Bio:
Beverley
Lee is the bestselling author of the Gabriel Davenport series (The Making of Gabriel Davenport, A Shining in the
Shadows and The
Purity of Crimson) the gothic horror, The Ruin of Delicate Things, and the soon to be released The House of
Little Bones. Her shorter fiction has been included in works
from Cemetery Gates Media, Kandisha Press and Off Limits Press. In thrall to the written word from an
early age, especially the darker side of fiction, she believes that the very
best story is the one you have to tell. Supporting fellow authors is also her
passion and she is actively involved in social media and writers’ groups.
You can visit her online at www.beverleylee.com (where you’ll find a free dark and twisted
short story download) or on Instagram (@theconstantvoice) and Twitter
(@constantvoice).
Beverley Lee's latest book, The House of Little Bones will be released on the 21st of September and is now available for pre-order.
He thought he was untouchable.
David Lansdown, esteemed British horror writer and supernatural sceptic, is used to basking in the glow of the press…
Until a hastily snapped photo hits the headlines and makes his affair with his publisher’s son public.
When David finds himself at Bone Hollow, a house with a glass wall overlooking a wild and desolate moor, his only concern is writing his next best seller to bury his misdeeds in the past.
But something stirs beneath the earth. Something bound to the land. Something determined to take everything from him.
Luca Fox-Waite is still in love with the man who cast him aside, but his own childhood demons lurk in his shadow. As he discovers more about Bone Hollow’s history, he finds himself ensnared in its story—a story steeped in time and tragedy.
Because curses lie in bones, and they do not die.
The House of Little Bones is a tale of avarice, adoration, and of how the sins of the past cling to the living as well as the dead.
Click here to pre-order The House of Little Bones.
Genre: Horror/dark fiction
Q&A:
Q1: What is the name of
your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book will be released in September 2021. The House of Little Bones is my first novella and the what-if idea
came to me as I was walking around some Roman ruins one day. By the time I’d
got back to my car I had the first chapter written in my mind and three
characters pretty much fleshed out.
Q2: What are five words
that describe your writing process?
Contemplation. Exploration. Fixation. Conversational (with my
characters) And tea. Lots of tea ;)
Q3: What authors, or books
have influenced you?
So, so many. Going way back – C S Lewis, Alexander Dumas, Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle (The Hound of the
Baskervilles was the first book to actually scare me). Stephen King, for
story and for showing me that even minor characters have to shine. Neil Gaiman
for the beauty of magical realism and for making me believe. Anne Rice for her
early Vampire Chronicles (Lestat was my first anti-hero love) and for making
her creations feel. Her influence in my writing is very noticeable. Mary
Shelley, Shirley Jackson – no explanation necessary. Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind is a piece of
perfection) The Song of Achilles by
Madeline Miller for breaking my heart, and in the same vein, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Books that make me feel own my soul.
Q4: What do you need in your
writing space to help you stay focused?
I
can’t write to music, so silence. Although I did pen part of one of my stories
to a storm soundtrack as I was writing a storm scene. And tea, lots of tea,
which I may have mentioned in Q2 (I’m a Brit, what can I say? ;)) I’m not a fan
of a cluttered desk either. I usually just have what is absolutely necessary on
it, so no distractions in the form of notes or other books. The clutter is all
in my head in word form as I’m writing!
Q5. What,
to you, are the most important elements of good writing?
The most important thing to me is understanding your characters. Know
them inside out. Understand why they do what they do, because nothing takes you
out of a story more than a character doing something completely contrary to how
they’ve been acting before. Make your reader love them or hate them, but make
them feel something! And love what you’re writing. If you can’t get excited
about your story it will have the same effect on a reader. I’d say forget all
the rules too. Do whatever works for you because writing is a craft and one
size doesn’t fit all.
Q6: What is the best
advice you have ever heard?
That you can’t edit a
blank page. Before I wrote my first book I was one of those writers who tried
to make everything perfect, paragraph by paragraph. You can’t write a book like
that (or at least I can’t). It has to flow from your imagination and stopping
to correct your grammar is a sure-fire way to stunt that little muse into
running for the hills. Plenty of times I can’t think of the right word so I’ll
just insert a word that’s close or the same word will reappear multiple times.
I make notes in my document margins saying things like ‘check this blooms
then’. I can fix those in the second draft. First draft=vomit draft. Get it
out. Clean it up afterwards!
Q7: What is your favourite genre to
read?
I
read quite widely. For me, it’s the story that counts. But my heart belongs to
quiet, atmospheric horror and I gravitate to that most often. Anything gothic.
Anything with troubled multi-layered characters. Anything with a dark setting
that is a character in its own right. Sometimes I’ll take a break from the
darkness though and pick up something that simply calls my name, like my
current read which is magical realism.
Q8: What
comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
The characters. Probably because my stories are always character driven.
You can have the most exciting story in the world but if your characters are
bland and flat, no one will love it, especially you. I usually start with one
and build gradually, although sometimes I’ll get more than one and then they
all want my attention at once. I ask them three questions. (Courtesy of V E
Schwab)
1) What do they fear?
2) What do they want?
3) What are they prepared to do to get it?
Q9: What are you working
on now?
I’ve just started the first few tentative steps on a new work in
progress. I say tentative as I haven’t got an ending yet and I usually don’t
start anything until I have an ending, or at least the pathway to one. But we
shall see.
Q10: What are you currently
reading?
Right
now I’m mid-way through Call Down the
Hawk from Maggie Stiefvater, my magical realism palate cleanser between a
graveyard of horror. And an arc for a blurb I can’t talk about yet, but know
that it’s very good….
Find out more about Beverley Lee by following the links below:
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