A Goodreads user asked Jodi Taylor:

Agatha Christie said that she would work on two books at once, so that when she hit the inevitable block in one, she'd just switch to the other, thereby avoiding wandering aimlessly around the house convinced she'd lost the ability to write. You mentioned you are working on several things at once. Is this for the same reason as Dame Christie, or do you just have crazy amounts of ideas flying around your head?

Jodi Taylor Well firstly, thanks very much for comparing me to the great Dame Agatha!!

The answer to your questions is yes to both of them. I usually have several books on the go. For example, at the moment, I've just finished the first draft of St Mary's 7 - which I've now put aside for a week or so to let it settle - and started work on a possible sequel to The Nothing Girl. At the same time, I've started making notes about St Mary's 8 so that any teasers can be written into SM7. And, because I'm sad and don't have a life away from my laptop, I even have a vague outline for SM9.

Yes, I do move from one to the other. If I've just written something heavy and dramatic in one book it is nice to do something a little lighter in another.

And yes, I have crazy ideas in my head all the time. ALL THE TIME!. I've learned to keep a notebook and pen in every room so that I can scribble things as they occur to me because my memory is slightly worse than that of a small chair. I especially keep one by the bed because Max has a habit of waking me up at three in the morning with a neat bit of dialogue or an idea about how to get them out of their latest crisis. Or, frequently, how to get them in even deeper. When I first started writing I used to think, 'I must remember this in the morning,' and roll over and go back to sleep. When morning came I could remember there was something I had to remember, but not what it actually was. Now I know better.

I hope this answers your question. Thanks for taking the trouble to write. Best wishes, Jodi.

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