This week I am thrilled to be interviewing author Keri Beevis. Keri will be sharing with us details of her writing life, telling us all about her new book ‘Every Little Breath‘, which was released on 13th April 2021, and answering a few fun questions too. This post contains affiliate links.

Keri Beevis is the internationally bestselling author of Dying To Tell, Deep Dark Secrets and Trust No One. Dying To Tell reached no. 1 in the Amazon chart in Australia and was a top 25 hit in the UK, while Deep Dark Secrets was the bestselling Bloodhound Books title of 2020. Her most recent thriller, Every Little Breath, was released in April 2021.

Keri lives in Norfolk, England, with her two naughty kitties, Ellie and Lola, and a plentiful supply of red wine (her writing fuel). She loves Hitchcock movies, exploring creepy places, and gets extremely competitive in local pub quizzes. She is also a self-confessed klutz.

I did. Writing was a huge part of my childhood and I used to fill A4 notebooks with stories. Back then they were just for me, and I had no idea that one day my stories would be published.

Without a doubt, Enid Blyton. I loved the Magic Faraway Tree series, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and I was obsessed with her Adventure series with Kiki the Parrot.

Stephen King has to take the credit (or maybe it should be blamed) for that. In my late teens, I wrote a number of short stories that I submitted (without success) to women’s magazines and I really hadn’t considered trying to write anything longer. Then while I was on holiday I remember lying on my sun lounger reading Misery and thinking about how hard it must be to write a full novel. Within a couple of weeks I had decided I wanted to give it a try.

I call myself a pantser and for the most part I do wing it, but truthfully, I do generally know where my stories are going. I tend to start a book knowing a rough plot outline and how it is likely to end, but what I don’t know is how I am going to get from A to B. And B can often change along the way. So I guess I am probably 80% pantser and 20% plotter.

I would love to be one of those people who wakes up at the crack of dawn and has a productive writing morning, but honestly I am more of a night owl. I do try to start writing late in the morning and continue into the afternoon, but more often than not, I will still be banging at the keyboard late at night when most people are heading off to bed.

Where Keri Beevis Writes

There are so many things. I love getting that spark of an idea and building a story and characters around it. I love typing ‘the end’. I love watching as my publisher shapes my story into an actual book, seeing the cover for the first time and getting to hold a physical copy. And I love (in a kind of petrified way) getting that first reader feedback.

There were two areas that required research and assistance when writing my most recent book. My main character, Casey, works as a deejay for a local radio station, while her love interest, Finn, is a police detective. I contacted a radio deejay before starting the story and he was incredibly helpful, answering all of my questions.

The police bit was easier. My novel is psychological fiction, not police procedural, but I still wanted it to be accurate. My sister is a detective, so she kindly read the story as I wrote it, picking up on anything that needed changing.

I started the story with a publication date already scheduled in with my publisher, so I knew I had to work to a certain timeline. I began plotting in July and started writing quite quickly after that. I had to deliver by the end of November and came in two weeks ahead of schedule, so just under four months.

I write the genre of books that I enjoy reading myself. My first couple of novels were crime fiction, but psychological thrillers now interest me more.

The names are always so important, and I have been known to deliberate for weeks until I have the right ones. With Every Little Breath I didn’t have that issue. Casey Fallon and Finn Murphy were clear in my head from the start, and I actually built the story up around them.

I tried to make both Casey and Finn relatable. I wanted them to be real people in a challenging situation. Casey witnessed something terrible in her past, but she is a strong character, albeit guarded. She keeps her circle close. Finn is more laid back and doesn’t take himself too seriously, and he has proven to be a favourite with readers.

Happy, relieved, glad it was finished, but also homesick for my characters and the world I was leaving.

Everything happens for a reason and if things don’t work out, it’s usually because there is something better waiting. I have found this to be the case on more than one occasion and by applying that logic, I find it helps me deal with any setbacks in a more positive way.

I do. Ellie and Lola are my two mischievous feline writing companions. I adopted them fourteen years ago from a local shelter and they are the loves of my life.

I have just finished reading A Sky Full of Stars by Dani Atkins. A different type of read for me, but I really enjoyed it. Now I need to go through my Kindle library and decide what to read next.

Something that doesn’t require any acting, as I would like the film to be good. Ha. So perhaps an Alfred Hitchcock style cameo. Casey lives in a big old house that has been converted into apartments. Maybe I can be a neighbour passing by in the background.

I am torn here as part of me wants to say The Magic Faraway Tree, as I would love to have an adventure in one of the lands at the top of the tree, but equally, adult me, would really like to go to one of Jay Gatsby’s parties in The Great Gatsby.

‘Why is there a cat sitting on top of me?’ (Lola nicks my chair the second I vacate it, so I think the penguin might get squished).

I would like to say a big thank you to Keri Beevis for sharing with us details of her writing life and for a wonderful interview.

Share your thoughts on our interview with Keri Beevis in the comment section below!