The Focus is a chance for authors of media books to tell us a little more about their work and experience. This week it’s Journalist turned author of his own TV Detective novels, Simon Hall’s turn.
Simon Hall
Give us an idea of your novels so far?
Two have been published so far. In The Death Pictures, a dying artist creates a riddle – a statement of great importance to him – which is hidden in his final ten paintings. But before the answer can be revealed, the painter dies. Initially, it appears to be suicide, but the more Dan and Adam (Dan’s detective friend) investigate, the more suspicious it looks. I’m flattered no one has yet managed to solve the riddle, without turning to the last pages first, anyway! Evil Valley is a darker book. It centres on the hunt for a psychopath, a man tormented by memories of war, who is trying to teach society a lesson by committing a crime so shocking it will appal the nation. It’s down to Dan and Adam to try to stop him. All my novels are set in my home county of Devon, and the book is named after a real place on Dartmoor, Evil Coombe. It’s ideal for the denouement of a thriller: bleak, cold, lonely and very sinister.
What inspired you to write your own book?
I’ve always wanted to write, but was having trouble finding the elusive “fresh angle” for a book. That came when I was sitting with a detective, having a coffee and a chat, and he said he thought our jobs were similar in many ways. I asked how, and he replied – “Well, it’s all about your research, isn’t it? Asking the right questions, then reading the person’s reactions and finding your way to the hidden truth.” He was absolutely right – that is the basis of both journalism and detective work – and from there came the idea for a TV reporter who not only covers some extraordinary crimes but helps to solve them too.
How much of yourself is present in Dan, your main character in the TV detective series?
I think it’s difficult to write without some of yourself getting in there – although exactly what bits I’m not saying, given what a rogue Dan can be! But I do have to admit I have started thinking like an investigator, and when I cover a crime now it can be an effort not to push in and say to the detective – “Have you thought about this for a motive?” Or – “Could the crime have been committed this way..?”
Evil Valley by Simon Hall
What’s the most important advice you would give to journalists thinking of writing their own book?
First of all – just do it. It’s the most wonderfully fulfilling thing, to have an idea, then work up a fantasy world and set it all out on paper for others to enjoy. It can be hard work, but the sense of achievement when you write a good scene, or piece of characterisation is enormous, and when you’ve finished the book, it’s huge. And if you get published, having people come up to you, thanking you for entertaining them, and asking you to write another book soon, that is just dizzying.
What’s your next project?
I’m just finishing my new tvdetective novel – The Judgement Book – which is due out in September. It’s a tale of sordid secrets, corruption and blackmail, involving the deaths of an MP and a senior police officer, prostitution, double crossing and murder. I had real fun working up the ideas on this one! It seems to me that just about everyone has a guilty secret, be it small or large, and one of our greatest fears is seeing them exposed.
For more about Simon and his work, visit his website – www.thetvdetective.com
Get 15% off all three of Simon’s books, The Death Pictures, Evil Valley, and The Judgement Book at The Media Bookshop
