Spotlight on: Natalie Chandler
Tomorrow is the UK publication date for Believe Me Not, the compelling and relentlessly twisty debut thriller by Natalie Chandler. We took this opportunity to chat with Natalie about her debut, how characters can wander into dreams, the perfect combination that is cheese and wine, and the importance of patience.
You can buy Believe Me Not from Amazon, and Waterstones. You can find her on twitter, and instagram too.
Could you introduce yourself and Believe Me Not?
Believe Me Not is a psychological thriller about a woman discovering she is sectioned in a psychiatric unit, her baby absent from her side. When she begs for news of him, she is told by her husband, sister and doctor that she does not have a child and her belief is a symptom of acute psychosis. Determined to prove her baby’s existence, but unable to rely on her memory or her ability to determine reality from fantasy, Megan is forced to face some long-buried secrets in her battle to find her son.
As for me, I’m a coffee-addicted dog mama who is torn between the excitement of London life and the quirky peace of a small village, because I love contradicting myself at every opportunity. I can usually be found with a glass of wine in one hand and a piece of cheese in the other, devouring a book. I also enjoy telling my partner how much better rugby is than his beloved football. A career as an author has been my goal since I was a small child and I’m still pinching myself in case it’s all just a wonderful dream and I have to return the fab Mushens Entertainment merch. I couldn’t bear to be parted from my ME mug.
What drew you to writing Believe Me Not, a thriller based on secrets, lies, and shaky memories?
Megan, the protagonist, first came to me in a dream. I could sense her panic and confusion and I felt compelled to find out what had shaken her so badly. The questions wouldn’t stop nagging me until I sat down and started writing. I am very much a Pantser rather than a Plotter so I basically went on the journey with Megan and I wanted to find out the truth as much as she did! I had previously written in a style more suited to literary fiction but I found my voice had developed into something edgier and faster-paced, so I was keen to explore the psychological thriller world and realised it suited my thought processes and (as Liza describes it) my dark mind.
What have you learned from your journey as an author so far, and what advice would you give your past self?
Ironically, learning is the most important thing I have learned on the journey! Take every opportunity to grow and develop as an author. Attend the webinars and the festivals; listen to podcasts and read the blogs. Be a student even if writing feels like something that cannot be taught. I wish I had done this sooner, really committed to the craft of writing instead of just relying on the compulsion to tell a story. Lockdown was the first time I treated writing as a career rather than a hobby and I could tell the difference it made to the manuscript. The Jericho Summer Festival in particular opened up a whole new world to me and I felt I understood the industry more than I ever had before thanks to those events.
What was your journey to gaining representation like, and what advice would you give to writers who are submitting to literary agents?
It was a long journey. I had tried twice before to gain representation and been unsuccessful, but this book felt different and because of all the hours I had spent educating myself about submission packages, how to edit effectively and getting feedback from agent 1:1s, I was more confident in my approach. Believe Me Not began getting attention and I was ecstatic to start receiving full manuscript requests. Liza was the first agent to call and we clicked straight away – I could tell how passionate she was and what a valuable advocate she would be – and I signed with her a week later, my deepest ambition realised.
The best advice I can give is to be organised in your submissions. Do your research, find out which agents fit your genre and be certain about their requirements. Make sure the book is the star of your letter – you’ll get to know each other later if you get an offer. There will be rejections, sometimes lots, and it takes a thick skin to keep going. Remember everything is subjective and agents can only champion work they truly feel a connection with. Most of all, be patient. Agents are human, even if they seem like deities when you are submitting, and their workload is enormous so resist checking your email every thirty seconds or following up too soon.
What are you working on at the moment?
I have just delivered The Waking Hours to my lovely editor Bea for her input. This is my favourite part of the process and I’m cringingly enthusiastic about tackling the editorial notes. The Waking Hours follows Jenna, whose well-ordered world is shattered when her dreams begin to awaken the ghosts of a past she has kept hidden for decades.
I currently have two new projects on the go – one psychological thriller and something a little different – and I’m at the obsession stage when I can’t stop thinking about them. They are interfering in my social life and my sleep but I’m not at all resentful because this is when I remember how lucky I am to have the best job in the world.