Debut Author Spotlight – 20 Questions
Ronnie Turner
I'm delighted to welcome debut author Ronnie Turner to my blog!
LIES BETWEEN US publishes today! ![Lies Between Us: a tense psychological thriller with a twist you won̢۪t see coming by [Turner, Ronnie]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZJAzdewoL.jpg)
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:
20) All
importantly, where can readers buy your fabulous debut novel?
You can find the e-book (out TODAY!!!) and paperback (out 13th
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!!
