Interview with Crime Author – Jane Isaac
It is with great pleasure I welcome Jane Isaac to the blog. Just as she gets comfy in the chair, I can tell you that she will be talking about her new book, Before It’s Too Late.
Hi Jane, Can you tell me about your novel?
Before It’s Too Late opens with the kidnapping of a Chinese student in Stratford upon Avon. As a reader we know that she has been abducted and follow her story throughout the book as she contemplates her fate while she’s held in a disused pit in the Warwick countryside.
Detective Inspector Jackman is tasked to investigate her disappearance and we also follow the police investigation through his eyes as he fights his own demons and clashes with his superiors in his quest to find her. When another student disappears he is pulled into a race against time.
What was the initial idea?
I was playing with the idea of a kidnapping for this novel and thought it would be interesting to follow story thorough the eyes of the victim. I had to do a lot of ‘real crime’ research and read accounts of hostages in order to create the situation. One of the most useful (although harrowing) books was I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne. When I started looking at locations, Warwickshire seemed like the perfect choice. The countryside around Stratford provides the perfect juxtaposition to a crime like kidnapping.
When did you start to write it?
I started writing Before It’s Too Late in the summer of 2013. There were a lot of field trips to Stratford, research into Chinese culture, not to mention the usual police procedural background, so it took around eighteen months to complete the project.
Describe a typical writing day?
I’m not sure I have a typical writing day! I still have a day job and a family to look after, plus a very naughty nut lovable Labrador to walk. I’m one of those writers who squeezes their writing into gaps in their daily schedule: I can often be found tapping away at my keyboard beside the pool when my daughter has a swim class, or trudging across the fields with my dog turning plot ideas in my head. Every now and then I find the odd day when I can sit in my jammies and spend the whole day at the keyboard, which is pure luxury!
Do you have events planned to promote the novel? If so, what are they?
I do love how writing a book exposes you to opportunities you’d never done before. I have done a number of signings at bookstores over the summer to promote the novel, and have been lucky enough to have been invited to a couple of local book clubs too. Later in the year, I’m off to Stratford upon Avon library, the local Rotary Club and even popping into a prison to talk to the inmates.
I really enjoyed Before It’s too Late, where can other readers find the novel?
The Amazon link for Before It’s Too Late is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Its-Too-Late-Jane-Isaac-ebook/dp/B00QQC9VVK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Web: http://www.janeisaac.co.uk
Twitter: @JaneIsaacAuthor
Facebook: Jane Isaac Author
