Thank you so much for welcoming me on your blog today, Val.
You are always welcome here , Jo. I enjoy your novels very much and always learn something when you share your writing journey. I particularly enjoyed you most recent novel, Paparazzi. Now over to you.
Last month, my new book, Paparazzi, was released. This is the second book in the Becky White Thriller series, but unusually, is set 30 years after the first of the series (Revelation).
I’ve always loved reading, and my choices when I was younger centred on the more adventurous genres – starting with Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven and Famous Five series, then progressing to Alan Garner and Elinor M Brent Dyer. Very different authors in many ways, but they were all experts at creating suspense and keeping me turning those pages.
As I got a bit older, I moved on to Agatha Christie and Dick Francis, and again I was fascinated by their ability to prevent me putting their books aside. They both got me into a lot of trouble for reading late into the night!
Progressing into adulthood, I turned to romance, but even there, an element of suspense, intrigue and preferably danger to the protagonist is required to keep me hooked.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve made up stories in my head. Due to coordination and writing issues, I didn’t write them down, except for school work, and my aim during those was to be as concise as possible as it took me so long to write. When I was 40 though, I learned to touch type, and it changed my life. It opened up the opportunity for me to get my ideas on paper in a reasonable time. I started with a few short stories, but novels were calling, and when I heard for the first time about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I decided to give it a try.
I wanted to write something that was manageable, preferably with the closed room type of concept. I expanded it a bit, to a closed community, and hence The Brotherhood was born – a psychological thriller set in a religious sect in an Abbey in North West England.
I have to confess, I surprised myself with the awful things I did to my main character (not all of which made the final cut, I’m pleased to say!) Both my first two books are set in the Abbey, and have been described as ‘dark and disturbing’.
The Becky White Thriller series which is currently in progress, has more of a sense of normality, but is just as suspenseful. All those years of reading have served their purpose. It’s now my turn to keep my readers awake long into the night…
The Author Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled "Science Can Be Fun". At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office. Jo combines an exciting career in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers. When not working, she runs (very slowly), hikes, and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband, youngest son, a Corgi, 2 hamsters and a tankful of tropical fish. She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group.
Please check out my blog at www.jofenton137.com
Please also join me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, where I talk about running, hiking and writing in fairly equal measures:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jofentonauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jl_fenton
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jo.fenton137/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jofenton137/
My other books are available from Amazon:
The Abbey Series:
The Brotherhood: https://t.co/TheBrotherhood
The Refuge: https://t.co/fASWKtKeUt
The Becky White Thriller Series:
Revelation: Mybook.to/beckywhite1
Paparazzi: mybook.to/paparazzi