A bloody good chat with Louise Minchin

A Bloody Good Chat with Louise Minchin

You are appearing at the festival this year, alongside Ruth Ware. What can Bloody Scotland fans expect from your event?

I think it’s going to be super exciting because we’ve both written books about reality TV shows on islands where storms disrupt things very dramatically. I’ve read Ruth’s book, which I think is utterly brilliant. The premises are the same, but actually our stories are very different and I think it’ll be really fun to hear about our different approaches to reality tv, why we both wanted to write about it, the different characters that you see on these shows, and also why we both thought that it would be such a great place to set a thriller.

Can you tell us a bit about Isolation Island and where the inspiration for the novel came from?

It’s my debut thriller and I’ve had a character that I’ve wanted to write about for ages. She’s called Lauren. She’s an investigative journalist and I’ve had her sort of living with me for about 12 years now! I thought I knew where I was going to send her, but then I went into the I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here castle in Wales (in 2021) and we got thrown out because of this once in a 100-year storm, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Isolation Island is absolutely inspired by Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None. I lived in Scotland and went to St. Andrew’s University. I spent five of my happiest years in Scotland and traveled a lot to the West Coast and visited lots of beautiful islands like Skye. And I just thought it would be such a brilliant place to have an imaginary monastery and an imaginary island.

How did you find your first foray into novel writing?

I’ve written two nonfiction books, but I’ve always wanted to write fiction. I wrote nonfiction first as a way of honing my skills and learning my craft, but obviously nonfiction and fiction are hugely different. I had a very set idea of where I wanted to send my characters, who I wanted to go to the island and I knew who was going to die and why they were going to die. And I also knew, or thought I knew, who had killed them – but what I love about the fictional creative process is you set things in motion and then your characters start taking on a life of their own. They surprise you. They do things you’re not expecting. And that’s what I love about it. You set out your plot but then things change along the way.

What’s the best thing about being a good crime writer?

Being able to let your imagination go wild. Seeing people read Isolation Island and engage with the characters is fantastic. I love hearing readers talk about who they love and who they hate in the book. They see things in the book that even I, even myself, haven’t seen – so that’s really exciting for me. The book sort of takes on a life of its own once it’s out in the world.

Is this your first visit to Bloody Scotland? And if so, what are you most looking forward to about your visit?

It’s not my first visit to Stirling, but it is my first visit to Bloody Scotland. I absolutely love literary festivals number one, but crime writing festivals just have a whole atmosphere of their own. The crime writing community – they’re incredibly interesting. They’re incredibly informed. They really care, you know, about both readers and writers and about the genre. It is great to be in that environment. I’m really looking forward to it and meeting other writers too. I love going to see other writers and it’s a huge opportunity for all audiences to go and see their favourite writers and to meet new writers too. For me, it’s always about hearing where the inspiration comes from, how they create their characters and how they feel about their characters. It’s a great opportunity for readers to meet their heroes. And you know, I’ll get to meet my heroes too. Ruth Ware! I love her books and I’m so excited about sitting on a panel with her.

Louise will appear at Bloody Scotland alongside Ruth Ware on Sunday the 15th of September at 12pm. You can book tickets to this event here: https://bloodyscotland.com/event/louise-minchin-and-ruth-ware/