Interview in Writing Magazine- October 2022 edition
The Debut writer of green cosy crime tells Adrian Magson how illness spurred her on to achieve her publishing dream
Jane McParkes describes herself as dog owner / mother / homemaker / wife / carer / writer. Well, she can now add 'author' to the list, with her debut novel A Deadly Inheritance being published by Dark Edge Press in December.
'It's a contemporary murder mystery story that puts an environmentally friendly spin on good old-fashioned cosy crime,' explains Jane. 'A crime novel with a conscience, it includes green characters, ideas and solutions set against the backdrop of a traditional mystery.'
When Olivia Wells godfather dies, she leaves her adopted home of New York and heads back to Creekside, Cornwall to fulfil his bequest. She receives a warm welcome, but soon encounters opposition, sabotage and the murdered body of her friend
I know Cornwall well, and am fascinated by the concept of creativity being linked to landscape. Cornwall has a vibrant, creative community connected to the environment and sustainability. I've always been green and environmentally aware so the idea of setting up a coworking space for these sorts of people really appealed to me. I enjoy making that the backdrop to the crime element of the story rather than the central focus, so it becomes a normal part of the story world and can be explored in more detail in future books in the series. I write cosy crime, but never let go of the idea that awful things still happen in beautiful places.
'My youngest child was into his teens before I allowed myself to take my writing seriously. In 2014 I enrolled on a Faber Write a Novel online course. It was a game-changer for me, and was the first time I'd ever shown my writing to anyone else.
I finished the novel in 2016 and sent it to a few agents, but got nowhere. Ego bruised, I approached an independent editor for some honest feedback. She was brutally honest but brilliant and gave me the encouragement I needed to continue.
'I could have written a new story but my characters were still very much alive in my head and wouldn't let go. It was hard, but rewarding.
'Prior to that I'd written some short stories and came runner-up in a flash fiction competition for CrimeFest some years ago, winning a place on their Crime Writing Day. That was enough to convince me I wanted to write full-length crime novels.
'My desire to write came from reading. My mum taught me to read and we had a house full of books. But as far as I was concerned people like me didn't become writers in the 1980s. They went to university and got jobs, bought a house and so on. I did all that and wrote on the side, playing with words for pleasure.
At 27 I was single, a tax specialist with a mortgage and company car - but it wasn't what I wanted. I eventually became very ill and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
My life changed overnight. For quite a while I couldn't even sign my own name, let alone write. Twelve months later I fell in love and got married, left work, had two children and lots of MS relapses, but still kept on writing as much as I could. Caught between family and juggling my health needs, my writing often got left until last.
'It was the diagnosis of a rare but treatable cancer in 2018 that gave me the final kick I needed to get my novel into good enough shape to submit it again. I'd had MS for 25 years by then, but the word cancer put me into a complete tailspin.
'I got out my editor's notes and went back to the keyboard, telling myself I was tougher now and that no rejection could ever hurt as much as being told I had cancer.