Jean Levy's Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

JEAN LEVY

AUTHOR OF WHAT WAS LOST

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

What Was Lost was published on 13 September 2018 by The Dome Press.

Where I write

Mostly, I can write any place, any time. I have few requirements. I suppose it comes of years of leaving things to the last minute: homework on the school bus, research reports scribbled on the train, editorials dispatched as the deadline closes. That history of brinkmanship, of just scraping in under the wire, means that I’m not that fussy about chaos.

This is the dining table in my flat. It’s one of two places that I do my writing. Needless to say, we eat out a lot. The other place I write is the family barn. There’s a bigger table there, but there’s also a large bath and that’s probably one of my essentials. If I’m about to start a new sequence, introduce a new character or put the finishing touches to a critical conversation, I run a really hot bath, infused with a Seaweed and Arnica concoction that Father Christmas brings me every year (he gets it from Neal’s Yard). I think the combination of heat and fragrance helps me focus. Probably an increased blood supply to the brain, although I prefer not to think about that. Obviously, on these occasions I have to resort to traditional writing methods: sheets of A4 paper folded twice and an inky pen that writes upside down. (Do not attempt this bath-writing using electronic devices. Dunking iPads/mobiles into an infusion of seaweed and arnica never goes well.)

And those critical conversations … I rehearse them way before bath time, whilst weeding, whilst staring out the flat window at the Cathedral, whilst driving. The floor of my car is littered with quick notes scribbled on till receipts and parking tickets. Of course, silence is essential. I can’t expect my characters to have conversations with noise going on around them. In fact, I mostly can’t write surrounded by noise: the TV, seagulls, pneumatic drills, dripping taps, and definitely not music. Music imposes emotions and sometimes those emotions are not appropriate to what I’m writing.

Wine, food

Wine is not really essential, although I find a glass of prosecco always encourages creativity. Or a Pinotage when it’s cold outside. And I don’t really eat during the day, just cups of tea/coffee and the occasional bowl of pistachio ice cream.

Apps, books, software

Apart from the till receipts and the soggy bath notes, I write directly onto my laptop and back up on a flash drive (constantly), an external hard drive (occasionally) and by sending myself an email attachment (daily). I write in Word, the enemy that know. I search/check using Google and an online dictionary and thesaurus. As far as creative writing books are concerned, I had my fill of those during a Creative Writing degree. They are often a bit flaky, although some are good regarding plot, characters, dialogue. I’d recommend Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’. But I’ve found that the best sources for writing technique are books on basic narratology:

Cobley, P. (2001). Narrative: The New Critical Idiom. Routledge, Oxford.

Martin, W. (1986). Recent Theories of Narrative. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.

There are many others more recent than that. And there’s a good website I’ve used:

http://www2.anglistik.uni-freiburg.de/intranet/englishbasics/Discourse01.htm

The major considerations for any writer are plot, character, location, time and tense, sequence, description versus action, pace, use of dialogue, point of view, status of the narrator and narrative focus, but their expression rests upon good grammar and I’m a bit of a pedant when it comes to that. It’s a result of seven years of research into temporal linguistics … but that’s another story. David Crystal has written some very readable books on basic grammar. ‘The Elements of Style’ by Strunk, White and Kalman bridges the gap between creativity and serious grammar, and there’s always Lynne Truss’s  ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’.

By far the best way of realising writing techniques is to read good writers: Sebastian Faulks, Virginia Woolf, Ian McEwan and James Joyce for the beauty of their words, Margaret Atwood for her parallel and non-linear plots, Angela Carter for her imagery, Winterson for her experimental and challenging narratives, Philip Pullman for sheer imagination, Douglas Adams for his humour, and Jane Austen as the pioneer of the techniques of psychonarration.

Social media

I’m not a big fan of Twitter, although I’m going to try harder. I visit Facebook most days, but I find myself watching YouTube dog and cat and Trump videos. And that gets you nowhere.

Exercise and other alien activities

I don’t really do sport, gym, jogging, running. I haven’t got time. Although I know people who strongly recommend such things.

Characters

I’ve often been asked where my characters come from. Well, apart from the occasional evil antagonist, they are hybrids of people I have known. The arrogance, dithering, mendacity, the eccentricities and outrageous affectations, love and friendships I have portrayed in What Was Lost are all drawn from experience.

Time

I suppose the actual process of writing is the result of days, even weeks of mulling things around in my mind, and I find the best time to do that is in the dark, in bed, before I go to sleep. When you’ve given up on everything else and your time’s your own. However, I learned long ago that those perfect plot solutions can disappear overnight, so if I do think of something inspirational I grope for my phone and make a note of it. Just a word or two to jog my memory.

As far as time managing my writing is concerned, I have to admit that I would write all day long. And sometimes I do. Sometimes I reach a point in the plot which refuses to be paused. I have occasionally written through the night, stopping only to accept my morning cup of tea. My husband is very understanding. I can remember, a few years back, taking part in the NaNoWriMo Challenge … just writing all day, every day. I lost all sense of time. It was great, although I realised on one occasion that, for the first time in my adult life, I had started a day, ended a day and proceeded to the next day without having a shower in between. I suppose what I’m saying is I don’t not write. Only when something prevents me from doing so.

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, JEAN!

About Jean Levy

Jean spent several years in genetics research before abandoning the laboratory to pursue a career in academic publishing both in Holland and the UK. She has been a database trouble- shooter, an editor, and a writer for publishing houses, pharmaceutical companies and the EU. She has degrees in Botany, Pathology, Philosophy, English, Law and Creative Writing and is currently completing a doctorate in Linguistics. 

In her spare time she has campaigned for the environment and read a lot of books, the most memorable being Alice in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, everything by Margaret Atwood and Jeanette Winterson, and a few things by Sebastian Faulks, Calvino, Ian McEwan, David Mitchell and Shakespeare. 

She currently lives in a converted barn in the South Downs with her husband and a Heritage Plant Collection, accumulates Christmas tree decorations and aspires to writing multi-genre fiction, travelling on the Orient Express and seeing the Northern Lights. 

Find Jean Levy on Twitter - @JeanELevy

About What Was Lost

Published by The Dome Press (13 September 2018)

Publisher's description

How would you live if you had no memories? And what if you were suspected of a terrible crime?

Sarah has no memories. She just knows she was found, near death, on a beach miles from her London home. Now she is part of a medical experiment to see whether her past can be retrieved.

But bad things seemed to have happened before she disappeared. The police are interested in her hidden memories too. A nice man she meets in the supermarket appears to have her best interests at heart. He seems to understand her - almost as if he knows her...

As she fights to regain her memories and her sense of self, it is clear that people are hiding things from her. Who are they protecting? Does Sarah really want the truth?

Here's a snippet from my review: 'What Was Lost is a compelling literary read - an in-depth multilayered psychological thriller based on science that's designed to question, explore and entertain.'

Read my full review here. 

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Laura Pearson's Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

LAURA PEARSON

AUTHOR OF MISSING PIECES

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

Missing Pieces was published on 21 June 2018 by Agora Books. 

Armchair and footstool

I have an enormous armchair and footstool in my living room and I usually write sitting there. Sometimes I start out at the dining table in the morning, but I almost always end up back in my armchair at some point. I’m not sure why. I suppose I’m just comfortable there.

Laptop

I write on my laptop, using Word. I’ve had a few laptops over the years; my current one is a HP. I’m not fussy. It just has to be reasonably fast and straightforward. My husband takes care of anything technical – if I get a new phone or laptop, he always sets it up for me, and he deals with any issues I have. I know that if I only have my work in progress open, I’ll get a lot more done, but despite that, I often open up Twitter and Facebook and my emails and Netgalley and Amazon, and then I flounder.

Books

I like to have books around me wherever I am. We have bookcases in almost every room of the house. I don’t often refer to a specific book when I’m writing, but it’s important to me that they’re close by. I’m always reading at least two books (usually one is an audiobook), no matter what stage of writing or editing I’m at.

Snacks

I’m a terrible snacker. I’m obsessed with chocolate. I’ve always had a sweet tooth but it was out of control in both my pregnancies and has never really gone back to normal. If I get stuck on something I’m writing, or the words aren’t flowing well, the first thing I do is usually head to the kitchen cupboards. I don’t think I would ever tire of eating cappuccino chocolate bars from Thorntons or Marks and Spencer. Or Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, for that matter.

Writing buddies

I have some really good writing friends. I met two of them, Lia Louis and Rebecca Williams, on Twitter, and we’re all mums to young children and writers, and we have a What’s App group where we talk daily about our successes and failures, our frustrations and our excitements. It helps so much. I’m forever sending them bits of drafts or asking for their advice about stuff. Lia has a novel coming out next year and Rebecca is working on a novel that’s really fresh and original, and I feel really lucky to have them in my pocket (as it were). Another one, Rachael Smart, sort of fell into my life about a year ago and I’ll always be grateful that she did. She’s clever and funny and kind, and reading her words is a bit like stepping out into thick, untouched snow.

Silence

I’ve never tried writing with music on, but I know that if the TV’s on, I get really distracted. Sometimes I try to do a bit of writing while my daughter is napping and my son is watching cartoons, but it never works. When I’m at home alone, I write in complete silence, and that seems to work for me. 

Writing mentor
I’ve had a writing mentor, Gillian McAllister, since last summer. She was supposed to give me two hours of mentoring, and here we are, a year later. Because I signed my deal with Agora quite soon after we met, the mentoring hasn’t so much been about her critiquing my writing (although there’s been some of that) but more about her answering my never-ending questions about the publishing process. She’s very patient, really insightful and a wonderful writer. 

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, LAURA!

About Laura Pearson

Laura Pearson has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. She lives in Leicestershire with her husband and their two children. Missing Pieces is her first novel.

Find Laura on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @LauraPAuthor

About Missing Pieces

Published by Agora Books (21 June 2018)

Publisher's description

What if the one thing that kept you together was breaking you apart?

All Linda wants to do is sleep. She won’t look at her husband. She can’t stand her daughter. And she doesn’t want to have this baby. Having this baby means moving on, and she just wants to go back to before. Before their family was torn apart, before the blame was placed.

Alienated by their own guilt and struggling to cope, the Sadler family unravels. They grow up, grow apart, never talking about their terrible secret.

That is until Linda’s daughter finds out she’s pregnant. Before she brings another Sadler into the world, Bea needs to know what happened twenty-five years ago. What did they keep from her? What happened that couldn’t be fixed?

Read my review here.

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Dinah Jefferies' Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

DINAH JEFFERIES

AUTHOR OF THE SAPPHIRE WIDOW

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

The Sapphire Widow was published on 5 April 2018 by Penguin. 

A good night's sleep
This is the most useful tool of all, but not something I can always rely on. However, if I have slept well (without waking up in the night with one of my recurring migraines or half a dozen plot ideas) the words tend to flow and I really enjoy my work. Tiredness is my devil, my demon, and my challenge, and coffee is the only answer.

Breakfast
I can’t even begin to think without a mug of tea and a bowl of muesli inside me. We have breakfast in front of BBC breakfast! When I’m writing, this will be my only portal into what is happening in the real world.

Fresh air
I walk the dog in one of Cheltenham’s many beautiful parks before I start writing, or for inspiration when I’m stuck for ideas. If I want to take my mind off the current book I’m writing – something I need to do to let my subconscious mind flow - I love to wander the many Regency streets marvelling at the architecture and imagining how life might once have been.

My writing room
I’ve had a writing room built at the bottom of the garden. It’s a glorified shed really but large, airy, peaceful and, most importantly, entirely mine. I need total silence to work and my shed gives me that in spades.

My audiobooks
Again, these are a wonderful way of taking my mind off my own book so that I don’t obsess. I lie on my bed and escape to someone else’s invented world instead. Heavenly.

My husband
Richard does all the shopping and all the cooking which leaves me free to write. He’s also an ace researcher and I often bounce ideas around with him when I’m in the early stages of plotting. He should really be at the top of the list.

My exercise bike
I like to be warm when I write, so if it’s chilly I get on my bike (in my shed) to get my blood and creative juices flowing.

My mountains of research books and notebooks
I like to be surrounded by these even if I don’t refer to them. Something about them being there makes me feel safe. If my memory fails me there they all are, although with my somewhat haphazard organisational systems the chance of finding what I need is not that great.

Cake
Last but not least. For when I’m having a horrible day and the words won’t do what I want them to, cake is the only solution.

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, DINAH!

About Dinah Jefferies

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaysia but moved to England at the age of nine, travelling widely throughout her life and always maintaining a love of Southeast Asia. She spent time living in a musicians' commune, and has had work publicly exhibited as an artist. Dinah’s first novel The Separation was published by Penguin in 2014. The Tea Planter’s Wife is her second novel. 

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter, was published in February 2016 and also entered Sunday Times Bestselling list. Before the Rains was published in February 2017. After living in Northern Andalusia for five years, she now lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

Find Dinah Jefferies on her website, FB page and on Twitter - @DinahJefferies

About The Sapphire Widow

Published by Penguin (5 April 2018)

Publisher's description

Ceylon, 1935. Louisa Reeve, the daughter of a successful British gem trader, and her husband Elliot, a charming, thrill-seeking businessman, seem like the couple who have it all. Except what they long for more than anything: a child.

While Louisa struggles with miscarriages, Elliot is increasingly absent, spending much of his time at a nearby cinnamon plantation, overlooking the Indian ocean. After his sudden death, Louisa is left alone to solve the mystery he left behind. Revisiting the plantation at Cinnamon Hills, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn towards the owner Leo, a rugged outdoors man with a chequered past. The plantation casts a spell, but all is not as it seems. And when Elliot's shocking betrayal is revealed, Louisa has only Leo to turn to...

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Johana Gustawsson's Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

JOHANA GUSTAWSSON

AUTHOR OF KEEPER

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

Keeper is being published in paperback on 28 April 2018 by Orenda Books. 

Earplugs
What would I do without my earplugs! As my twin babies are at home during my writing hours (be reassured: I don’t abandon them in their cot, they are either with their nanny or their granny), I need to be able to cut the umbilical cord and earplugs are the only thing that works! If not, I would be rushing out of my office at every giggle, laugh or cry! Ok, let’s not mention the cries…

Thermos
As I used to spend a lot of time warming my morning coffee or my afternoon teas (I’m addicted to very sugary builder’s tea!), I bought a thermos. It’s permanently hanging out on my desk!

Phone-free zone
This is key for the writing to go well: my phone needs to be far away from me! If not, I keep on checking it: messages sent by family and friends, social media feeds, emails… I have to keep the distractions away! I only connect in the morning before work and in the evening. My family knows that in case of emergency, they call the landline!

My motivation kit
When my mind wanders, I have two helpers to put it back on track: I have a few books of, and about, Agatha Christie on one side of my desk and, on the other side, I have a picture of my wonderful grandmother, who passed away last year. Whenever I daydream, make up lists for household duties, or start falling asleep after a rough night with the babies, the Queen of Crime or my dear granny suddenly stares at me and I’m back at work straight away!

My red notebook
I am old fashioned: when taking notes, making corrections or having an idea, I write it down in my notebook. It was a gift from my husband when I signed my first book contract 'in solo' back in 2014. I keep the lovely cover and just change the notebooks: one per novel! On number 3 now...

My office
I can’t write in cafés, libraries or trains… I really need to be in my office! To do research or edits, it’s different - I generally work outside and I actually get inspired a lot by listening to private conversations!

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, JOHANA!

About Johana Gustawsson

Born in 1978 in Marseille and with a degree in Political science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French press and television. She married a Swede and now lives in London. She was the co-author of a bestseller, On se retrouvera, published by Fayard Noir in France, whose television adaptation drew over seven million viewers in June 2015. Block 46, her first thriller, has now been sold to fourteen countries and is published in the UK by Orenda Books. Johana is working on the third book in the Roy & Castells series.

Find Johana Gustawsson on her website, FB page and on Twitter - @JoGustawsson

About Keeper

Published by Orenda Books (Ebook - out now; Paperback - 28 April 2018)

Publisher's description

Whitechapel, 1888: London is bowed under Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror. 
London, 2015: actress Julianne Bell is abducted in a case similar to the terrible Tower Hamlets murders of some ten years earlier, and harking back to the Ripper killings of a century before. 
Falkenberg, Sweden, 2015: a woman’s body is found mutilated in a forest, her wounds identical to those of the Tower Hamlets victims. With the man arrested for the Tower Hamlets crimes already locked up, do the new killings mean he has a dangerous accomplice, or is a copy-cat serial killer on the loose? 
Profiler Emily Roy and true-crime writer Alexis Castells again find themselves drawn into an intriguing case, with personal links that turn their world upside down. 

Read a snippet of my review: 'Johana Gustawsson certainly isn't afraid to tackle shocking issues and leave her readers reeling... I couldn't stop reading, totally engrossed from the first page, as the book took me on a twisty rollercoaster ride.'

Read the rest of my review here.

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Mary-Jane Riley's Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

MARY-JANE RILEY

AUTHOR OF DARK WATERS

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

Dark Waters was published by Killer Reads on 16 March 2018. 

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! 

Radio

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.

Find Mary-Jane Riley on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @mrsmjriley

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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Jenny Quintana's writing toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

JENNY QUINTANA

AUTHOR OF THE MISSING GIRL

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

The Missing Girl was published on 28 December 2017 by Mantle. 

My study

I’m lucky because I have a room in the house which is mine. At least it’s supposed to be mine - school bags, shoes and musical instruments tend to drift in along with members of my family. The room is a short cut from the hall to the kitchen and as I feel guilty shutting my children out, I always let them in. The truth is I write best when I’m alone in the house or early in the morning when everyone else is sleeping. I prefer to keep my desk tidy – although I don’t always manage that, and I like to have special things around me – ornaments and pictures which remind me of my family.

Music

… but only sometimes. When I really want to get inside a character’s head and experience what they’re feeling, I’ll go on YouTube, find an emotional song and play it over and over. Part of The Missing Girl is set in the eighties so I listened to artists like Kate Bush and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The rest of the time when I’m writing though, I need absolute silence. Even a ticking clock or the fridge groaning away distracts me.

Tea in my special mugs
I drink a lot of tea – PG Tips. I’m not keen on herbal or fruit tea.  When I’m writing, I have my tea in a writing mug as I think it puts me ‘in the zone’. My family knows how much I love these and always buys me a new one for my birthday. My favourite is the Agatha Christie mug even though it’s chipped and faded now.

Snacks
When I’m writing, I might not have time to stop and cook, so I eat quick things like toast and marmite. I also have a lot of fruit because it stops me from going after the chocolate and the crisps (although I make an exception for marmite crisps). Heading for the fruit bowl forces me to stand up and move which is no bad thing when you’re writing all day. I’m also quite partial to cheese strings.

A glass of wine
Early evening if I’m still writing, I’ll have a glass of wine – red or white depending on my mood, but I like Sauvignon Blanc and Rioja best.  If it’s only one glass, I can keep going. In my head, I’m writing better! If it’s more, it’s probably time to turn off the computer …

Technology and software
I use Word and that’s about it. I have an old iPhone which my children are always telling me I need to update – it works, I understand how to use it, so why change? I’m not very technically minded and have only recently embraced Twitter. However, I do really enjoy being on Twitter and especially meeting book people, so I have to ration my time there. I’ll use it as a reward after I’ve been writing for a set amount of time.   

Bookshelves
Books, books and more books. I love the shelves in my study and when I’m feeling a bit stuck, I swivel around on my chair and stare at them for inspiration. And as everyone knows you can’t write unless you read. A lot of my books are very old – from childhood or when I studied English at university. Many of them are scribbled in with words underlined and pages turned down. I’m not the kind of person to keep a book in perfect condition. I like it to feel read.

The dog
Hector, our border collie, keeps me company. He also forces me to get off my chair and go outside for a walk. I go to the gym too, but walking in the fresh air with Hector is not only good exercise, it helps my brain work better. I like it best when the weather’s a bit moody. I like to sort out plot problems while I’m wandering around in the rain.

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, JENNY!

About Jenny Quintana

Jenny Quintana grew up in Essex and Berkshire, before studying English literature in London. She has taught in London, Seville and Athens and has also written books for teaching as a foreign language. She is a graduate of the Curtis Brown Creative writing course and lives with her family in Berkshire. Jenny has four brothers and no sister but she is fascinated by the relationship between sisters.

Find Jenny on Twitter - @jennyquintana95

About The Missing Girl

Published by Mantle (28 December 2017)

Publisher's description

When Anna Flores' adored older sister goes missing as a teenager, Anna copes by disappearing too, just as soon as she can: running as far away from her family as possible, and eventually building a life for herself abroad. 

Thirty years later, the death of her mother finally forces Anna to return home. Tasked with sorting through her mother's possessions, she begins to confront not just her mother's death, but also the huge hole Gabriella's disappearance left in her life – and finds herself asking a question she's not allowed herself to ask for years: what really happened to her sister? 

With that question comes the revelation that her biggest fear isn't discovering the worst; it's never knowing the answer. But is it too late for Anna to uncover the truth about Gabriella's disappearance?

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