What’s the first novel you remember completing and was this the first book you had published?

I wrote my first book when I was twenty-one (I'm in my mid-thirties now). I was at Bath Spa University studying, wait for it, Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, with a minor in Creative Writing (probably the only person in the country to do that one). In the summer before my third year, I finally got serious about writing and resolved to write 500 words a day. And boom! My first novel was written. It was called Angelwatch. It was set in a world much like our own (sound familiar?) except for one crucial difference: angels had come down from heaven to take a direct hand in human affairs. It was a detective story with a detective (who might have hated angels? I can't remember) who had to investigate the murder of an angel - an impossible crime. Dear me, it was terrible. At one point, the detective uncovered a case-breaking clue, he stood up and said 'My God, of course!' and then... he went for lunch?! Truly awful, but it got me in the habit of writing every day and I proved to myself that I could write a novel.

There were four other novels between that and The End of the Line, but each was better than the last and really helped hone my writing skills. I'd throw them all in a bottomless pit now, and hope no one will ever read them, but I'm glad I wrote every single word of them. They got me to where I am today.

What’s one piece of advice you have from your own experience submitting to agents?

What has been a highlight of the publishing process so far?

There are quite a few to choose from. Getting my first round of feedback from Juliet was amazing! Someone who really got my story and had all these great points on how to make it even better was such a great feeling. Hearing my words narrated as an audio book was incredible as well, that was when being published really started to feel real to me. And doing my first event, getting on stage and reading aloud to an audience was such a terrific experience.

What are you writing next?

Right now I'm deep in a new project, separate from the Black Market Magic series. I don't want to say too much, but it's a fantasy and it involves dark gods, evil cults, corrupt business moguls, shadowy streets, dust storms, the horror of the trenches, speakeasies, murder, kidnap, monsters, ghouls, rituals, fencing, and a whole lot of fun. I'm having such a blast writing it. From the chapter titles on down, I'm really pushing myself to give readers something that surprises and delights them on every page, I can't wait to share it with people.