The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook follows the protégée of a former actress who discovers the actress’s hidden notebooks, after her questionable death, revealing a dark past and possible motive for her murder. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

All the characters, apart from The Doyenne, were featured in a long-listed short story about a writers’ group in a rural part of the UK. I loved these characters so much, I didn’t want to let them go, so I decided to turn the short story into a novel.

The short story was written as a farce, and I carried on writing the novel in that vein. However, once The Doyenne’s character was introduced and her story became more complex, it was inappropriate to have slapstick scenes going on around her. It is still humorous in parts, but now has more bittersweet undertones.

I enjoyed your characters, especially DCI Middleton. What was your favorite character to write for and why?

DCI Humphrey Middleton was definitely up there. In the first few drafts, he only appeared at the beginning, but a few beta readers suggested that I bring him back later in the story, which I did.

I think those whose jobs involve coming face-to-face with death regularly, doctors, nurses and police officers, are exceptional people. So, it was interesting to get inside Humphrey’s head, and I do believe that being able to find humour, even in the darkest of times, keeps us all going. Edna Fowler and Arthur Boniface were also fun characters to write.

How did the mystery develop for this story? Did you plan it before writing, or did it develop organically?

I will always be a pantser at heart, but I did try to plot The Doyenne. I knew if I was going to turn my quirky little writers’ group short story into a novel, something had to happen that would profoundly affect them all. So I decided to ‘bump off’ the character who was known and loved by all! I am a sucker for telling stories in flashback, but I will try to curb that enthusiasm with my next novel.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?

It was written as a stand-alone novel, like my debut, Just Say It, but, as I am already missing the characters from The Doyenne, it makes me think that I might venture down the road of writing novellas about some of them, but, at the moment, it is a big maybe.

I am nearing the completion of the first draft of my third novel, which I hope will be released in 2026. I am totally out of my comfort zone because it is more of a psychological drama, but I am too invested in the character to bail out on them now.

So, it is fair to say that I am still trying to find my niche, genre-wise. However, without a doubt, I am most comfortable writing bittersweet storylines, because I believe that, however dark a story gets, a smattering of humour is essential.

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