Today I’m joined by fellow Crime Cymru author G B Williams, as part of a blog tour to celebrate the paperback release of her crime thriller The Chair. Crime Cymru is a collective of authors who have a connection to Wales and I’m greatly impressed that Gail has her biography in both English and Welsh. Something for me to think about.
The book is a gritty, edgy thriller, dealing with
some intense themes, which makes the most of the Welsh landscape and also manages
to include a love story.
Welcome Gail
Can you tell us a bit about the book? What was the
idea that kicked off the story for you?
This book is the story of a hacker,
Jay, who makes a mistake and, in running from his problems, crashes his car in
a remote location, but then has the good fortune to be found by members of a
mountain rescue team. They, Branwen, the local vet, and Cobb, a hermit with a
past, provide shelter and safety to the hacker and stand up to the people who
come after him.
The original story idea was a car crash
and two people trapped together by a blizzard, and yes, it was intended to be a
male/female romance. But that felt far too simplistic. Then, I started thinking
about why the person who crashed would be in the middle of nowhere. They had to
be running from something, and I had to work out what that was, which was when
the idea of hacking came up, and running to a location that didn’t have good
internet connections. Then I had to wonder why the first person was in the
middle of nowhere too. People don’t cut themselves off without reason, and that
was when Cobb’s back story started to form.
With those two storylines, I realised
it was bigger than two people trapped by a blizzard. So, I threw the first
idea out the window and turned it into the thriller it became.
The Chair is a complex story with a big cast with
multiple viewpoints and a lot of threads running – did you have a special
system to keep track of them all?
Yes, it’s called Excel. Okay, that’s not that special, but when I
write the first draft I just let it flow, a few notes on character to make sure
I don’t mess up descriptions, but I start with just freeform writing and a
general idea of the end game. Through the many edits that come later I use a
spreadsheet to keep track of what happens in each chapter and things like whose
POV it is, who appears in the chapter, how it moved the story on, stuff like
that. This time around that was
particularly useful as I realised that I had way too many point of view
characters, and had to delete a number of voices to keep things straight. Those
whose voices were cut out included, Emma, Shoreham, O’Rourke and Doc
Pearson. That made things much easier to
follow, and meant that I had far more for Simons to do who was originally a bit
under utilised. But as complex as it is,
I hope that people can follow it well enough.
The story covers a wide selection of settings and
expertise – the music industry, cyber security, mountain rescue - to name a
few. Did this come from your own background or research? What are
your favourite research methods?
It was a true mixing point this one.
I’m from the Southeast of England, but have lived in Wales for 30 years
now. So, I’m well aware of the
differences in landscape and attitudes, which is something I tried to get into
this novel. I know a bit about the mountain rescue, though not a member, I’m a
geocacher, and that can take you to a lot of remote places. Now I’ve been lucky
in that I’ve never needed to call the Mountain Rescue out, but I know geocachers
who have. I’ve raised a fair bit of money for the Mountain Rescue too, and will
continue to support them. The Mountain Rescue – all volunteers – do a great job
and should be noted for that more than they are.
The rest is largely a result of
research. Oddly I am a bit of a sponge
and soak up a fair amount of what I read and hear, and it all sits in the back
of my mind until I need it. My hubby is also very good in that if he reads a
story in the paper that he thinks I can use, he’ll cut the story out for
me. I have several pinned to my ideas
board right now, and when the time and the story is right, I’ll use those
ideas.
Once I settle on the story I want to
use, I will do a lot of internet searching.
Since lockdown, that’s largely been the only kind of research it’s been
possible to do. I’m quite diligent on trying to find multiple sources, and not
just one, which is changeable by the public, I look for other sources to try to
be sure. I’m also really fortunate in that I live opposite a serving police
officer, so questions do get asked. I
also check books on police procedure, newspaper stories, and when I have a
narrow enough question, I will go to certain internet pages where I can ask a
direct question of relevant sources.
The Chair of the title, as well as having a more sinister
meaning, refers to Cadair Idris, the mountain in the southern end of the
Snowdonia National Park, in Wales. Can you tell us a bit about the importance
of landscape to the story, and how you used it?
Landscape is hugely important in the
book, and it’s more than just a setting. The basic idea of Jay coming to Wales
was because of the landscape. One of the features of a mountainous area is that
a lot of communications don’t work well within them. Without the mountain causing such problems,
Jay’s journey to Wales makes no sense. The landscape is also why Cobb is there,
it’s literally where he ran out of petrol, and where he then saw that he could
live effectively alone and without neighbours while still in an area that would
serve needs for life.
Of course, the land is also why there’s
need of the Mountain Rescue, which in turn is part of why Cobb and Branwen have
the skills they need through the book. Not to mention, that the landscape can
be as much of a killer as those who pursue Jay.
It’s the setting of the final conflict and is equally dangerous to the
players as they are to each other.
As well as some pretty gritty thriller elements you
also have an on/off romance between local vet Branwen and mystery man Cobb. The
book is not romantic suspense, but their relationship forms one of the distinct
threads of the book – why did you want to include a romance? Was it an idea
from the start, or did it evolve?
It was always there. Once I had the
story and saw that Cobb and Jay needed a go-between in the village, I knew that
there would be a connection between Branwen and Cobb that went beyond
neighbourliness. Their love affair was never going to be easy, both of them are
hiding painful truths, both are wary of getting hurt again. And to be honest,
they were so uncertain about their own futures that even I wasn’t sure what was
going to happen in the end.
What’s next – any plans for a sequel or an on-going
series?
Though I
have been asked to write more about Branwen and Cobb, the truth is, this is all
the story they need me to write for them, their only public story. So, no sequel,
sorry.
However, I’m
currently looking for a home for a standalone thriller that takes an ordinary
woman on a journey across Europe to find evidence of treason and discover the
truth of the person she is inside.
Writing
wise, I’m working on books 1 and 2 of a new police procedural series set in
south Wales. I’ll tell you more about
that as I get closer to publication.
That is definitely something to look forward to.
Thanks so much for being my guest today and telling us some of the background to the writing of The Chair
About the
book:
On a snowbound Cader Idris, death comes stalking.
Cobb retreated to Cader Idris for a solitary life
of peace and quiet, and to escape his dangerous past. Though that illusion
starts to crumble after he and Branwen Jones, the local vet, find a mysterious
RTA victim and shelter him in Cobb’s home.
When elements of London’s criminal underbelly
reach Wales, and their presence throws the close-knit community into stark
relief, the chance to settle old scores could prove too tempting.
With no choice but to try and hide the RTA victim
from people who want to kill him, Cobb’s not sure he’s ready to rejoin the
world he’s running from, when that means putting another woman in the firing
line. Meanwhile, Branwen’s not sure she can face the revelation of her darkest
secret.
But as they face the final showdown, a race over
the snowed-in mountain, will anyone survive unscathed?
Biography
GB Williams specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels, book one of the Locked Series, “Locked Up”, was released in 2017, “Locked In” publishes in Feb 2018, and “Locked Down” is due in Autumn 2018. GB was shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition with the story Last Shakes, now available in Last Cut Casebook. Crime novels are her stock in trade, but she has had success with short stories in other genres including steampunk, horror, and erotica. She has also penned her debut steampunk novel, she launched in September 2017. And she hates every photo ever taken of her. Find out more at www.gailbwilliams.co.uk.
Mae GB Williams yn
arbenigo mewn llyfrau ditectif cymhleth sy’n symud yn gyflym Cyhoeddwyd y llyfr
cyntaf yn y gyfres, “Locked,” sef “Locked Up” yn 2017, cyhoeddir “Locked In” ym
mis Chwefror 2018 a disgwylir “Locked Down” yn Hydref 2018. Rhoddwyd GB ar
restr fer cystadleuaeth straeon byrion Margery Allingham yn 2014 am ei stori,
“Last Shakes.” Straeon ditectif yw ei harbenigedd ond cafodd lwyddiant hefyd
gyda straeon byrion mewn ffurfiau eraill gan gynnwys arswyd ac erotica. Cewch
mwy o wybodaeth ar http://www.gailbwilliams.co.uk.
Steampunk – stêmpync
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