Today I’m happy to interview my fellow Winged Penner and critique partner, Olivia Kiernan, to celebrate the US release of her adult thriller, Too Close to Breathe.

Driven. Polished. Perfect. Dead. Eleanor Costello is found hanged in her home. There is no note. And her husband is missing. The suicide turned murder investigation soon spirals outwards leading Detective Frankie Sheehan and her team onto a dark canvas of deceit, lies and murder in a hunt to find the killer who likes to play dead.

Congratulations, Olivia, on your upcoming release of Too Close to Breathe. As one of our own, we are especially proud to help you celebrate your launch this side of the pond.

Thank you, so much! I’m very excited for Too Close to Breathe to hit bookshelves.

To start, how have you felt during the lead up to your book release?

When I signed my contract, this date felt so far away and then, blink, here we are! It’s so exciting. I won’t lie and say there aren’t nerves because I’m human and I want my novel to find readers who like the story as much as I do. But dreams will become reality when I see my novel in bookstores and I can’t wait for that moment.

What drove you to write this book?

As with most novels, it’s origin came from a mix of ideas and circumstance. The last few projects have made me re-examine my writing and I came to realise that I do seem to like dark. When I thought about writing a crime thriller, I knew I wanted to explore themes of control and victimology and I wanted to have a female lead. Then a couple of years ago, Frankie walked herself onto my computer screen. I knew she’d just attended an autopsy. I knew the sight had really disturbed her, not because it was gruesome but because she’d only managed to escape one killer and now she was facing a deadlier one. From that moment the plot had me and I couldn’t help following the investigation to the end.

I’m a big believer in reading out-of-genre and I love reading thrillers for the plot devices. Too Close to Breathe kept me turning pages and guessing all the way to the end. Did the structure of your book come about naturally or with some struggle?

There were elements that were challenging, however, I don’t remember having a problem with the structure. But maybe the process was so traumatic I blocked it out! I really wanted the first victim, Eleanor Costello to ‘live’ on the page and as I was writing from the first person perspective of my detective, Frankie Sheehan, I had to employ a number of devices to build Eleanor’s character so the reader felt they had a good sense of her as a person. It’s difficult writing crime from a first-person perspective. There’s no wandering off into the killer’s head to see what traps they’re laying out for our hero/heroine, but I do think the payoff is worth it if you can maintain tension with a single point of view.

What about your process for this book was the greatest challenge and what tends to be your most difficult craft hurdle?

Is there any writer that does not creatively implode at the two third mark? I would think my greatest hurdle is getting in the way of myself. You start inventing problems with your own writing style or becoming overly critical of yourself. I think at that stage it’s tough because you’ve lived with the narrative voice intensely for some time and you can’t see your own writing clearly. At this point, I have to really push myself to break through to that final turn of the book where everything begins to fit into place.

Can you tell us about what you enjoy about writing and any favorite writing advice?

I really like writing dialogue. Sometimes if I’m finding a scene tough-going this can be a way in for me. The same for imagery. I like when I can create an image without the reader having to work too hard. It doesn’t mean I haven’t worked hard to create that visual but if I can do so concisely I feel like I’ve won that day writing.

On writing advice, it sounds odd but I have a notebook where I collect words. Not difficult words. Just words I hear throughout the day. For whatever reason, at whatever time, these words ignite ideas or spark off an image. When I can, I’ll often spend time writing out images with these words or try to use them in unusual ways. It’s a fun and quick exercise you can do anywhere.

Do you have any odd writing habits?

I can only write barefoot. Kidding! No, I’m very boring. I sit down. Try to avoid the Internet and write. I suspect everyone has a similar process when it all boils down. But the one thing that’s apparent to me is every novel demands its own process. Some come out fast but need more work later. Others are slow and careful.

What book from your childhood had a lasting impact?

There are a lot! But I think for every writer it has to be the books that made you a reader, surely? For me the first books that made me feel like a reader were Colin Dann’s Animals of Farthing Wood series. The themes were sometimes quite dark and often dealt with loss or loneliness and, of course, survival. But importantly, the books were sizable, for a kid anyways, and it was the first time I remember feeling proud for reading. Not just reading because I had to for school, but because I wanted to. I think for so many potential readers, they feel excluded from the readers’ club because the books they thought they should read they never quite liked and therefore believed reading was not for them. Perhaps, if I hadn’t discovered these books when I had, I may have thought the same.

What are you reading now?

I’m currently reading CJ Tudor’s The Chalkman. It’s a crime novel and so far it’s such a satisfying read. As well as the gripping plot, there is a wonderful sense of nostalgia brought by the past storyline, which follows the protagonist as a kid along with his ‘gang’ of friends. The tone feels somewhat similar to Stephen King’s The Body because of the group of young friends. I’m hooked!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve come across in your research?

The most surprising thing was researching the dark web. Even reading about it frightened me. When we read crime fiction or even study true crime, we’re always trying to understand human nature. We get a closer look at the big bad, believe we have a chance to work them out a bit or at least point to some sort of solution. Being able to put a face on something that’s evil, strangely, helps us feel a little safer. And although many people use the dark web for no other reason than they are obsessive about privacy, the fact the network is in shadow felt like the internet equivalent of the monster under the bed. Elements of my research into the dark web suggested to me how unreal the world we live in is. We get up, log on to the Internet, go to work, attend the kids’ soccer practice, home, cook dinner and just a side step from that, the machinations of crime are operating.

Speed Round, Crime-Writer Style:

Interesting/unique hobbies?

Knitting? Us crime writers can devise many uses for needles!

Sweet or salty?

Can I answer hot!?

You can answer however you’d like, especially if you’re holding knitting needles.

Weirdest job?

Hm! I’m not sure anything tops crime writer in the weird category. I spend half my day creating dark plots for dark characters and the other half researching the life cycle of blow flies or blood spatter analysis.

Did you have a memorable pet growing up?

I’m not sure this counts but I remember having a woodlouse. I kept him in a matchbox. It probably didn’t end well. Eek.

Favorite movie or TV show?

I’m probably hugely behind on TV at the moment as I’m writing book two. My tastes swing from anything that will make me laugh to lots of true crime. I’ve recently watched The Keepers on Netflix. A fantastic and well-paced documentary around the murder of a nun who was likely about to expose the abuse of young students in a prestigious Catholic high school. The documentary follows the nun’s previous students, now in their sixties, as they take up her cold case and attempt to solve it.

What’s your favorite way of killing off a character? May include your own work or what you’ve seen/read elsewhere.

I once had a pathology lecturer who said (jokingly!) if we wanted to get away with murder, one of the most effective ways was to inject potassium in the toe webs. Personally, I’ve yet to test the theory but maybe in a future book!

This interviewer’s mind reels with how one might gain access to a target’s “toe webs.”

What is your favorite location to eavesdrop?

I love listening to conversations on trains. Overheard phone calls or maybe post work discussions. It feels like I shouldn’t listen but how do you avoid it? Obviously, as a writer, you listen for how the mundane litters the interesting. You can always get something from that. But in the real world, if you were to write verbatim how people spoke, it would be pages before your characters said anything of interest. In real life, our conversations take much longer to get to the point.

How many untraceable phones have you owned?

None, but I’m definitely correcting that now!

Can you share about any upcoming work?

I’m working on the second book in the Frankie Sheehan series. It’s titled The Killer In Me.

Ask for Olivia’s book on your local US shelves starting today, April 3, 2018. Check out an AP review in the Washington Post here.