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baby's got blue eyes, first crime novel, is just released, L M Krier, new book, press release, sell th epig series, tottie limejuice
Welcome Tottie Limejuice, author of Sell The Pig Series…
Writing as L M Krier
*hands Tottie a cup of tea and a [GF] scone*
Tottie, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me.
Thanks for having me, and thanks so much for remembering my need for a gluten free scone, much appreciated. And Earl Grey tea, too – you’re really spoiling me!
Can you tell me a little about your writing to date?
I’ve written in one form or another most of my life as a former journalist and copywriter but have only comparatively recently started writing books.
So far I have published a trilogy of travel memoirs, the Sell the Pig series, plus a self-help guide to writing press releases. In December 2014, with two other writers, Jilli Pennington and Janet Holt, I co-wrote and edited another travel memoir, Take Three Birds, under the collective pen name of Jilli Lime-Holt.
My first crime novel, Baby’s Got Blue Eyes, is just released, under the pen name L M Krier, which is actually part of my real name. It’s published on 13 February 2015 and is available to pre-order for Kindle before then.
Can you tell us about your newest book?
It’s a crime thriller, a detective murder mystery. It’s always been about my favourite genre to read but it never occurred to me to write one until I got to the age of 62. Sometimes, I can be breathtakingly slow on the uptake!
A different genre for you. How did you come up with the story?
It sounds incredibly cheesy but I honestly did dream most of it. Just before Christmas, I dreamt the broad outline of the plot and the main characters, then started mulling it over in my head and thought it would be fun to write.
Have you written it in the first person or the third person? Which do you find easiest?
It’s in the third person. That’s because my main character is a man and sometimes I think it can go disastrously wrong for a woman to try to write in a man’s voice. Unless it is incredibly skilfully done, it can sound so awkward and unrealistic. Writing in the third person is more detached, it’s easier to get it right.
Have you any tips for aspiring writers?
Don’t be afraid to have a go. Write it for yourself initially, enjoy what you’re doing, have fun. But remember that it’s hard work, probably much more of a slog than many people realise, if you want to get it right.
If/when you decide to publish it, do make sure it is professionally edited and proofread. It’s a thing of mine but I think it shows a certain lack of respect to readers to do a messy job. But yes, of course the odd typo has slipped through in my books – contrary to rumour, I am only human!
What is your writing routine?
I usually wake up quite early, let the dogs out, make a cup of tea then go back to bed, under a heap of dogs. As I sip my tea then have a little snooze, I mull over scenes in my head, then when I get up, I whack them out on the computer while I can still remember them.
I write in my head a lot, I find it an easier way to get dialogue to flow. Out on dog walks, I am usually mentally composing things. I had to do a lot of reasoning with my murderer for this crime book, we had frequent differences of opinion. It felt like I was being taken over by the character at times and we kept having these mental battles.
Sometimes I speak some of it out loud as neither dog speaks English, nor does anyone I am likely to meet wandering round the woods.
Do you have beta readers?
Yes, absolutely – they should be compulsory! And you need to pick ones you know will be completely honest. Mine are pretty ruthless! For this crime novel I used four, three women and a man, to get as broad an overview as possible.
There are lots of plot twists and turns and I was worried I hadn’t tied up all the loose ends properly by the end. In fact one beta reader helped enormously. I’d thought I’d been cleverly subtle in tying one loose end up but it was so subtle the beta reader had missed the explanation so I had to rework it.
Do you have an editing process?
Yes, before I begin any serious work each day, I always thoroughly edit what I wrote the day before. I’m a compulsive saver, too, I save each edition of everything, sorted by date. It’s too easy to rework something then bitterly regret having changed how it was. That way I can always go back to the beginning if I need to.
Everything is also backed up to USB stick and to hard drive so I should always have a copy of it somewhere.
Where can people go to read your work?
It’s currently available for Kindle and in paperback format from Amazon, and I will be expanding its availability to other channels.
Where can people find you on the internet?
I spend a lot of time on Facebook, you can find me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450797141836111/1546417845607373/?notif_t=group_comment
My email address is tottielimejuice@gmail.com
On Twitter I am https://twitter.com/tottielimejuice
My website is http://tottielimejuice.com/
And if you want to meet me in the flesh, you can come on Tottie’s Tours http://tottielimejuice.com/totties-tours-discover-beautiful-auvergne/
I try to respond to everyone who contacts me and I love to chat, when I have the time.
Thanks so much for having me, it’s been great fun, as ever.
Tottie, thank you for a superb interview and good luck with your new book. Suzan xx
Tottie, thank you for a superb interview and good luck with your new book. Suzan xx