Goodreads asked Kerensa Jennings:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Kerensa Jennings The original inspiration for Seas of Snow started many years ago when I was leading the BBC News coverage of the Soham case. I worked closely with the Cambridgeshire Police and through the twists and turns of the investigation, became fascinated by the question of whether evil was born or made. Getting an insight in the mind and motives of a psychopath was profoundly affecting, and as the story of what happened in that case horrified the nation, it touched and horrified me.

Mulling over the way our minds work led me to want better to understand our psychological make-up. So I went on to train and qualify as an Executive Coach. The coursework covered research and practical work in differing fields of psychology. I found it so intriguing I went on to qualify as an MBTI practitioner and also an Executive Coach Supervisor.

So the seed at the start of Seas of Snow was a process of catharsis, wanting to find closure in some way for the emotional impact working on that case for so many months had on me. I wanted to investigate whether evil was born or made, which is the question at the heart of Seas of Snow.

My story takes places in the 1950s and there is a very bad man - Uncle Joe; and a little girl - Gracie.

It's a story of trust, friendship, love... and what happens when that trust is broken. The shattered dreams. The consequences.

It's also a story about the transformational effect reading and writing can have on a person. Being able to escape into flights of fantasy, immerse yourself in a whole different world, learn to process your feelings and the behaviours of others... the power of literature as the best self-help on the planet. Gracie falls in love with poetry and it is her passion for diving into the depths of words - their meaning, their sounds, the way they interplay and weave - this passion which sustains her through heartbreaking torments in her life.

There are numerous other inspirations and inputs from a whole array of experiences and observations throughout my life. I was a journalist and TV producer for many years. I have always been a curious person, fascinated by the world around me.

I am also someone who writes every day, and always have done. For decades I have been writing words for others (I have written for and directed a wide range of people from Sir David Frost to the actor James Nesbitt to Sir David Attenborough and singers Alex James and Billy Bragg). Now I am emerging as a writer in my own right. I hope readers will find my work touching and thought provoking.

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