Your debut psychological thriller Between You and Me went straight to the top of the Amazon charts in
March. Describe how your life has changed over the last few months?
Everything has been very busy – I never realised quite how
much other stuff goes on behind the scenes once your book has been published!
Your next book – Tell
Me No Lies – is being published in October 2016. Does it seem very
different second time round?
There’s a lot more pressure the second time around – I wrote
when I could when I was writing the first book, but the pressure of a deadline
meant that I HAD to write at every spare moment for Book Two. Plus, there’s the
added worry that readers might not like it as much as Book One!
Why do you think psychological thrillers are so popular,
especially with female readers?
I think us ladies like to scare ourselves a bit…and it just
so happens that we find everyday, ordinary things more scary than ghosts,
monsters etc. The fact that things that happen in psych thrillers can
potentially happen to all of us in real life is quite terrifying.
You’re off to New York in July for Thrillerfest, on a panel
for debut authors – your first panel. Are you terrified, excited…?
A bit of both! I’m very excited to be meeting up with my
fellow ITW debuts, but equally I’m a bit terrified about speaking on the panel,
as it’s the first one I’ve done. I did a radio show last month which was scary,
but not as bad as I thought it would be!
You’ve had a successful book blog for a number of years. Do
you think reviewing books has helped you as an author?
I think the book reviewing gave me the courage to write my
own book and put it out there. It was festering in the back of my mind for a
long time but the idea of people reading something I had written was
terrifying. Once I started reviewing and people started reading my words I
managed to get over it a bit.
How do you make sure you’re getting the words down when
you’re writing a first draft? What’s your writing routine like?
I am the queen of procrastination! I set myself a target of
2000 words a day – I don’t always hit it, but I find that once the words start
coming I can usually make it, although not all of it makes it to the final cut.
I should probably switch the Internet off when I’m writing, if I’m honest!
Looking back to your teenage years, what advice would you
give your younger self?
Don’t think you just have to settle for what you have – you
can do it; you just have to push yourself.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors, having been in
that position not that long ago yourself?
Don’t give up – you just need your manuscript to land on the
right desk at the right time.
And lastly, why should people read Between You and Me?
Because it’s brilliant (apparently!).
About Lisa Hall
Lisa loves words, reading and everything
there is to love about books. She has dreamed of being a writer since she was a
little girl – either that or a librarian - and after years of talking about it,
was finally brave enough to put pen to paper (and let people actually read it).
Lisa lives in a small village in Kent, surrounded by her towering TBR pile, a
rather large brood of children, dogs, chickens and ponies and her
long-suffering husband. She is also rather partial to eating cheese and
drinking wine.
Between You and Me
Published by Carina (17 March 2016)
ISBN: 978-0008194505
They say every marriage has its secrets.
But no one sees what happens behind closed doors.
And sometimes those doors should never be opened …
Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.
Great post... congratulations on the success of your debut Lisa. Really interested in your thoughts on how blogging/reviewing helped your writing regarding overcoming your fears and finding confidence from people reading your words. I enjoy & value how reviewing helps me think about my own writing too.
ReplyDeleteLisa Hall will be contacting you directly to answer your question x
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