Never Forget (33 page)

About Lisa Cutts

About
Never Forget

What did you want to be when you grew up? Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I had always wanted to be a police officer. Once or twice I had the idea of writing a book but dismissed it as impossible. The thought that I could write a novel seemed a little too far-fetched but, at the age of forty, I began writing crime fiction. By that stage in my life, I had a lot of police stories and anecdotes to work with.

What do you do when you are not writing?

At the moment, I’m writing and working full-time. I don’t have time for much else apart from walking our Labrador, Laughing Gravy. I try to read at least one book every month but even finding the time for that can be difficult.

What do you enjoy most about your day job?

A successful conviction. It’s something positive for the victim or victim’s family following a terrible tragedy. It also means that everyone on the team who worked hard on the investigation knows they’ve contributed to putting an offender before the court and in prison.

What is the worst aspect of your day job?

Seeing how ordinary, decent people have their lives ruined, often in an instant, by someone’s actions.

How much is your writing inspired by your experience as a serving police officer?

Being a police officer gives you a glimpse into so many other people’s lives and homes. The amount of people we meet is staggering, as is the diversity of those we deal with and serve. I’ve tried to show the humour and banter that exists in stressful situations between officers. It never means that we
aren’t taking our work seriously, but laughter is definitely a coping mechanism.

Are you an avid reader of crime fiction? Who are your favourite crime authors?

My favourite author is Agatha Christie. I’ve read so many of her books. She was a truly amazing author. I have read a number of different crime writers over the years but I always come back to Miss Marple and Poirot.

Do you have a favourite book?

1984
by George Orwell. It’s one of the few books I’ve read more than once. It shows a frightening world, years ahead of Orwell’s time, where ordinary people are forced to behave in a certain way. With the right or wrong influences, a person can be made to accept anything as the norm. A person’s mental capacity can only cope with so much pressure: we all have a breaking point, it’s just a matter of finding it.

What do you look for in a novel?

It’s important for me that the story keeps going. The characters are important but even if they are fascinating, if the plot is slow, it won’t hold my attention. I like just about any genre of book whether it’s crime, horror or sci-fi.

Do you have a favourite character in fiction?

Clinton Tyree, aka Skint, from a number of Carl Hiaasen novels. He stood up for what he believed in, although he never stood a chance, and trying probably sent him crazy.

What would your superpower be?

I know I should choose something fun, like being able to fly, but I’d want my superpower to be retribution – making people face the consequences of their actions and suffer for eternity for what they’ve done. As you can see, I’m not very forgiving.

What is your greatest extravagance?

A few years ago we went to New York and sailed back on the
Queen Mary II
. I wanted a cabin with a balcony. It was a great extravagance because crossing the Atlantic in April was a bit choppy so we couldn’t actually use the balcony. We did, however, stand on it watching the Statue of Liberty as we cruised away. It was a fairly costly half-hour.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

There have been so many, but it was probably Elizabeth Haynes, the author of
Into the Darkest Corner
, who said something like, ‘You won’t know until you try how it will work out. Have a go and see what happens.’ It was her prod in the right direction that started me writing in the first place.

What tips would you give aspiring writers?

Get started. Don’t put it off.

Get in touch with other writers, too. I’ve had nothing but fantastic support and encouragement from other Myriad authors but also from people I’ve met via Facebook and Twitter.

Have a blog, so that, when working on your novel or short story seems a bit too much, you can ease yourself into something a little less daunting but which can serve as a warm-up for your brain.

Keep reading – anything and everything that holds your interest.

Join a writing group. It may work for you. I prefer to write alone but it’s great to have the support of others as it can be a bit lonely.

What made you decide to write the novel?

I think it was the challenge to begin with. I wanted to write an accurate police procedural, writing in custody time limits, what the law will and won’t allow and what happens on a murder investigation. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be: trying to get the procedures correct without slowing down the pace was tough.

How long did it take to write?

I began in November 2011 and sent the first draft to Myriad in May 2012. The edits, well, they’re a different story…

What encouraged you along the way?

I was really enjoying writing so I needed little encouragement. I had no idea if anyone else would want to read it or publish it so I found writing a total pleasure. Winning Myriad’s Writer’s Retreat Competition in May 2012 with an extract from
Never Forget
was a huge incentive too.

How important was research to the writing process?

I joined Kent Police in 1996 so I’ve had 17 years to try to get it right. There were one or two things I had to check to make sure what I was writing was factually correct, but the majority of the procedures are those that we do every working day.

Is the location based on one you know well?

Parts are based on the old police station in Dartford. It’s no longer a working nick and has been knocked down. The rest is pure fiction.

In what ways did you draw on your own experiences?

Only in the practical sense of working long hours, being tired, letting family and friends down because you can’t
get away from work, laughing at your colleagues and them laughing at you. I have not used any actual investigations, victims or witnesses when writing this book. That would be hugely disrespectful.

Which of your characters did you most enjoy writing?

Nina made me laugh. I’d go for a beer with her.

Are any of the characters based on people you have known?

No. The closest to a real person is Wingsy. He is an
amalgamation
of every decent part of every decent male detective I’ve ever worked with.

Did you feel a responsibility to represent police work accurately and positively?

I did. And it was difficult. Much of the work in a murder investigation is thousands of hours of paperwork. That won’t ever change. It’s also not particularly interesting for a reader so I tried to show that sometimes it’s tedious without making it a tedious read (I hope). Showing the police in a positive light was also important. We aren’t infallible; we make mistakes. Many of my friends are police officers, my husband and dad are both retired police officers. I’m proud to do the job I do.

Do you think that crime writers often misrepresent the police?

Yes, I do. However, I now have a little more sympathy and understand why that may be so. It was difficult to keep the story moving, keep it accurate and not write the ‘tortured detective out to right a wrong’ cliché. One scenario I’ve often read follows a single detective who doesn’t sleep, doesn’t eat but finds time to solve the murder and bring the offender to justice by themselves. It’s a team effort every single time.

Should crime fiction show what crime is really like, for the offenders, the victims and the police?

Yes, I think it should, especially for the victims or their families. It’s important to represent the legal system accurately but this doesn’t always make a good read. I did shy away from writing anything too revealing relating to covert or sensitive investigative methods.

Will we meet any of your characters again in future books?

Never Forget
is the first in the Nina Foster series. In my next book,
Remember, Remember
, she and Wingsy investigate a historic crime, and meet up with several of their old adversaries. It was just too hard to say goodbye to some of the characters from
Never Forget
. Nina also meets new characters as she makes her way through her professional police work, and her ever-changing private life.

What would you like readers to take away from the experience of reading
Never Forget?

I tried to make it as accurate as I could and I hope that comes across. Also, please never forget that the police are only human.

Lisa Cutts lives in Kent with her husband. She has degrees in Law and Applied Criminal Investigation and is a serving police officer with Kent Police.
Never Forget
, her first novel, is the start of the DC Nina Foster series.

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