This article by the Swiss children's author, Karin Bachmann, first appeared in the Swanwick Standard free newspaper issued at Swanwick Writers' Summer School and edited by Simon Hall it was issued on 18 August, 2017.
A childhood dream has become true for Swanwick delegate Val Penny, when publisher Crooked Cat offered her a four-year-deal on the basis of her debut novel.
With the byline "Hunter by name, hunter by nature", Val's creation, DI Hunter Wilson, is sure to become another star on the firmament of Scottish crimesolving protagonists.
The path to publication wasn't easy. It took the writer with Californian roots two years to complete the book as the Scottish Police Force underwent a change in their organisation in 2013, which left a big gap in research resources, Val decided to set the first two parts in the planned series before those changes.
By the time the third book will go to its planning stage, Val will be able to resort to the by then accumulated pool of resource material.
"Also, I didn't want to make the same mistake as Ian Rankin", Val confided in our reporter when asked how many books she planned for her series. "More than one crime per year is committed in Edinburgh. That should keep Hunter busy until his retirement."
"Hunter's Chase" will hit the shelves in January 2018. And Val hopes to follow suit with "Hunter's Revenge" for Christmas the same year.
Karin Bachmann
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