Q&A with author JS Law @JSLawBooks #killerfest15
Your name: J.S.Law
Tell us about yourself: I joined the Royal Navy in 1993 as an apprentice and went on to serve for twenty years, the majority spent in the Submarine Service. I rose through the ranks, taking a commission as an engineering officer in 2001, and serving as a Senior Engineer and Nuclear Reactor Plant Supervisor, where my responsibilities ranged from the safety and operation of the submarine's nuclear power plant to hydraulic plants, fridges and toilets; it was the latter of these tasks that brought the majority of any pressure.
My final years in service were spent training future submariners in the role of Senior Lecturer in Nuclear Reactor Engineering, where I lectured and mentored future submarine operators of all ranks and rates.
Having written short stories and novels throughout my naval career, I completed an MA in Creative Writing at Portsmouth University shortly before leaving the navy in 2013, completing my debut novel, Tenacity, shortly afterwards.
I live in Hampshire with my wife, Elaine, and my two children. I spend what spare time I have riding my bike around the South Downs and travelling to Edinburgh to watch Scotland play rugby at Murrayfield stadium.
Tell us about your latest book: Tenacity is about a Royal Navy Special Investigator, Lieutenant Danielle Lewis, who comes back from a prolonged period of leave to investigate a murder suicide on board a British nuclear submarine, HMS Tenacity.
In this all male environment, Dan's the ultimate outsider as she battles a hostile crew to find the killer among them.
A brutal murder. A suspected suicide.
A woman who may have to choose between the truth and her own survival.
Two hundred meters below the ocean's surface, the pressure is rising…
Loss of life must be investigated
Especially when a Royal Navy sailor kills himself on board a nuclear submarine, only days after his wife's brutal murder.
Now, Lieutenant Danielle Lewis returns to the Navy's Special Investigation Branch after a self-imposed exile, to face the tight-knit, all-male crew of HMS Tenacity.
Isolated and standing alone in the face of extreme hostility, she may have to choose between her pursuit of the truth and her own survival.
Two hundred metres below the ocean's surface, the pressure is rising…
When did you start writing? When I was at school, pre-teen. I still have stories, books of poetry and song lyrics that I keep very, very, very well hidden away at home.
Where do you write? Mainly my study (man cave), surrounded by pictures of submarines and other navy detritus I gathered during my career.
Which other authors do you admire? Val McDermid. Mark Billingham. Mo Hayder. William Mcilvanney – but there's some great new writers too like Helen Giltrow, Eva Dolan and I loved AK Benedict's last book too. So many to name here.
Book you wished you'd written? I thought Gone Girl was just brilliant – I listen to loads of audiobooks, and that one had me sitting in my car outside work trying to finish off chapters because I couldn't bear to wait (I loved Amy – so sue me!)
Greatest fictional criminal Moriarty – it's a cliché for a reason
Greatest crime or criminal from the real world I was obsessed with the Krays when I was younger, so it'd be an 'Honourable Gangster' type for me.
Greatest fictional detective Sherl… hmmm…..Harry Bosch.
What scares you? Pfffft! Nothing!! And I doubt we measure fear using the same yardstick anyway! (but really, spiders)
Are you ever disturbed by your own imagination? Yes – I always say the line between what I think and what I do is sanity, and it's a blimin' thin line!
Laidlaw (W Macilvanney) – the writing is a masterclass.
Gone Girl (G Flynn) – this is how you twist together a plot.
The Distance (H Giltrow) – This is how you create tension.
Do you listen to music when you write? None – I don't mind background noise, but nothing that makes me want to sing along.
Are you on social media? Yup – I'm a bit pants at twitter, but I'm there and I'm also on FB
How can fans connect with you? Twitter @JSLawBooks Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JSLawBooks