As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always
curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the
idea to write
your book?
It’s part of a mystery series, so I was always going to write about my main
character, Jason Davey. I just needed to come up with a story. In the book just
before this one—which is called Lost Time—Jason has to solve the mystery
of a missing teenager while he’s rehearsing for a tour with his mother’s old
band, Figgis Green. About halfway through writing that novel. I decided I had
so much research and so much unused material that it would be fun to follow
Jason and the band as they actually toured around England. So that’s where the
idea for Ticket to Ride came from. As for the actual mystery that Jason
has to solve…my research into my family tree has resulted in some interesting
characters being discovered. Jason shares my passion for family tree research…and
his own investigations result in some fairly surprising—and shocking—results.
Can you tell us a little about the main characters of
your book?
Jason Figgis (professional name Jason Davey) is a 50-something
jazz musician with an ongoing gig at the Blue Devil Club in London’s Soho. He’s
also discovered that he has quite a knack for solving mysteries—usually to do
with missing people or missing items. In Ticket to Ride, he’s taken leave
of absence from the Blue Devil Club in order to go on the road with his mothers
folky-pop band, Figgis Green.
Mandy Green is Jason’s mother. She’s in her mid-70s, and is
one of the founding members of Figgis Green, which was popular in the 1960s and
1970s. The other founding member was Tony Figgis, Jason’s father, who died in
1995 after being struck by lightning on a golf course. Mandy is feisty and
funny and, as this is the band’s farewell tour, she’s making the most of her
time on the road.
The other people in the entourage include band members Mitch
Green (bass guitar), Rolly Black (drums), Beth Homewood (fiddle) and Bob
Chaplin (rhythm guitar), and road crew members Beaky Johns (bus driver), Neil
Sparks (lighting), Tejo (sound), Freddie (tour manager), Kato (equipment
manager) and Mary and Janice from Roadworks Catering.
There is, of course, a baddie. Several baddies, in fact (spoiler
alert). But I can’t tell you who they are without giving away the very unexpected
ending.
Brian Richardson (my publisher) and I have created a rather
clever Figgis Green website which gives you the look and feel of a real touring
band. Please do drop by and visit:
http://www.figgisgreen.co.uk
If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would that be?
Don’t let the crashing emptiness of your first failure get
to you. The publishing world is about to change in ways nobody has ever
experienced before. You don’t have to fear that your writing career is over. You
will have more opportunities than you ever believed possible. It won’t look the
same as it did when you were serving your apprenticeship as a writer in the
1970s and 1980s. But you will still be able to write, and get published, and,
most importantly, you will never fail again. It’s all down to you—seize the
moment, and never look back.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
I guess it would be that with my Jason Davey Mysteries, I’m
writing in the first person as a 50-something English male. Which I most definitely
am not. I’m a 60-something female who was born in England, but I grew up in
Canada and I no longer have my English accent. For some reason, I’m able to
inhabit Jason’s brain and make him into a very credible character. I have no
idea where it’s all coming from. Somewhere deep in my imagination, I suppose.
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
I do have a very solid little core of fans and they love
Jason and they love the stories I give him. He started out as an entertainer on
a cruise ship in 2012 in the novel Cold Play, and I was encouraged to
bring him back by my publisher, Brian Richmond, and to give him a new life as
an amateur sleuth. It was the best decision I ever made, and I know my loyal
readers have been happy with that decision.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
It was when I was very young, at university, and just
starting to make my way as a writer. I was working with a Canadian author, Ken Mitchell,
who identified, quite correctly, that I had an arrogance about my writing which
was completely uncalled for and very annoying. He told me I had nothing to be
arrogant about and that a good dose of daily humility would go far to make me into
a better writer and a better person. I took his advice to heart, even though it
was very difficult for me. And I’ve never forgotten that lesson. You do need
confidence and you do need to be able to promote yourself, but there’s a
difference between that and the assumption that you’re the best writer in the
world and quite beyond accepting editorial advice and help from those who offer
it.
What has been your best accomplishment?
I think probably creating my current Jason Davey Mystery
series. He’s brought me so much contentment and opened doors for me that I
never knew about or imagined. I have a passion for creativity and I need my
daily “writing fix”. Jason’s stories fill that need in every imaginable way.
Do you Google yourself?
All the time. I’m the only “Winona Kent” out there.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Probably five or six “practice novels” from my early years,
before the publication of Skywatcher, in 1989. Including my Creative Writing
Master’s thesis, which was a novel called The Sloughwater Chronicles.
But it was really awful. Since then, every book that I’ve written has been
finished and published.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one
thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
I’d make the study of Kindness, Unselfishness and Consideration
of Others mandatory in schools from Kindergarten to University.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say
to your readers?
Brian Richardson (my publisher) and I have created a rather
clever Figgis Green website which gives you the look and feel of a real touring
band to go along with Ticket to Ride, the novel. Please do drop by and visit:
http://www.figgisgreen.co.uk
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