Q & A with Caz Frear!!
Hello fellow book lovers! Welscome to my small little book blog!! I am so blessed and lucky to be able to get some time to ask Caz Frear, author of two books, the debut being SWEET LITTLE LIES, witch comes out in paperback this month, and STONE COLD HEART, due out later this summer. These are crime fiction genre, that follow Detective Kat Kinsella.
I always have loved and respected authors, especially ones of my particular genre, because writing books is not an easy thing to do, i think It takes talent and lots of hard work and dedication!!
Here are the questions that lovely Caz was so awesome to answer:
What is your inspiration behind the characters in your book, SWEET LITTLE LIES?
I always find questions about inspiration quite hard, as the honest answer is I don’t know! Cat (and Maryanne’s) story just seemed to grow organically over time. I’d always had a strong image in my head of a pregnant Irish teenager boarding the boat to the UK for a termination (it’s only recently been legalised in Ireland) and I thought that it was such an immensely vulnerable position to be in at that age and, of course, with vulnerability comes danger. I also felt that the dad-and-daughter dynamic hadn’t been explored as fully the mother-and-daughter relationship (within crime fiction……and then all these things eventually came together (after a few false starts) to form Sweet Little Lies!
DC Cat Kinsella isn’t based on any one person, though. In fact, I was really focused on making her an ‘everywoman’ - someone that all readers can relate to, even in a small way. I definitely didn’t want to create a crime-fighting super-heroine. Cat is flawed, she makes bad decisions occasionally, she uses food and alcohol as emotional crutches, she’s self-deprecating.
In terms of general inspiration - everything and everyone inspires me! Just overhearing a conversation on a train can inspire a whole new piece of dialogue or sub-plot. I think ‘inspiration’ is a slightly mystical term, as usually there isn’t one single image or one anecdote that quite literally inspires the writing of a 100,000 word novel. You just start with a character and a dilemma and get writing - it’s the writing that fuels inspiration, not the other way around.
2. When did you know this is what you wanted to do?
Always, deep down. But I didn’t think I could make a career out of it. It always seemed like something ‘other people’ did. There are no writers in my family (although there are great storytellers!) and until perhaps 6-7 years ago, when I started networking, going to crime fiction festivals etc, I always thought authors were these mythical folk, almost other-worldly! The big turning point for me was being accepted onto a prestigious creative writing course in London. It gave my confidence a huge boost and it was also an eye-opener in terms of the diversity of my classmates - yes, some of them had writing experience or worked in the arts, but there were also stay-at-home mums, teachers, accountants. We were a real mish-mash of people with one thing in common - a desperate desire to write and get published.
3. Who are your go-to authors when you want a crime fiction fix?
There really are so many, but the two who have me clawing at the bookshop door on the day of release are Tana French and Lynda La Plante - who actually make an odd duo as they’re completely different authors.
Lynda La Plante is the queen of plotting, pace and gritty realism; a master storyteller, while Tana French can’t be beaten when it comes to atmosphere, stunning prose and razor-sharp characterisation. I also love the way she’s not afraid to make her main protagonists unlikeable - she’s probably the first author who taught me that you don’t have to like a character to root for them, you just need to recognise them, relate to them somehow. I adore the wry humour she injects into her very dark subject matter. Aside from these, I also love Karin Slaughter (obviously!), Susie Steiner, Mark Billingham, Ann Cleeves.
4. How does it feel to be so popular so quickly?
That’s lovely of you to say! I’m not sure that it feels that quick, though I think there’s something about a debut, or more specifically the way a debut is marketed, that can often make it seem like an author has been an overnight success when that’s very rarely the case! I certainly had my share of ups and downs throughout my path to publication, including writing a novel in 2012 (women’s fiction) that got me agent but unfortunately no bites from publishers. At the time I was devastated, but now I can see that it was for the best. Sweet Little Lies was meant to be my debut novel and I couldn’t have written it 7 years ago. I didn’t have the police procedural knowledge or the confidence!
It is fantastic, though, to realise that so many people have read your novel and enjoyed it. I know how much pleasure I get from reading and it’s unbelievable to think that people are spending their precious free time immersing themselves in a world I’ve entirely created.
I’d also add that I have a lot of non-writer friends (and family) who make sure I don’t start to believe my own hype
Thank you so very much for allowing me into your world, and answering these questions for me! I enjoyed both your books tremendously. Thanks to harper collins as well for always being so generous.
