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It introduces Detective Inspector Nikki Galena of the Fenland Constabulary; a bitter and driven woman, with a very personal reason for getting drug dealers off the streets of her home town, Greenborough. No one wants to work with her, as she expects levels of dedication as impossibly high as her own. Her superintendent knows that she is a very good detective, but if he cannot find a way to stop her crusade, he might not be able to save her career. Enter Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter, a very different kind of man to anyone she had ever worked with. Joseph was a Special Services soldier, but exhausted and disillusioned by war, he travelled extensively, trying to salvage his life. On returning home, he joined the police force, and now has an almost spiritual attitude, and much deeper understanding of people and their lives. Total opposites, they are thrown together, and find themselves embroiled in a sinister and deadly case where nothing is as it seems. To add to their problems, Greenborough is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs wearing identical horrific masks. As they uncover more and more disturbing crimes, Nikki and Joseph discover that the ruthless man behind them is someone from Nikki’s past, and he wants her dead.
Crime on the fens is the first in the DI Nikki Galena series. What else can we look forward to in the series?
There are another thirteen books in the series, and number fifteen is already in the editing process. As my characters are very important to me, and I probably know them better than my real friends, each book follows their lives and emotions, and that of those around them. New characters evolve and briefly take centre stage in some of the investigations. People like Nikki’s mother, Eve, who in her younger days was in the RAF, and then went to work for the Ministry of Defense. Eve and several of her old friends, have a habit of getting inadvertently involved in dangerous cases, much to her daughter’s disapproval.
Where does your knowledge of police investigations come from? Do you have any special contacts?
I am very lucky that my partner Jacqueline, did thirty years as a police officer. During that time, she was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery, and was the first woman police constable in the country to hold that honour. She has been a brilliant ‘consultant’ keeping me on the straight and narrow regarding police and judicial procedure. Believe me, it’s relief to know that what you write is correct, and not something influenced by what you might see on the television!
What particularly appeals to you about the crime novels? Could you also imagine writing in another genre, for example a romance or fantasy novel?
I love the intricacies of the crime novel; the twists and turns, the red herrings, all leading to the big reveal. I also love mystery in all its forms, and although police procedural crime has become my main genre, I have also written two cross-genre novels, that embrace a paranormal element, and a stand-alone novel that deals with how a police officer, seriously injured in a raid that went wrong, fights to overcome her disabilities and build a very new kind of life. I don’t feel that I am limited to crime writing, and really believe that if you have a good story with believable characters, you can write anything you really want to. And that is the key… a deep desire to tell that story.
Did you always want to be an author? How did you come to write (and publish) your first book?
I only decided that I wanted to write when I was in my late forties. I went on a Writer’s Course, and the tutor was the Late Sue Townsend. She was the most wonderful woman, so generous with her time and the sharing of her incredible talent as a writer, and she was my inspiration. I wrote some five books, and could not place them, until finally a publishing house did accept Crime on the Fens. It was then called Mask Wars, and it went into print as a hardback book. It was very expensive, and mainly intended for libraries. I think I purchased more than were actually sold! Several years later it was picked up by my lovely publisher Jasper Joffe, and that’s when my real writer’s journey began. Thank you, Jasper!
As an eleven-time number one bestselling author with 30 books to your name and having been shortlisted for the 2021 British Book Awards, do you have any advice for debut authors?
Mmm, well, unless you are very lucky to get a manuscript accepted early in your career, and it can happen (apparently), do not be put off by rejection. Keep writing. Keep that passion for wanting to be a published author. A rejection can be hugely helpful. Read it and try to see if there is something constructive to be taken from it, and work on that area. If it’s not helpful, file it away and forget it. Move on. It’s only one person’s point of view. The next person to read it, could well love it. I had more rejection letters than Taylor Swift has fan mail! Okay, slight exaggeration there, but I do now have 33 published books. You are one of the writers of the future, just keep believing, and keep writing!
Your Rowan Jackman books are to be turned into a TV series starring Richard Armitage as DI Rowan Jackman. If the DI Nikki Galena series were also to become a TV series, who would you like to play Detective Nikki Galena?
Tough one! I’ve purposely never described Nikki Galena, as I wanted her to ‘belong’ to the reader. People see her as so many different women, and when we did a fun post on Facebook asking that very question, I think out of 200 suggestions, there were very few duplicates! Okay, I’m going out on a limb here, as I believe this incredible actress could play Nikki brilliantly, and say Hayley Atwell. She narrated my most recent novella, One More to Die, and did a superb job. I was over the moon, and I know she would be a fantastic Nikki!
Who helps you write? We did a little snooping and found out that you have several cute assistants!
I assume by that that you don’t mean my lovely Luke, my personal assistant, and massively creative designer, who produces wonderful things for my website and our Facebook page! I think we could be looking at my seven furry spaniel friends? Okay, we have Jasper, Rory, Scampi, Julia, Ellie, Darcey, and Nina. We had Jasper and Rory as puppies; Scampi is Rory’s mum, and we took her when the breeder wanted to rehome her; and the girls, all Breton spaniels, have been rescued from Spanish kill stations by the incredible charity, SOS, Save Our Spaniels. We love them all, but think we need to call a halt to collecting these beautiful, but desperately badly treated little souls, as we are running out of space!
What kind of novels do you read yourself? Do you have any recommendations for us?
Sad to say, my reading time is now limited, as writing has taken over my life. However, I love audiobooks, simply because I can multi-task; do jobs and listen at the same time, hence I don’t feel guilty. I have always loved mysteries and crime novels, and always will, but also can find great enjoyment in all manner of different genres of books, old and new. At present I’m listening to books that I read when I was young, and feeling again the excitement that made me keep turning those pages, even if I should have turned the light out hours before. Some are desperately dated, sometimes plain ridiculous, and such fun to listen to as an adult. Today, it’s The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and recently, it was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. As to recommendations, I find that very hard, as everyone has personal favourites and dislikes. However, one author that I always find surprisingly dark, and very disturbing, is Daphne du Maurier, who died in April 1989. Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and so many others, are incredibly powerful books, and I recently listened to everything I could pick up on audio, and was blown away all over again.
