It gives me very great pleasure to welcome Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin - better known to her readers as Sam Blake - onto the website today. Under her pen name, several of her novels have been Irish Times Number One bestsellers, and her debut, Little Bones was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Vanessa.
Vanessa: I’m originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire but have lived at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland for more years than I lived in the UK. Married to a retired member of An Garda Siochana (the Irish police) I have two children, three cats and had sole responsibility for a small ant farm while my eldest was in university in Swansea (learning to build rockets).
Sam Blake is a pen name, as my own name, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin is extremely long and hard to pronounce outside of Ireland. In ‘real’ life I’m the founder of the multi award winning writing resources website Writing.ie, The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy and of Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival. I’m delighted to be a board member of the Society of Authors, led by Chair Joanne Harris, a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) – where notable past fellows include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, William Hogarth and Tim Berners-Lee. A past chair of Irish PEN, I’m also the convenor of the Irish Chapter of the Crime Writers Association and have recently joined the CWA board.
I’ve been writing fiction since my husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks and I had an idea for a book. Many hundreds of thousands of words later (and five draft manuscripts of varying quality) my debut Little Bones hit the bookshelves in Ireland in May 2016, and in the UK in February 2017. The first of a trilogy with Bonnier’s exciting new fiction imprint, Little Bones introduced the feisty Cathy Connolly, a 20-something Dublin cop and kickboxing champion. The novel begins with the discovery, after what seems like a routine break-in, of a baby’s bones hidden in the hem of a wedding dress.
I’m now with Corvus Atlantic for standalone bestsellers Keep Your Eyes on Me, The Dark Room and, released in digital this September High Pressure, a prequel to my next standalone Remember My Name which is released in January 2022. The Dark Room is out in paperback in the UK and Ireland in November and has just been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year which is a huge honour in a field of incredible writers.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Vanessa.
Vanessa: I’m originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire but have lived at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland for more years than I lived in the UK. Married to a retired member of An Garda Siochana (the Irish police) I have two children, three cats and had sole responsibility for a small ant farm while my eldest was in university in Swansea (learning to build rockets).
Sam Blake is a pen name, as my own name, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin is extremely long and hard to pronounce outside of Ireland. In ‘real’ life I’m the founder of the multi award winning writing resources website Writing.ie, The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy and of Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival. I’m delighted to be a board member of the Society of Authors, led by Chair Joanne Harris, a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) – where notable past fellows include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, William Hogarth and Tim Berners-Lee. A past chair of Irish PEN, I’m also the convenor of the Irish Chapter of the Crime Writers Association and have recently joined the CWA board.
I’ve been writing fiction since my husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks and I had an idea for a book. Many hundreds of thousands of words later (and five draft manuscripts of varying quality) my debut Little Bones hit the bookshelves in Ireland in May 2016, and in the UK in February 2017. The first of a trilogy with Bonnier’s exciting new fiction imprint, Little Bones introduced the feisty Cathy Connolly, a 20-something Dublin cop and kickboxing champion. The novel begins with the discovery, after what seems like a routine break-in, of a baby’s bones hidden in the hem of a wedding dress.
I’m now with Corvus Atlantic for standalone bestsellers Keep Your Eyes on Me, The Dark Room and, released in digital this September High Pressure, a prequel to my next standalone Remember My Name which is released in January 2022. The Dark Room is out in paperback in the UK and Ireland in November and has just been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year which is a huge honour in a field of incredible writers.
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to
explore?
Vanessa: I love strong female characters, so every book features women who know what they want in life and are determined to get it. Revenge does seem to be a theme that is emerging, which is a bit worrying, but I love a complex story with lots of twists and turns and hope I bring that to the page.
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?
Vanessa: I’m essentially a plotter, and over the years I’ve developed a technique that starts with a blurb – a few lines focusing on the core story of the book. I then write a longer overview which can and often does change, but it gives me a sense of where the book is going and if there’s enough story there. Then I plot out approximately 30 chapters – just with a line on each one – to work out where the mid point is and the key events. Sometimes I stick to this plan, often I don’t and the characters and new plot lines take over, but it gives me the scaffolding to build my story around. It’s based on the theory that I’ll be writing 30 x 3000 word chapters to give me a 90k word first draft. Given that I usually write about 1200 words a chapter and end up with 60+ chapters, it’s very much a guideline only!
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Vanessa: The Dark Room which is out in November in print in the UK, is about two women, Rachel Lambert (a London based film location scout) and Caroline Kelly (a crime journalist living in New York) who are drawn to a country house hotel in West Cork called Hare’s Landing – and discover that it’s a house full of secrets where the past never dies.
The Dark Room is one of the Irish Independent's recommended summer reads, alongside Michael Connelly Books, Jeffery Deaver , Paula McLain and Brian McGilloway no less, and is described as: An excellent, engrossing tale featuring two attractive and well-drawn heroines and a satisfyingly serpentine plot with a killer twist.
High Pressure (out in digital 22 September) is set in the baking summer of 2018 in London and is about Brioni O’Brien whose gap year is interrupted when she gets attacked in Thailand. When she gets back to London, she discovers her sister is missing after a series of real and hoax terrorist attacks. Trinity Professor Anna Lockharte (who featured in No Turning Back) tries to help Brioni find Marissa, but they are both drawn into a dangerous web of secrets.
explore?
Vanessa: I love strong female characters, so every book features women who know what they want in life and are determined to get it. Revenge does seem to be a theme that is emerging, which is a bit worrying, but I love a complex story with lots of twists and turns and hope I bring that to the page.
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?
Vanessa: I’m essentially a plotter, and over the years I’ve developed a technique that starts with a blurb – a few lines focusing on the core story of the book. I then write a longer overview which can and often does change, but it gives me a sense of where the book is going and if there’s enough story there. Then I plot out approximately 30 chapters – just with a line on each one – to work out where the mid point is and the key events. Sometimes I stick to this plan, often I don’t and the characters and new plot lines take over, but it gives me the scaffolding to build my story around. It’s based on the theory that I’ll be writing 30 x 3000 word chapters to give me a 90k word first draft. Given that I usually write about 1200 words a chapter and end up with 60+ chapters, it’s very much a guideline only!
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Vanessa: The Dark Room which is out in November in print in the UK, is about two women, Rachel Lambert (a London based film location scout) and Caroline Kelly (a crime journalist living in New York) who are drawn to a country house hotel in West Cork called Hare’s Landing – and discover that it’s a house full of secrets where the past never dies.
The Dark Room is one of the Irish Independent's recommended summer reads, alongside Michael Connelly Books, Jeffery Deaver , Paula McLain and Brian McGilloway no less, and is described as: An excellent, engrossing tale featuring two attractive and well-drawn heroines and a satisfyingly serpentine plot with a killer twist.
High Pressure (out in digital 22 September) is set in the baking summer of 2018 in London and is about Brioni O’Brien whose gap year is interrupted when she gets attacked in Thailand. When she gets back to London, she discovers her sister is missing after a series of real and hoax terrorist attacks. Trinity Professor Anna Lockharte (who featured in No Turning Back) tries to help Brioni find Marissa, but they are both drawn into a dangerous web of secrets.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Vanessa: Lots! I’m a real stickler for detail and want to make sure that if a police officer reads my books, they ring as true for them as they do for any other reader. I had huge help with High Pressure from a retired police officer who worked in Counter Terrorism.
Most of my research starts off with lots of Googling to make sure my idea actually works, then I talk to professionals to discover more about their world and how it interacts with my story – Prof Jim Fraser is a forensics expert who is fabulous (his book Murder Under the Microscope is brilliant) and Dr Dick Shepherd, the pathologist, helped me hugely with The Dark Room.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Vanessa: Often characters are an amalgam of people I’ve met or conversations I’ve overheard, but they are never actual people.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Vanessa: I’ve recently read Olivia Kiernan’s The Murder Box and the twist literally astonished me – so clever!!!
Alex: How do you market your books?
Vanessa: My publisher does lots of work with booksellers, but I do a lot of work online building relationships with readers – I love talking to people as everyone has their own story, so connection is very important to me. I’m @samblakebooks on all social.
Vanessa: Lots! I’m a real stickler for detail and want to make sure that if a police officer reads my books, they ring as true for them as they do for any other reader. I had huge help with High Pressure from a retired police officer who worked in Counter Terrorism.
Most of my research starts off with lots of Googling to make sure my idea actually works, then I talk to professionals to discover more about their world and how it interacts with my story – Prof Jim Fraser is a forensics expert who is fabulous (his book Murder Under the Microscope is brilliant) and Dr Dick Shepherd, the pathologist, helped me hugely with The Dark Room.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Vanessa: Often characters are an amalgam of people I’ve met or conversations I’ve overheard, but they are never actual people.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Vanessa: I’ve recently read Olivia Kiernan’s The Murder Box and the twist literally astonished me – so clever!!!
Alex: How do you market your books?
Vanessa: My publisher does lots of work with booksellers, but I do a lot of work online building relationships with readers – I love talking to people as everyone has their own story, so connection is very important to me. I’m @samblakebooks on all social.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Vanessa: People always ask me this but writing is actually the thing I love most – it’s a hobby that’s become a second job. I go to the gym as often as I can though, it’s a great place to think and plot!
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Vanessa: My favourite book of all time is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – it has everything, it’s a multi layered romance with a criminal twist, I just love it.
Alex: Thank you so much Vanessa for giving us an insight into your writing methods. It's been very interesting to hear. Like you, I can't write anything without a reasonably detailed road map. Anyway, good luck with your latest book. It sounds really intriguing. I shall keep an eye out for it.
Vanessa: Thanks Alex. It's been great to chat like this.
Vanessa: People always ask me this but writing is actually the thing I love most – it’s a hobby that’s become a second job. I go to the gym as often as I can though, it’s a great place to think and plot!
Alex: Which authors do you particularly admire and why?
Vanessa: My favourite book of all time is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – it has everything, it’s a multi layered romance with a criminal twist, I just love it.
Alex: Thank you so much Vanessa for giving us an insight into your writing methods. It's been very interesting to hear. Like you, I can't write anything without a reasonably detailed road map. Anyway, good luck with your latest book. It sounds really intriguing. I shall keep an eye out for it.
Vanessa: Thanks Alex. It's been great to chat like this.
