Interview With Eileen Thornton
August’s
Author of the Month skips across the pond for a spot of tea and perhaps a scone
or two to chat with British mystery novelist, Eileen Thornton.
15) Eileen, you’ve
established a reputation for yourself in the cozy mystery community in a
relative short space of time with your Agnes Lockwood mysteries as well as your
standalones. What led to your decision to become an author?
When I retired, I felt the need to do
something which would keep my mind active. But first, I needed to finish the
Open University course, which I had started while still working. Thankfully, at
the end of the course, I achieved a BSc (Hons). Then, looking for something
else to do, I decided to try my hand at writing after seeing an advert for The
Writers Bureau.
Writing had never been my forte. When
writing essays at school, I usually put everything I wanted to say into a
couple of paragraphs. However, while at the Open University, I quickly learned
that the tutors expected much more detail when writing my assignments.
Once I started the course with The Writers
Bureau, I began writing articles for national magazines, shortly followed by
short stories. It was then that I decided to move on to writing novels.
14) You’d
mentioned in passing on your blog that your old writing teacher wouldn’t have
predicted you’d ever be a writer and you hinted that, at least then, writing
never came easily for you. What’s the most difficult aspect of our craft you?
That would be panning out the story.
Writing short stories helped me overcome this problem. As with all my writing,
I tend to make up the story as I go along. When writing short stories, I used
to think of what the last line could be and then I would make up the rest of
the story around that. In most cases that last line, would be the title. There
were times when I got so carried away that I had too many words and had to cut
them down to fit in with the limit allowed by the magazine.
13) In a paragraph
or two, describe Agnes Lockwood for us. What drives her to solve mysteries,
what are her strengths and weaknesses?
Agnes is a determined woman. I am sure that
the readers will have picked that up from the start. One of her strong points is
that she doesn’t mince her words; she says exactly what she thinks and doesn’t
take fools gladly. But at the same time, she is kind and thoughtful to others
and ready to help anyone in trouble.
Agnes had always been a fan of Agatha
Christie and loved reading about Miss Marple. Therefore, when jewellery started
to go missing at the hotel Agnes was staying in on Tyneside, she couldn’t
resist poking her nose in.
12) For the folks
across the pond, give us a brief overview of Tyneside. How do you avoid the
dreaded Cabot Cove
Syndrome
that Cathy Ace had once mentioned
to me?
The River Tyne
runs between Newcastle and Gateshead in North East England. Therefore the area,
stretching all the way down to the coast, is known as, Tyneside. The quayside,
which Agnes adores, was once a beehive of industry. Giant cranes and other such
equipment filled the docks. Today, that has all gone with restaurants and clubs
having taken over. In a way, it is sad that all the traditional heavy
industries have gone, but on the other hand the quayside is now much cleaner
and a pleasant place to visit. Concerts etc. are held in The Sage, a comparatively
new building, while the old Baltic Flour Mill has been given a new lease of
life as the Baltic Art Gallery.
As for the Cabot Cove Syndrome, I must
admit that I haven’t given it too much thought. Maybe when have written a few
more Agnes Lockwood novels, I’ll need to have a rethink.
11) While you were
growing up, who were your favorite authors and who are they now? Which ones
were the biggest influences?
As a child, I loved reading Enid Blyton’s
books. Five go to Smugglers Top was the first one. I loved reading about what
the Famous Five got up to. I also enjoyed her Malory Towers books. Today, I
enjoy C J Sansom’s Shardlake novels. I have also read a number of books by
Jeffrey Archer and Steven King. But I must admit I don’t have any favourite
authors. I choose a book for the content, not necessarily because of who wrote
it.
10) Plotter or
pantser or plantser?
Definitely a panster, I never plan
anything in advance. As I said earlier, I simply sit down and start to write.
Perhaps if I really gave it some thought, I would be able to write my books
faster. At least I would know where it was going from the moment I started to
type. But I have never been able to do that.
9) What elements
in mystery fiction do you see changing with the times and which do you think
will remain eternal?
I can’t really see many changes taking
place. Surely a mystery novel must have Characters, a devious plot, a big
problem to solve and, of course, there must be a solution at the end.
8) As previously
stated the Agnes Lockwood series has attracted a healthy following and for good
reason, as they’re quite well-written. Are there any plans for another series
or will Tyneside suffice for now?
I am planning to stick with Tyneside for
the time being. It is an area I know well as it is where I was born and grew
up. I am working on another in the series at the moment.
7) You’ve also
written a mainstream thriller (The
Trojan Project) as well as a romance (Only
Twelve Days). Are there any other genres to which you’d like to
try your hand or any you would never touch?
I might decide to write another romance at
some point. But I have no idea when that will be. I tend to take each day as it
comes. I don’t plan too far ahead these days.
6) Describe your
typical writing day (if there’s any such thing during the pandemic). Do you
write exclusively in notebooks, on the laptop or both? What are your daily
words goals, if any?
Oh, how I would love to say I have a daily
words goal. But that is not the case. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t plan my
novels in advance. I simply sit down at the laptop and start writing. But then,
the next day, I find something I wrote previously which I am unhappy about, so
I have to re-write it. Only then can I continue from where I left off.
5) Speaking of
the coronavirus, has having your activity restricted had any effect on your
writing? If yes, how so?
No, the coronavirus hasn’t really
restricted my activities. My husband has several health issues. Therefore we
don’t go far anyway. Though I admit, the fact we can’t go anywhere at all even
if we wanted to can be frustrating.
4) What did you
do for work before you decided to write full time?
Before I retired, I worked for the
National Health Service as a higher clerical officer.
3) What advice
would you have for a novice novelist of any age?
Truthfully, I am not the best person to
pass on advice to a budding novelist. However, I would suggest that they didn’t
copy me by not planning the story ahead. I think that’s about all could say.
2) What’s a fact
about yourself that only few would know?
I don’t think there’s anything about me
that people don’t know. I tend to be quite open about myself.
1) What’s next on the horizon for Eileen Thornton?
I have no idea what is ahead. I hope I can
continue with my writing for some time yet. However, if it had anything to do
with me, I would love to see Agnes Lockwood in a movie, or even a TV series. Ah
well, I can but hope.
If
you’re interested in learning more about Eileen, then please avail yourself of
the handy links provided below.
mybook.to/ASurpriseForChristine (short stories)
posted by jurassicpork @ Monday, July 27, 2020
2 comments
2 Comments:
Thank you for inviting me to be your author of the month, Robert.
Glad to have you.
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