the writer is a lonely hunter

writing by Gail Aldwin and other authors

Aug 1

Q & A with Deborah Klée 

by gailaldwin

It’s my pleasure to welcome Deborah Klée to The Writer is a Lonely Hunter on the publication day of her fourth novel The Last Act. I first met Deborah as a host and founder of #FriSalon, a weekly tweetchat held on Fridays at 4pm BST where writers come together to discuss a writing topic, share tips and resources. Since then, I’ve been a guest on her podcast The Mindful Writer where we explored the psychological and emotion journey to becoming a writer. These activities demonstrate how committed Deborah is to supporting the writing community and it’s a laudable endeavour. However, the purpose of this interview is to discover the inside story to her latest novel, The Last Act. Here’s the blurb to whet your appetite:

The Last Act

It is 1980 and Jojo Evans is living the dream. Perfect job, perfect man, perfect life – but is it all an illusion?

Jojo doesn’t think so – she cannot believe her good fortune, working as magician’s assistant to her charismatic boyfriend, The Incredible Nico, and sharing his luxurious flat is a far cry from her life in a squat working as a street performer.

Best friend, Annie Daley, isn’t so sure. Jojo seems bewitched by this new boyfriend, and Annie doesn’t trust him. 

When Jojo receives an anonymous note warning her to keep away from Nico, the friends suspect it’s from a jealous fan. But the threats that follow cannot be so easily dismissed, and Jojo fears for her life. Annie volunteers to investigate, and enters the world of the Golden Globe Theatre, where nothing is as it seems. 

As tensions mount to a career-making show finale, things spiral out of control. Will Jojo and Annie see through the smoke and mirrors in time to save their lives, or is this to be their last act?

With a story based in 1980 and an unusual setting, what was the inspiration behind this novel? 

The inspiration was a writing prompt in a creative writing class fifteen years ago. The prompt was one word. Mirrors. We were asked to write 5k words and share 1k each time we met as a group. When I shared the 5k story, my tutor suggested it was the outline of a novel. It was the premise of this story that led me to write novels. I wrote several more novels and had three published before returning to this story. I kept the premise, characters and setting but changed the plot and set it in 1980. 

1980 was a time of change. Woman were experiencing power in the workplace for the first time. The entertainment industry was being transformed with new-wave acts: Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Punk Rock. I experienced the 1980s in my teens and so it was fun to recollect those years.

JoJo and Annie are great characters. Did you set out to make female friendship significant in the story?

I don’t think I set out to write about female friendship, but it is important to me and therefore finds a way into most of my novels. Jojo and Annie’s friendship is challenged when their lives take different directions. The feelings of being left behind, envy, and bereavement are ones I’ve experienced at different stages of my life with close friendships. I wanted to explore that. 

How do you decide on names and nicknames for your characters?

Sometimes I use a name generator on Google for suggestions. In The Last Act I chose the names early on, thinking I could change them later, but once I knew my characters I couldn’t – they are their names! Annie Apple-cheeks, Annabelle’s nickname, just came to me, as Jojo exclaimed it in my head. I imagine Annie with a pretty, round, and open face.  

A girl I knew at college had a boyfriend called Nick and, wanting to sound Italian, he changed it to Nico. So, I borrowed from him. 

The novel is written with two viewpoint characters (JoJo and Annie). Did you organise the changes of viewpoint at the planning stage? 

I did. I grappled for a short while with whose story it was – Jojo’s or Annie’s. I decided it was about their friendship and they were equally important to the story. So, I gave them equal space. I love them both, Jojo for her energy and imagination, Annie for her loyalty and kindness.

Your prologue is particularly interesting as it includes interview quotes with staff from the Golden Globe following a fire at the Victorian theatre. Why did you decide on this format? 

I start and finish with news reports. The Last Act is about performers at The Golden Globe Theatre competing for media attention in the hope it will launch them to stardom. Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies use a similar technique in reporting an incident in the prologue. I wanted to create intrigue and focus the reader on the theatre’s big night when the last act would offer up the next big star in the world of magic. 

Danger in the novel comes in many forms. Romantic relationships are complicated and add to the jeopardy. Was this your intention when you set out to write the book?

I started with the premise of the note: If you value your life, keep away from him. I realised that this could have two meanings. The threat could come from within the relationship or from outside of it. 

What’s next for you Deborah? 

I have just finished writing a dual timeline novel set in WWII and 1960s, The Evacuee’s Secret. A North Yorkshire village flooded in 1966 to create a reservoir inspired this novel. I would like to write more dual timeline stories and have a couple more in my head waiting to be written. 

Thank you for joining me on The Writer is a Lonely Hunter, Deborah. It’s been great to find out more about you and your novel The Last Act.

About Deborah Klée

Deborah Klée is an award-winning author of page-turning, uplifting stories about friendship, community, and emotional courage. After a career in health and social care: an occupational therapist, health service manager, freelance journalist, and management consultant, she now enjoys writing happy endings for her protagonists.

Deborah lives on the Essex coast, where she loves to walk by the sea or the surrounding countryside filling her pockets with shells, and acorns, and her head with stories.

Website: www.abrakdeborah.wordpress.com 

Twitter: @DeborahKlee

Instagram: deborahkleeauthor

Facebook: Deborah Klée Author

The Last Act purchase link:  https://books2read.com/The-Last-Act

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Jun 1

How true crime podcasts inspired ‘The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell’ a psychological suspense mystery

by gailaldwin

In December 2022, Chris Dawson, a former PE teacher and rugby league star was sentenced to 24 years in prison by the New South Wales Supreme Court in Australia for the murder of his wife decades earlier. Although Lynette’s body has never been found, The Teacher’s Pet podcast shone a light on Chris Dawson’s sordid affair with a pupil from the school where he worked, the obsession with her that followed, and the disappearance of his wife. Release of the podcast hosted by Hedley Thomas in 2018 finally persuaded police to reinvestigate the case and charges were brought. 

I became hooked on true crime podcasts in early 2020. At the time, I was living in a remote town in the north west of Uganda and volunteering at a nearby refugee settlement. The power supply was very unreliable and cuts happened most evenings at eight o’clock. With no light to read by, I was often in bed and under my mosquito net around the same time. The nights were long and hot so I spent many hours listening to the podcasts I’d downloaded at a local hotel. I developed a fascination for crime stories from around the world but it was the series podcasts that allowed me to tune into the twists and turns that created crucial listening. It occurred to me I could learn something from the way podcasts were put together that could inform the plotting of my own fictional writing. 

Prior to leaving for Uganda, I had established a regular writing routine which meant getting up early to focus on a writing project before the working day started. I hoped to continue this routine while living overseas but the demands of volunteering on the settlement and the inconsistent electricity supply put an end to that ambition. Power in the town kicked in for about 40 minutes at seven in the morning, and at that time there was always a rush to prepare for the day ahead where I worked with colleagues to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of refugee families fleeing conflict in South Sudan. It was challenging and rewarding work which left little headspace for creativity. Instead, I became absorbed in the refugee stories I collected as part of my work, and the podcasts I listened to each evening. With a wealth of material stored away, I was empowered to write again following repatriation to my home in Dorset, UK due to Covid-19. 

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Mar 11

Latest events

by gailaldwin

It was International Women’s Day on Wednesday 8 March 2023, a global event which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. As my contribution to the day, I joined a group of readers and writers at Bridport Library where there was a series of events including a writerly quiz, a lucky dip and talks by local writers. I was delighted to be interviewed by Sarah Scally who asked some searching questions about This Much Huxley Knows. Also on the programme was Nikki May who enjoyed phenomenal and rapid success with her novel Wahala, which tells the story of three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and a fourth woman who infiltrates their group. (I have the novel on order from Dorset Libraries and will watch out for the TV series coming on the BBC.) It was refreshing to hear about her writing journey where it took five years to become an overnight success.

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Mar 30

On the road

by gailaldwin

Me and David are heading off to spend time on the road. It’s hard planning which clothes to take given the weather will be variable. We’re going to Edinburgh first, then London, then Spain, Portugal and Greece. Although I’ve decide to abandon my fleecy coat, I will take my electric blanket which I’ll use while we’re in the UK. Oh, and I’ve packed lots of outfits which involve layers.

I’ll continue writing while we’re away. My work in progress – now titled The Escape Village Resort – is developing well. I’ve fine tuned the elevator pitch to 280-characters – the length of a tweet – to aid online querying. Which version do you prefer?

ABIGAIL’S PARTY x THE SERPENT (This relates to comparable TV programmes)

Six mismatched millennials live it up at a tropical resort: one couple are honeymooners, another get married, the third approach the seven-year itch. A storm threatens. Who’s to blame when one of the women goes missing? 

FOLEY x LOGAN (This relates to comparable authors, Lucy Foley, author of The Hunting Party and T M Logan, author of The Holiday which was recently televised on Channel 5)

Three mismatched couples live it up at a remote island resort. Amongst the group are a flirt, a bully and a show off. During the shenanigans coercive control rules. The temperature rises, storms threaten. Who survives the tropical party? 

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Aug 21

Writing plates are spinning

by gailaldwin

I’m currently in the fortunate position of having a debut novel published, a children’s picture book under contract, a novel on submission and a new work-in-progress. My time is carved up between marketing and promoting The String Games, sending out submission packages for This Much Huxley Knows, finalising the illustrations for Pan de mo nium and cracking through the first draft of Little Swot. It’s just as well my only other commitment is ten hours a week e-volunteering with VSO. Some days it feels like my feet hardly touch the ground but I’m not complaining.

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Does this girl look like a little swot?

With all of these plates spinning, the real excitement is my new work-in-progress Little Swot which is quite different from my other manuscripts. The idea came from evenings in Ugandawhen I was too tired to read, too hot to sleep and so listened to podcasts. I’m writing one thousand words each day which soon adds up and I’m now over half way through the story and pleased with my progress. I’ve written a synopsis so I know what’s going to happen and I’ve played around with ideas for pitching the novel to publishers when the time comes.Indeed, I’d love to receive some feedback from you. Do you think this novel idea has legs?

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Jul 5

When e-volunteering and writing collide

by gailaldwin

As a former VSO international volunteer at Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda, I am  pleased to be able to continue work with colleagues remotely. I was repatriated from my post as a psychosocial and child protection adviser due to Covid19 in March 2020. Now I’m in contact with team in Yumbe to develop ways to support young children and families through the pandemic.

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In Uganda, the lockdown continues much as experienced elsewhere: social distancing, wearing of masks, essential shopping only etc. Yet in a country where there have been only 870 cases (as of 30 June) and no deaths, one might think that restrictions would be easing. But such is the concern to avoid spread of the virus, there remains no proposals to reopen schools, no allowing of motorcycle taxis (bodas) to carry passengers and no opening of shopping centres. Indeed there is no indication of when lockdown may end. 
This has considerable implications for families who are forced into poverty due to loss of earning. And as for children, without schools this not only means a lack of education but can mean hunger where children rely on school feeding programmes.

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Apr 12

Podcasts: stay-at-home journeys

by gailaldwin

I returned from  Uganda three weeks ago and I’m still living in a limbo space. I’m not yet willing to relinquish the experience of volunteering at Bidibidi refugee settlement and not ready to launch into a new project. So what am I doing with my time? While overseas, I started listening to podcasts and this is something I continue to enjoy. Before I left home I downloaded BBC Sounds and while I was away, began to also use the podcast app on my phone. Every time I went to a hotel or restaurant with good internet access, I downloaded as many episodes as I could. As it became dark in West Nile around 7:30pm, I was usually in bed an hour later. Although there was electricity in the evening until around midnight, my eyes were often too tired to read, so I’d lie down and listen to a podcast.

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There are some fabulous journalists who have turned their hand to creating podcasts and I became absorbed by many different stories including Paradise. In this series Dan Maudsley and Stephen Nolan investigate the deaths of British backpackers, Chris Farmer and Peta Frampton, who were found murdered in Guatemala after getting on a boat in 1978. Although there were witnesses to the murders, it takes thirty-eight years to arrest the only suspect. Why?

Another story I followed while overseas was The Missing Crypto Queen where Jamie Bartlett traces the whereabouts of Dr Ruja Ignatova who persuaded millions to join her financial revolution. Interestingly, episodes of this podcasts are recorded in Uganda, to illustrate the spread of her deceitful operation.

Now that I’m back at home, I’ve continued to listen to podcasts and can recommend Girl Taken by Sue Mitchell. The story shares the relationship between Rob Lawrie, a British volunteer at the Calais refugee camp and Reza who hopes to start a new life in England with his daughter Bru. Reza’s account of his experiences is not entirely truthful but Lawrie is taken with the idea of saving this refugee family. Both men make impetuous decisions that have consequences.

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I’ve listened to quite a few cold case stories from North America where journalist try to crack unsolved crimes. One of the most interesting is Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo, where Canadian journalist Connie Walker unravels the story of a child believed to be murdered. Cleo, a young Cree girl, was taken by welfare workers from her home in Saskatchewan and put up for adoption in America. This shameful period which tore families, siblings and communities apart became known as the Sixties Scoop. But what happened to Cleo? The answers are obtained after a nugget of information is revealed during a late night internet search. (Incidentally, I could listen to Connie Walker all day. She has an easy-on-the-ear voice and is an empathetic interviewer.)

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