I am delighted to welcome
MARY-JANE RILEY
AUTHOR OF DARK WATERS
TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT
FOR HER BLOG TOUR
A room of one's own
It’s not necessary to have a whole room to write in - indeed
it can even become a bit of a millstone (husband says ‘you can have the whole
day to write in your room’ I freeze and generally find I can’t do much at all)
- and I like to be able to write in all sorts of places - the dining room
table, the train, an aeroplane, a balcony in Greece overlooking the ocean...
but I do love my room and I probably write my best stuff there. I have a lovely
view over the Common and see sparrow hawks, kestrels, rabbits, dog walkers and
even deer. I keep my handbags in my room, and I often have company in the form
of one of my dogs, Reggie, who likes to sleep on the futon (I know, I know, who
on earth buys something as uncomfortable as a futon?). Sometimes *whispers* I curl
up with him.
Walking
And talking of Reggie, walking him and Bella is a wonderful
way to clear my head, untangle plot messes, think about characters and feel
that maybe what I’m writing isn’t one hundred percent c***p. I often go up the
road to a wonderful area where the dogs run free to sniff and smell and play.
The East Anglian sky is wide and beautiful and the sense of space is amazing.
The dogs are also very good sounding boards as they always seem pleased to hear
about my plots, characters, and so on. They never get bored! Marvellous!
I have to have silence while I work, but when I want to
switch off I love listening to the radio, usually plays I have downloaded from
the BBC - Radio Four or Radio Four Extra. I have heard some great stuff over
the years, and I particularly like plays that use the medium of radio to its
fullest - a recent Jonathan Myerson play was a brilliant example of this. If I
can’t sleep at night I listen to Radio Five Live Up All Night, which is full of
interesting and informative items, so not great for getting me off to sleep. I
am also an out and proud fan of The Archers....
Notebooks
Notebooks, notebooks and more notebooks! Of all shapes and
sizes! But mostly I like to write in big ones, at least A4 size.... I make notes,
write character outlines, doodle, and often write down what has happened so far
in the latest book I’m writing - I find if I do that a couple of times it can
unlock the next bit...
Husband
Couldn’t do any of this without him. Simple. He is encouraging,
he doesn’t yawn when I bore on. And on. And on. He listens and makes great
suggestions, tells me I’m great (even though I’m not), whistles when I’m
shouting about things not working - computer, ideas, that sort of thing
(actually the whistling can be quite annoying). Suggest ways to make my writing
tighter. AND HE DOES THE IRONING. ALL OF IT.
The delete button
To take out those clumsy sentences,
those rubbish paragraphs, that purple prose, those over-the-top descriptions,
those sentences that seem so fine but are far to ‘writerly’, and all those damn
ellipses and exclamation marks!
THANKS FOR TAKING PART, MARY-JANE!
About Mary-Jane Riley
Mary-Jane wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue
Petite typewriter. She was eight. It was about a gang of children who had
adventures on mysterious islands, but she soon realised Enid Blyton had
cornered that particular market. So she wrote about the Wild West instead. When
she grew up she had to earn a living, and became a BBC radio talk show
presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also
some of the darkest events of the past two decades. Mary-Jane has three
grown-up children and lives in Suffolk with her husband and two golden
retrievers.
DARK WATERS is her third crime thriller featuring investigative
journalist, Alex Devlin.
About DARK WATERS
Published by Killer Reads (16 March 2018)
Publisher's description
DARK WATERS is
the third crime thriller in the series featuring journalist Alex Devlin. It
begins with a macabre discovery on board a pleasure cruiser on the beautiful
Norfolk Broads – the decomposing bodies of two elderly men. It appears the dead
men did not know each other and police suspect an internet suicide pact.
Alex’s search for the truth reveals a darker story. She
finds a connection between the two men and possible links to other unexplained
deaths.
As she investigates further, the stakes rise and her own
family becomes embroiled in the mystery. Her inquiries lead her to the
University of Cambridge. Could the roots of the puzzle lie there with a tragedy
that unfolded amongst a group of carefree students many years before?
Long-buried secrets come to the surface and Alex’s life and
the lives of her family are on the line. As the past and the present collide,
Alex questions everything she thinks she knows about those she loves.
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