It gives me great pleasure to welcome Louise Mumford onto the website today. Louise's debut thriller Sleepless has been described by Philippa East, author of Little White Lies
as: ''An original and action-packed thriller, with a perfectly unnerving premise that hooked me from the start.''
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Louise.
Louise: I was born and grew up in South Wales with my mother and my sister. I have always loved books. My Great Aunt Hilda gave us piles of books that our cousin had outgrown and I remember as a child delving into them to pick the next story: Mallory Towers, Mary Poppins, One Hundred and One Dalmations… so many new and exciting worlds to discover. We might not have had much money for holidays, but I travelled through those pages. My mother would read to us each night and I loved the classics like Anne of Green Gables. Most of my early writing as a child was about plucky orphans overcoming adversity! I was also a very active child – I loved Latin American dancing, the kind you see now on Strictly Come Dancing and I even danced at Blackpool Tower as part of a formation team, though I wasn’t allowed to wear my glasses so I couldn’t see a thing!
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Louise: I think my writing is fast-paced and visual. At the moment I very much like to take something that worries or scares me, like insomnia and the dominance of technology companies, and then try to weave that into an exciting thriller with some hopefully relatable and real characters. I don’t do stereotypical action heroes and heroines who have assassin training and can speak five languages – no, the people I like to put in peril have to bumble through it like we would in that kind of situation.
as: ''An original and action-packed thriller, with a perfectly unnerving premise that hooked me from the start.''
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Louise.
Louise: I was born and grew up in South Wales with my mother and my sister. I have always loved books. My Great Aunt Hilda gave us piles of books that our cousin had outgrown and I remember as a child delving into them to pick the next story: Mallory Towers, Mary Poppins, One Hundred and One Dalmations… so many new and exciting worlds to discover. We might not have had much money for holidays, but I travelled through those pages. My mother would read to us each night and I loved the classics like Anne of Green Gables. Most of my early writing as a child was about plucky orphans overcoming adversity! I was also a very active child – I loved Latin American dancing, the kind you see now on Strictly Come Dancing and I even danced at Blackpool Tower as part of a formation team, though I wasn’t allowed to wear my glasses so I couldn’t see a thing!
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Louise: I think my writing is fast-paced and visual. At the moment I very much like to take something that worries or scares me, like insomnia and the dominance of technology companies, and then try to weave that into an exciting thriller with some hopefully relatable and real characters. I don’t do stereotypical action heroes and heroines who have assassin training and can speak five languages – no, the people I like to put in peril have to bumble through it like we would in that kind of situation.
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Louise: I often start off with a character or two and the setting and then it goes from there. I usually have an idea of the end but how I get to it is mystery to me and I have to trust that the writing process will ferry me there. Once I have that first draft I then analyse it to see if it hits the important story beats, writing down the key moments on a planning board and moving them around to make the plot tighter.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Louise: My latest novel is a thriller called Sleepless. Desperate insomniac Thea jumps at the chance to take part in a sleep technology trial on a remote island but she soon finds out that the trial doesn’t wish to merely help her sleep – it wants to control it…
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Louise: I can’t remember the first book I read, but one from primary school sticks in my mind. It was from the school library shelf at the back of the classroom – a children’s version of Dracula. Now, why anyone would create a children’s version of Dracula is beyond me, but this was the eighties so there you go. It terrified me and I spent many nights afterwards calculating how far our house was from the church graveyard in the street nearby… I calculated not very far at all so slept with the covers tucked tight around my neck.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Louise: For Sleepless I read up on recent sleep theory and sleep science and found it fascinating. We still do not understand what the brain does whilst it sleeps, and the potential that lies within that dreaming state. Combined with that I also read up on some of the more nefarious tactics of technology companies to mine our data, infringe our privacy and manipulate opinion. You only have to look at the Cambridge Analytica scandal during the Brexit campaign to see an example of social media being used in a truly terrifying way.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Louise: Probably unconsciously I do but I’m not too aware of it. In Sleepless, the main character’s mother, Vivian, is an amalgamation of all the fearless, funny and fearsome women I grew up with. My mother had a battalion of aunts who were a massive part of my childhood – they all bickered with each other and gossiped and laughed and supported us like crazy, just amazing women who you wanted to be around. Vivian is my homage to them.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Louise: Come Closer by Sara Gran – a horror novella and a tense, tight little story which packs a full horror punch. It is the story of a woman succumbing to demon possession, but it is told in such a cool, completely not sensational way that is it magnetically disturbing. I thought about it a lot afterwards. I’m a big fan of horror novels and films, I ate up all of the Stephen King novels in my twenties and I love the sly, creepy kind of horror that hooks its cold fingers under your collar.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Louise: My publisher does a lot of the marketing like Facebook and Amazon adverts so what I do myself probably comes under the banner of publicity. During the launch of Sleepless I took part in online book club chats, posted about the book in Facebook book club groups (with admin permission – that is very important!) talked about the book on BBC Wales radio and pitched for slots at literary festivals. I like Twitter (the book community anyway!) and the amazing book blogger world and I like posting and responding to comments, chatting about all sorts of things, not just my book. I don’t think there is a magic formula. I think you need to be prepared to take your time and build your audience, especially as a debut author no one knows.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Louise: Interests aside from writing? What? There’s a world beyond my desk? Seriously though – I think it is important to keep as fit as you can, especially as writer where you can end up sitting down for most of the day. I run and take gym classes – the people I’ve met in my classes have become real friends – do a bit of yoga sometimes, or the odd spin class. My husband and I like to travel too and there are a lot of countries I have yet to experience. And I love a bit of good television. People can be a bit sniffy about watching television but I’ve seen some amazing storytelling on the small screen that has inspired me in my own writing.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Louise: I have a deep and abiding love for Terry Pratchett. In the 1990s when I was reading his Discworld novels, science fiction and fantasy novels were seen as the shameful secret of the book world and certainly not many young women were seen browsing their hidden bookshop aisles. The genius of Terry Pratchett though was that he took that stereotypical fantasy land and used it to comment on our world in a funny, wry and tender way. In Discworld my favourite character was Death who spoke in capitals and was a walking skeleton carrying a scythe but who also had a real love and fascination for the humans he saw – he loved a curry, though he couldn’t eat it, rode a horse called Binky and even tried to take a holiday. Recently I have discovered Grady Hendrix who writes these brilliantly knowing and atmospheric horror novels like The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires or Horrorstor – a horror novel laid out like an Ikea catalogue. Bonkers but brilliant!
Alex: Thank you so much, Louise for sharing your writing journey with us. And good luck with Sleepless.
Louise: Thank you Alex.
Louise: I often start off with a character or two and the setting and then it goes from there. I usually have an idea of the end but how I get to it is mystery to me and I have to trust that the writing process will ferry me there. Once I have that first draft I then analyse it to see if it hits the important story beats, writing down the key moments on a planning board and moving them around to make the plot tighter.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Louise: My latest novel is a thriller called Sleepless. Desperate insomniac Thea jumps at the chance to take part in a sleep technology trial on a remote island but she soon finds out that the trial doesn’t wish to merely help her sleep – it wants to control it…
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Louise: I can’t remember the first book I read, but one from primary school sticks in my mind. It was from the school library shelf at the back of the classroom – a children’s version of Dracula. Now, why anyone would create a children’s version of Dracula is beyond me, but this was the eighties so there you go. It terrified me and I spent many nights afterwards calculating how far our house was from the church graveyard in the street nearby… I calculated not very far at all so slept with the covers tucked tight around my neck.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Louise: For Sleepless I read up on recent sleep theory and sleep science and found it fascinating. We still do not understand what the brain does whilst it sleeps, and the potential that lies within that dreaming state. Combined with that I also read up on some of the more nefarious tactics of technology companies to mine our data, infringe our privacy and manipulate opinion. You only have to look at the Cambridge Analytica scandal during the Brexit campaign to see an example of social media being used in a truly terrifying way.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Louise: Probably unconsciously I do but I’m not too aware of it. In Sleepless, the main character’s mother, Vivian, is an amalgamation of all the fearless, funny and fearsome women I grew up with. My mother had a battalion of aunts who were a massive part of my childhood – they all bickered with each other and gossiped and laughed and supported us like crazy, just amazing women who you wanted to be around. Vivian is my homage to them.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Louise: Come Closer by Sara Gran – a horror novella and a tense, tight little story which packs a full horror punch. It is the story of a woman succumbing to demon possession, but it is told in such a cool, completely not sensational way that is it magnetically disturbing. I thought about it a lot afterwards. I’m a big fan of horror novels and films, I ate up all of the Stephen King novels in my twenties and I love the sly, creepy kind of horror that hooks its cold fingers under your collar.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Louise: My publisher does a lot of the marketing like Facebook and Amazon adverts so what I do myself probably comes under the banner of publicity. During the launch of Sleepless I took part in online book club chats, posted about the book in Facebook book club groups (with admin permission – that is very important!) talked about the book on BBC Wales radio and pitched for slots at literary festivals. I like Twitter (the book community anyway!) and the amazing book blogger world and I like posting and responding to comments, chatting about all sorts of things, not just my book. I don’t think there is a magic formula. I think you need to be prepared to take your time and build your audience, especially as a debut author no one knows.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Louise: Interests aside from writing? What? There’s a world beyond my desk? Seriously though – I think it is important to keep as fit as you can, especially as writer where you can end up sitting down for most of the day. I run and take gym classes – the people I’ve met in my classes have become real friends – do a bit of yoga sometimes, or the odd spin class. My husband and I like to travel too and there are a lot of countries I have yet to experience. And I love a bit of good television. People can be a bit sniffy about watching television but I’ve seen some amazing storytelling on the small screen that has inspired me in my own writing.
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Louise: I have a deep and abiding love for Terry Pratchett. In the 1990s when I was reading his Discworld novels, science fiction and fantasy novels were seen as the shameful secret of the book world and certainly not many young women were seen browsing their hidden bookshop aisles. The genius of Terry Pratchett though was that he took that stereotypical fantasy land and used it to comment on our world in a funny, wry and tender way. In Discworld my favourite character was Death who spoke in capitals and was a walking skeleton carrying a scythe but who also had a real love and fascination for the humans he saw – he loved a curry, though he couldn’t eat it, rode a horse called Binky and even tried to take a holiday. Recently I have discovered Grady Hendrix who writes these brilliantly knowing and atmospheric horror novels like The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires or Horrorstor – a horror novel laid out like an Ikea catalogue. Bonkers but brilliant!
Alex: Thank you so much, Louise for sharing your writing journey with us. And good luck with Sleepless.
Louise: Thank you Alex.
