Last year, “The Catch” by T.M.Logan was one of our Bookclub reads. Now, with his latest book due for release in just over a week, Tim has kindly agreed to answer some questions for us!
Trust Me is your most recent novel (my word, what a book!), with The Curfew due for release in March of this year! What inspired you to embrace fiction?
I had always loved books, from when I was a teenager, and thought at some point I would try to write one myself. I gravitated towards journalism because it meant writing every day, but it wasn’t until I hit my mid-thirties that I finally decided to see if I could write a full-blown novel. Fiction has always been a big part of my life and I feel so lucky to be able to write thrillers for a living now.
Do you have a specific writing process? What is the first thing you do when you begin writing?
My process evolves a little with each book. But the first thing I do is to spend around six weeks thinking and planning, trying to work out some of the key turning points in the book, who the characters are and where the story might end up. Once I’ve started writing a first draft, I will try to hit at least 1200 words per day to keep me on track to meet my deadline. Mornings are my best time so I try to get into my writing cabin by 8am and get the bulk of the words down before lunch. Afternoons are for admin, email, social media and that kind of thing.
Have you found the writing experience of your most recent novel any different than when you wrote your first?
It’s quite different now as I have a deadline to meet – I’m contracted to write a book a year. Whereas with my first published book, it was much more open-ended process as you’re just hoping that it might attract the attention of a publisher. With The Curfew being my sixth book I’m also more confident in the process, and more familiar with the ups and downs of writing a first draft. But I’m still trying to get better with each book – there are always new things to learn.
Do you relate to any of the characters in any of your books? Do you base them on people you know?
I relate to almost all of them on some level – many of them have an aspect of me or my life. So with The Curfew, the main character is about my age, with a teenage son starting to push boundaries a little in terms of going out with friends, socialising in the evenings etc. And I’ve been there with my own kids – they are both at university now but I’ve been in that position when they were teenagers, going out, pushing boundaries and having a curfew in the evening. So I can definitely relate! Some of it comes from my own experience. I don’t tend to base characters on people I know, but I might occasionally use a specific mannerism or habit that I’ve seen; I also sometimes use names of friends for characters (if they don’t mind).
You used to refer to yourself as a “secret writer”. Do you have any advice to share with those who remain undercover scribes?
I think it’s fine to keep it under wraps, if you prefer. In my case, I thought that if people knew I was writing a book they would always ask me how it was going… and because getting published was such a long shot I thought it would probably never happen. It was ten years between starting to write that very first draft and getting a publishing deal, so it was just easier to keep it to myself. Having said that, getting early feedback on a first draft can be really useful – eg from a writers’ group, or someone you trust to give genuine and constructive feedback.
Your 3rd book The Holiday is/has been made into a TV series, due to debut on Ch 5 later this year. Would you want any of your other books to be made into a TV series/Movie? Our followers think that Trust Me would make an epic movie!
I would love to see more of the books on the screen. I can’t wait to see The Holiday on Channel 5 (1st-4th March, then on My5) as I think Jill Halfpenny is great and they’ve made a really good job of bringing the story to life. Yes! I agree about Trust Me too, fingers crossed for that in the future! And I think The Curfew could be equally good as maybe a four or six-part drama for TV.
BONUS QUESTION; Could you share your top 5 books?
This is a tough one as there are so many! But among my top five favourite thrillers I’d have to include;
Tell No One by Harlan Coben
Misery by Stephen King
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.
Huge thank you again to Tim for taking the time to answer our questions! You can pre-order Tim’s latest book, The Curfew, which is out on March 17th!
You can find other Author interviews here!
Thanks for introducing me to a new author. I will definitely look out for his books.
Ooh, I’ll have to give this one a go!
Thanks for this I will have to go and check him out
This author sounds awesome! *runs off to grab a copy of The Curfew*
Really interesting interview and particularly enjoyed the section on the writing process!
I had never heard of this author so enjoyed reading about them and their work. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for the insight in to an author I haven’t read before – will add this to my reading list!
Will look out for this book. I keep meaning to watch The Holiday.