Alison Bruce said that one of her books showed a bridge on the cover that she didn’t recognise, as all her DC Goodhew books are set in Cambridge. She searched Google Images and finally tracked down the bridge to Cambridge, Massachusetts! The book also turned out to be her slowest selling book with that particular cover.

Techniques

B.A. Paris felt that suspense comes naturally as she creates claustrophobic atmospheres, becoming the central character herself while she writes. The suspense arises directly from the situation.

Nicola Upson thinks about the reader a lot and said that she’s always writing on two levels: what you are revealing to the readers and what you know and how you’ll bring that out.

Alison Bruce adds a third level: what she wants the reader to think is happening.

Mike Finlay spoke about the importance of when to end a chapter, so the reader keeps going, eg his detective gets handed an envelope at the end of a chapter.

They all seem to write in very different ways: Alison Bruce thinks in a very cinematic way. She writes herself a load of questions and clues and most stay in.

Nicola Upson sets herself challenges and sometimes doesn’t know herself when she begins a book who has committed the crime. Often the victim is someone she likes.

B.A. Paris builds her story around something she’s heard. For her it’s all about solving puzzles.

What they did all agree on, however, is that characters have to `live’ before they die or the reader doesn’t care. Bad characters need to be complex, to have some good in them and strong feelings. The murder, if there is one, is the pivotal moment, which is why motive is crucial. After all, we are all capable of killing someone given the right motivation.

Readers will always love a good story, well told, with cliffhangers along the way. What they will never forgive is bland or badly drawn characters.

In conclusion literary and crime fiction are not mutually exclusive. Apparently John Banville, who also writes thrillers as Benjamin Black, caused quite a stir at one Harrogate Crime Festival, when he declared that when he writes as BB he writes 2000 words a day and when he writes as JB he writes 200! Perhaps he won’t be invited back in a hurry, I thought.

Cambridge Festival of Ideas – Crime Fiction, Extreme Pleasures

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I made my way through the labyrinthian corridors of Anglia Ruskin University to find Lab 3 and wondered what kind of literary experiment this might prove to be. I was to be disappointed only in the title of the talk: `Crime Fiction: Extreme Pleasures’  to which no reference was made. I therefore remained unclear whether the extreme pleasures in question were on the part of the reader, a somewhat bold claim, or the writer, engaged perhaps in some sado-masochistic dance with their agent or editor.

The panel was chaired by Mick Finlay, author of `Arrowood’, set in Victorian London, featuring the eponymous detective who hates Sherlock Holmes. Dr Mick Finlay is also a social psychology lecturer at Anglia Ruskin.

The other three panel members were all women: B.A. Paris, or Bernadette, who has written three psychological thrillers, including `Bring Me Back; Nicola Upson, who mixes fact with fiction in her seven books featuring Josephine Tey, a real crime writer from the 1930’s and Alison Bruce who has written seven books in the Cambridge based DC Goodhew series, one standalone and two non-fiction books. The latest, her standalone book, `I Did It For Us’, apparently arrived in her head in 30 seconds during an event she attended with her agent who was quite concerned for her wellbeing as she was behaving most strangely! She signed the deal with her publisher before it was even written, so it was obviously a golden moment.

Apparently crime fiction has become the most popular genre in the UK with 18.7 million books sold last year, up 19% since 2015.

Why is it so popular?

The panel suggested various answers to this question: there are so many great crime series on TV and Netflix; it’s very different from your own humdrum life; people like to be scared in the safety of their own home. Readers also prefer strong characters they can relate to and this happens particularly with a series, where the main characters become familiar and well loved. Equally, in these troubled times, things can be put right on the page and evil punished, which so rarely happens in real life. Both detectives and criminals are often outsiders, which readers can relate to and the latter enjoy trying to beat the author, analysing clues and guessing surprise twists.

How did you come to write crime?

B.A. Paris wrote `Behind Closed Doors’, a domestic noir, first. She had never considered writing a psychological thriller, but couldn’t get her novels published and was told to write something `for these times’. She bases her plots on something she’s heard or stories from friends which capture her imagination.

Nicola Upson started writing her series because she was a big fan of Josephine Tey, who was very ahead of her time as a writer and whose books have never been out of print. In fact Nicola Upson set out initially simply to write a biography of Tey, but ran into difficulties because Tey was such a private character. Her partner then told her to `for God’s sake, make it up’.

Alison Bruce initially planned to write a film script, but was told it was easier to get a book published than a script filmed. She ended up writing what was later described as a police procedural, because she initially put Gary Goodhew into a scene as she needed a policeman to answer the phone in her first written (but third to be published) book, `The Calling’.

Mick Finlay came up with the idea for `Arrowood’ because he thought `God, I’d be annoyed with Sherlock Holmes if I was a Victorian detective.’ His next thought was `There’s a book in this.’

Part Two to follow this week.

Disability, Writing and The London Book Fair

Diversity and inclusion are important topics for publishing at the moment and at the LBF there are four different talks this year: Rethinking Inclusivity: Ideas for Change; Inclusivity in Academic Publishing; The Inclusivity Toolbox: Practical Tips for Understanding Inclusion; Diversity & Inclusivity: Poetry & The Small Press.

Ben, my husband, has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Most days, when he ventures outside the house, he gets mocked or stared at or feels patronised by `well-meaning' members of the public. He's been particularly targeted by the religious and neo Nazis.

He often tells me- rightly- that I have no idea what it feels like to be disabled, to fall over and suffer the humiliation of complete strangers helping him up, to hit his head repeatedly and suffer amnesia for hours at a time.

We decided to write a twisty thriller together: THE GHOST OF POKER ALICE. The protagonist is a young woman with cerebral palsy.

I submitted the synopsis, below, to The Write Stuff competition at the LBF. If you were lucky enough to be longlisted, it meant that the first three chapters of your book would be read. The 6 finalists would then get to take part in a Dragon's Den style pitching event at the LBF with a panel of agents.

If you apply for a job in the Civil Service and you are disabled, you are guaranteed an interview, once you tick the requisite box. Obviously, you're not guaranteed the actual job, but the interview goes some way to redressing the multifarious disadvantages suffered by the disabled.

Many years ago a policewoman friend of mine had an operation on her feet, which meant she was in a wheelchair for several weeks. She said she would never forget the experience, as most people seemed to equate being in a wheelchair with being learning disabled.

When we submitted our synopsis to the Write Stuff competition, we had to give a reason why our synopsis should be considered. I felt that my husband's disability and subsequent experience of being marginalised all his life was the best possible reason to be considered. Sadly, it wasn't.

Here is the synopsis of what I feel is shaping up to be a brilliant thriller:

A grieving surgeon chases another car along a snowy road.

*****

In a Highlands cottage Ally wakes with amnesia, covered in stitches.  

Poker Alice- an historical figure and the ghost of her ancestor- appears. She proposes raising much-needed cash by playing poker. When Ally finally gets accepted into a game, one of the players, a GP, reveals that his friend’s grandson inherited the cottage.

Ally tracks down her mobile- found by a loch- which has a photo of her with a man.

Ally visits the local surgery, where the GP confirms that the same man owns the cottage. After examining her, he explains that she has cerebral palsy- and has recently had a C-section.

*****

Smita, a surgeon who was severely burnt as a child, then adopted, recently had a fight with her husband, who was leaving her. She fell down the stairs and lost her (IVF) baby.

Enraged, Smita pursued her husband to the Highlands cottage and saw Ally have a bad fall. Enroute to the hospital, her husband's car spun into a loch, but Ally was thrown clear. Smita stitched her wounds. And then stole her unborn baby.  

*****

When Ally tracks down Smita and takes a DNA sample from the baby, Smita attacks her. Poker Alice sends Smita’s mobile flying. As Smita bends over, Alice urges Ally to smash her skull. 


The end of the book is still changing. I have a great belief in the redemptive power of children- and babies, in particular. I think Smita will be deeply affected by her experience, so maybe this book will become our small contribution to `up-lit'.