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Ann Cleeves
Apr. 23rd, 2005 10:25 amWent to Ottakar's in Sunderland to see crime-writer Ann Cleeves, who has worked up a neat double act with her friend Helen Pepper, a Crime Scene Investigator. Not only does Ann consult Helen about things she needs to know before writing (like SF, crime fiction has become very preoccupied with research and Getting Things Right), they also do a joint reading - Ann reads a passage from her latest book, and Helen then reviews it from the viewpoint of the professional.
Telling Tales is set on Spurn Head - the flat and unstable headland on the east coast, which sooner or later the sea will remove. Ann read an atmospheric passage in which the body of the murdered teenager is found lying in a ditch by the muddy track through the bean fields. It's an atmospheric piece of writing, all black clouds and strong winds blowing the rain horizontally across the low sky.
Helen was unimpressed by the atmospherics; "You've just done this to make my life difficult," she said. "For a start, did you have to find the body on a Sunday? Just think what that's going to do to my overtime budget. And we'll have to park our van where the track leaves the road, and haul all our equipment 300 yards through the mud and the rain..."
And so on. Which just shows that every minor character is the hero of their own story.
There's an interview with Ann on the BBC website; she's a fine writer.
Telling Tales is set on Spurn Head - the flat and unstable headland on the east coast, which sooner or later the sea will remove. Ann read an atmospheric passage in which the body of the murdered teenager is found lying in a ditch by the muddy track through the bean fields. It's an atmospheric piece of writing, all black clouds and strong winds blowing the rain horizontally across the low sky.
Helen was unimpressed by the atmospherics; "You've just done this to make my life difficult," she said. "For a start, did you have to find the body on a Sunday? Just think what that's going to do to my overtime budget. And we'll have to park our van where the track leaves the road, and haul all our equipment 300 yards through the mud and the rain..."
And so on. Which just shows that every minor character is the hero of their own story.
There's an interview with Ann on the BBC website; she's a fine writer.
