Dear reader
With the series now at an end, I thought it would be fun
to share a few behind the scenes moments with you on the creation of Jagged
shores.
First up – it was never intended to be a series. The
first book, North Point, started life as a standalone. I wanted to write a
story set on the north east coast of England which would feature a life boat
volunteer as one of the heroes. I grew up in Northumberland and am familiar
with the coastline but there wasn’t one specific town that I thought would be
best suited as a location, so I created Nyemouth, which was an amalgam of
several different places.
I plan all of my novels in advance using a student project book. I usually start with a bit of a mood board, collecting images of the kinds of people and locations I want to feature.
From there it’s a case of creating a cast list, building
the characters and then the story outline. Only when that is all in place, do I
start writing.
It was when I turned the book in to the publisher that
they came back and asked if I could develop it into an ongoing series. My
initial reaction was – not really. Dominic and Arnie had their happy ending,
and I didn’t want to mess with that. But I quickly realised that Nyemouth
itself could be the basis for a series of loosely connected standalone
thrillers. There were supporting characters like Jacob who could return again
and again. Once I hit on that idea, everything fell into place.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my
creative process. Look out for more details in the coming weeks.
Happy reading
Thom X
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