5 Questions About Writing With . . . Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times, New York Times and Amazon Kindle No. 1 bestselling crime writer, and the author of the new Hercule Poirot mysteries, at the request of Agatha Christie’s family and estate. 
Her books are published in 51 countries and have sold more than five million copies worldwide. She won the UK National Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year prize in 2013, and the Dagger in the Library Award in 2023. Her murder mystery musical, ‘The Mystery of Mr E’ is available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV now. Sophie is an honorary fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, and the founder and coach at Dream Author Coaching.
How do you discipline/motivate yourself to write and do you set daily targets?
I have to use my higher brain, and make it the boss, rather than letting my primitive brain be in charge. My primitive brain always wants to do the easiest, most fun thing in the moment – which usually isn’t writing lots of words! But my higher brain knows it really matters to me that my book gets written, so I need different motivation. I need determination, resolve and commitment, rather than desire in the moment, and I need to understand that I don’t need to want to write at this very moment in order to write. When I allow my higher brain to impose this sort of discipline, and when I obey it, I am always thrilled to have written. And then my free time, my leisure time, is so much more genuinely enjoyable, because there isn’t that persistent soundtrack in the back of my mind going: ‘You should be writing, you slacker!’
What are the most important qualities required by a writer? Do you have them?
Imagination, creativity, passion, self-discipline and an unwavering belief in one’s work and in the possibility of success. Yes, I have all these qualities! Though I should point out that I do not have self-discipline in many other areas of life – but luckily, for my writing, I do!
How do you market yourself and your books?
I am so passionate about all the creative offerings I produce – from poetry, to fiction, to self-help books, to murder mystery musical movies … I want to share them with as many people as possible because I believe they are genuinely entertaining, insightful, unique – so I kind of rave about them whenever I can, to whoever will listen, because I believe that if you discover my work, it will brighten up your day! (I think this might be called ‘organic marketing’!) I also have a website, an author newsletter, and regularly check people on X.com, Facebook and Instagram. Lots of people also discover my writing via my Dream Author Coaching program for writers and/or anyone who wants to write. The other thing to bear in mind about marketing, specifically if you’re a writer, is that you have to be doing it because you genuinely believe your book will be an amazing treat for whoever buys and reads it. I’ve seen so many authors trying to market their books by saying, ‘My book is out today and please, please consider buying it or else I might end up sleeping under a bridge while feeling very unloved.’ This is not marketing, it’s being unhelpfully needy, and it’s not going to make anyone want to buy your book. It’s crucial to make your audience want to buy your book for their sake, not for yours.
Which writing resources have you found useful, e.g., books, courses, organisations, websites etc.?
I’ve been on several Arvon courses which I have loved! I also did a wonderful MA in Novel Writing in 1993/1994 at the University of Manchester, which was incredibly helpful and inspiring. Other writers are my main source of inspiration – when I read brilliant books by other people, I think, ‘I want to write something as amazing as that.’ I also get huge inspiration from my coaching programme Dream Author – my clients are amazing people who keep going on to achieve new and brilliant success!
A top tip for other writers?
Your thoughts and beliefs, not the circumstances, create your results – so make sure to think in an inspiring way!
About No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done – published June 2025
You think it will never happen to you: the ring of the bell, the policeman on the doorstep. What he says traps you in a nightmare, and there seems to be no way out. It starts with the words, ‘I’m afraid…’
Sally Lambert is afraid too, and desperate enough to consider the unthinkable. Is it really, definitely, impossible to escape from this horror? Maybe not. There’s always something you can do, right? Of course, no one would ever do this particular something – except the Lamberts, who might have to. No one has ever gone this far. Until Sally decides that the Lamberts will…
‘No one writes twisted, suspenseful novels quite like Sophie Hannah.’ Liane Moriarty
About The Last Death of the Year – to be published 23rd October 2025
The brilliant Belgian detective rings in the New Year with a chilling murder investigation on a Greek island in this all-new holiday mystery from Sophie Hannah, author of Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night.
New Year’s Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the tiny Greek island of Lamperos to celebrate the holiday with what turns out to be a rather odd community of locals living in a dilapidated house. A dark sense of foreboding overshadows the beautiful island getaway when the guests play a New Year’s Resolutions game after dinner and one written resolution gleefully threatens to perform “the last and first death of the year.” Hours later, one of the house’s residents is found dead on the terrace.
In the light of this shocking murder, Poirot reveals to Catchpool the true reason he’s brought him to the island—the life of another community member has been threatened. Now both men resolve to ensure that the first murder will be the last…
