Writer Of The Week: Hayley Johnson-Mack
Hayley’s gripping pocket novel is out on Thursday. We have a chat about it.
Tell us about your pocket novel “Out Of The Shadows”.
It’s a dual-time tale where past and present entwine around a romantic Elizabethan manor house. Elise, its newest inhabitant, is drawn into the echoes of its former residents and finds herself fighting shadows old and new as she strives to make a home for herself and the man she loves.
Hayley’s latest pocket novel comes out on Thursday.
Do you like writing a longer length story?
Yes, I do. It gives you, as a writer, much more scope to develop not only the plot but the characters as well, and the journey they go on.
Tell us about your writing routine?
That depends on what I’m working on. In general, I write better in the mornings but if I’m in the flow, I can write whenever, though it has to work around other commitments most of the time! If I’m researching, I do that in the evenings. All a bit haphazard, I suppose, but it works for me!
Do you have a favourite genre to write about?
Two, really. Romantic suspense and cosy crime.
Who are some of your favourite authors?
Ooh, it’s a long list! But some are Susanna Kearsley, Kate Quinn, Patricia Wentworth, Ann Cleeves, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. And I’ve just discovered Liane Moriarity – they’re all brilliant!
What are your future writing plans?
I’m loving writing Pocket Novels, and I’m already working on my next one. I also love spending time with my medieval sleuthing nun, Sister Ursula, whom you can read about in”The People’s Friend” magazine/fiction specials, and writing serials for PF too. I am also looking at eventually writing novel length fiction, in the historical romance or dual-time genre. It’s all very exciting!
Thank you, Hayley!
