Debut Author Spotlight – 20 Questions

Ronnie Turner

 I'm delighted to welcome debut author Ronnie Turner to my blog! 

LIES BETWEEN US publishes today! 

Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature and dreamed of being a published author. Ronnie now lives in Dorset with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she reviews books on her blog and enjoys long walks on the coast. She is currently working on her second novel.

So, huge HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY wishes, Ronnie!

Enjoy reading Ronnie's answers to my 20 questions:

1)   Congratulations, Ronnie - IT’S PUBLICATION DAY! Tell us in three words how you’re feeling right now: Thank you so much Sam!! My three words have got to be excited, terrified and nervous!

2)         Describe your novel in ONE sentence:  Lies Between Us is a tale of corrupted    love, obsession and the fragility of the truth.

3)   How are you celebrating publication day?  I’m celebrating with my family, which is really exciting! We’re having a big get together (dogs included) and celebrating in style with some champers! (;

4)   Why/When did you decide to write your first novel? I’ve always been an avid reader. I grew up in a house brimming with toppling TBRs so I decided to (try) write a novel at a very young age. I eventually wrote Lies Between Us, which is quite a dark book but I had so much fun writing it!

5)   How long was it from the first submission of your completed manuscript to agents, to this day? I started submitting Lies Between Us to agents/publishers in September 2017 so it’s just over a year now. I signed with my lovely publisher, HQ Digital, in December 2017 and then with my fabulous agent, David Headley, in May! It’s been a whirlwind of a year! I feel very, very lucky!

6)   So far, what has been the biggest surprise/shock about becoming a published author?

The wonderful reviews have been both a surprise and a shock. I just can’t believe readers are enjoying my little book! I’m overwhelmed every time I read them! It’s an amazing feeling!

7)   What are you most looking forward to as a published author?

I’m cracking on with Book Two at the moment so I’m looking forward to the months ahead. It has a very twisted character at its core -  I can’t wait to get stuck in and write him. I say this a lot but I really love bad guys - can’t beat ‘em! (fictional ones, that is!)

Ok, let’s get down to the writing process

8)   Which authors inspired your writing?

Stephen King, Kate Atkinson, Sarah Waters, Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and lots more!

9)   How long did it take you to write ‘Lies Between Us’?

It took me around five weeks to write Lies Between Us but I did a huge amount of plotting beforehand!

10) What was your first draft like? 

My first draft was a mess!! LOL! It took months to re-write, edit, re-write, edit, then polish it ready for submission! My poor friends/family were kind enough to read it a gazillion times - I bought them lots of chocolate as a thank you! Haha!

11) How did you find the editing process a - before you had an editor? The editing process is extremely tough but very rewarding. My friends/family gave amazing feedback and I wouldn’t have been able to get it in shape for submission without their fresh eyes!

                                                                   b - and now you do? Oooh the editorial process with my editor was just incredible! Very lucky! It made the book so much better. Slowly watching your book grow and improve is, for me, a feeling you just can’t beat!

12) When you write do you need music, or silence? Music! I love writing to music. I listen to some of my albums on a loop so I have the songs stuck in my head for days and days.

13) What is your guilty pleasure when writing?

Tea/Coffee with some nice biscuits!! *eats biscuit*

14) What is your favourite part of the writing process? Least favourite?

My favourite part is the writing itself! Least favourite is editing although I do enjoy that too! It’s a love/hate thing! (;

15) Did you need to conduct any research for your novel? How did you approach it?

Absolutely! I did a lot of research for my main characters, one of which is an ICU nurse caring for a man in a vegetative state. The research for her line of work was heartbreaking, I’d be in tears some days reading real-life accounts of patients’ families.

The second character is a father desperately searching for his young daughter who has been kidnapped. The police procedure played quite a big part in it - I was very lucky to have some advice from an ex-Metropolitan Police Detective.

 

16) Now you have a book deal – with deadlines (!) – how has that affected your writing process?

Ooof those deadlines are intense. It’s work non-stop in my house when I have a deadline. It is very exciting though (and terrifying!)

17) What do you do in your ‘spare’ time? 

In my spare time I review books on my blog, spend time with my family/friends and take my three dogs on long walks!

18) What’s coming next? 

I haven’t written Book Two yet but I nearly have everything ready to go. I write quite quickly so I just need to get a few more ideas sorted before I begin! I can’t wait!!!

19) Where can readers find you? 

You can find me via these links:

Blog.

Twitter.

Facebook.

Goodreads page

Amazon Page

20) All importantly, where can readers buy your fabulous debut novel? 

You can find the e-book (out TODAY!!!) and paperback (out 13^th December) via the links below. If you’d like to learn more about Lies Between Us and find out what book bloggers think, you can follow the blog tour this month!! SOOO excited!!

Amazon UK

Kobo

Waterstones

Google Play

HarperCollins

Book Depository