F is for Frances Di Plino

Have you ever noticed how when you write something, a book, a short story, even a begging letter to a lottery winner, someone, somewhere writes something similar but way better.

It keeps on happening to me. I wrote The Handshaker, one of the strongest and best pieces of work I've ever turned out. Then Frances di Plino turned up with Bad Moon Rising and blew it out the water.

Exaggeration is the hallmark of any grumbler, and the truth is, while both The Handshaker and Bad Moon Rising employ crazed sex killers, the resemblance probably ends there. BMR follows a more orthodox, albeit thrilling and disturbing investigative trail, while The Handshaker is more involved in riddles and a personal quest for Alex Croft.

Franny and I are old friends, but under her real name, which is a closely guarded secret. It's Lorraine Mace. (That'll teach her to write better books than me.)

Lorraine (I think I prefer Franny) is a professional writer. A tutor for the Writer's Bureau, with a monthly column in Writing Magazine, this girl knows her way around the writosphere. If it's worth knowing, Lorraine knows it, and if she doesn't know it, it's probably not worth knowing.

For her to write psychological thrillers, therefore, is grossly unfair on the rest of us hacks, but I knew what was coming. I read early drafts of this book and I knew it was a winner. So there's only one person to blame if my novel isn't as good. Frances di Plino, obviously.

You can find Lorraine's website here and Franny's here and you can pick up a copy of Bad Moon Rising via the Crooked Cat website.

You won't regret it.