We thoroughly enjoyed Melissa Hill's new novel The Truth About You, so it was lovely to ask Melissa about her inspirations, favourites and future projects...Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer.
A baby is found outside a local café - who could have abandoned it & why?
What inspired you to write The Truth About You?
I've always been fascinated by incidents of abandoned babies, and what would lead a parent to take such drastic measures with their own flesh and blood. People tend to be immediately judgemental without knowing the full story. I wanted to try and tell that story.
Where do you do most of your writing?
I love to write outside and if the weather's good in Ireland (rarely!) I take my laptop out to the garden or down by the sea. My husband is also a writer (we co-write thrillers under the pseudonym Casey Hill) and we're lucky in that we can work from anywhere and thus do most of our writing abroad in gorgeous weather.
What is your favourite book?
I adore John Grisham's A TIME TO KILL and it's a novel I read time and time again. It's a multi-layered, multifaceted story about family, revenge and racial tension in the US Deep South. And in my opinion, it's also completely underrated.
Which part of The Truth About You was the most fun to write?
I enjoyed writing about 'Momzillas', (women who are baby crazy) who make one of the main characters feel very alienated because she doesn't have children. I've come across people like that in real life, but I really ramped up and over-exaggerated their very worst tendencies in the novel for dramatic purposes.
What are you currently reading?
Jeffery Deaver's EDGE. Like all his books, this is a complete page-turner (he is my writing hero). I'm about two thirds of the way through and I just know that a major plot twist is going to hit me straight between the eyes soon.
Who is your favourite heroine?
Amelia Sachs from Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels. She's a real tough cookie, drives a really fast car, has an amazingly cool job (forensic investigator), cover-girl looks and is shit-hot with a gun - everything I wish I could be!
Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published authors?
Read as much as you can and read critically. Study what works for you and what doesn't but don't make too many comparisons to your own writing as you are on a learning curve. While I'm on the first draft of a novel, I will not - under any circumstances - allow myself to read another women's fiction novel. I'll read thrillers to beat the band but nothing like I'm writing myself, otherwise, I get really disheartened despite the fact that mine is still a work-in-progress
Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I've just finished editing my next book SOMETHING FROM TIFFANY'S which is about two couples whose fates become intertwined when a pair of Tiffany's shopping bags get mixed up on Christmas Eve.
Thanks, Melissa!
