Ask the Author: Stevyn Colgan
Answered Questions (5)
Stevyn Colgan
'A Murder to Die for' is the culmination of several things: firstly, the fact that I was a cop for 30 years; secondly that I love classic murder-mysteries and classic British comedy films; and, thirdly, a desire to write a comic novel as so few are being written these days. We've lost P G Wodehouse, Stella Gibbons, Tom Sharpe, Sue Townsend, David Nobbs, Kingsley Amis, George MacDonald Fraser and so many more and the bookshelves are missing great comedies and farces. I knew that I could get some great comedy from the clash of cultures between procedurally led modern police officers and cosy-loving murder-mystery fans, especially if I set them off all trying to solve the same crime. The icing on the cake was when I witnessed inter-fan group rivalries at the San Diego Comicon; so I set 'Murder' at a crime fiction convention. Inspiration can come from many directions at once.
Stevyn Colgan
The sequel to 'A Murder To Die For'. 'The Diabolical Club' is another humorous novel with murder-mystery thrown in for good measure. I'm also doing research into another possible non-fiction book.
Stevyn Colgan
Write EVERY day - even if it's just a diary entry or a blog, a poem or a random observation. Keep notebooks beside you. Your writer's brain is a muscle. It needs to be exercised. Also read EVERY day. Find the time on the commute to work, before bed, in the bath, on the loo ... reading is how we become familiar with good syntax, great plots and characterisation. Learn from those who went before. Books are your teachers.
Stevyn Colgan
Tricky. It's certainly not the wages! The thing is ... I can't imagine not being a writer. It's what I do, in the same way that a stamp collector collects stamps or a keen gardener tends their garden. The whole experience of 'being' is the best thing.
Stevyn Colgan
I've been lucky enough to never have to. I've been bursting with ideas since I was a child and I've written, in every spare moment of every day, for the past 50+ years. It's become instinctive and a part of my daily routine.
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