Emma Carroll

When I’m not writing books, I’m reading them. For many years I was an English teacher in a secondary school in Devon. Nowadays, I write full time. It’s my absolute dream-come-true job!

As a child, I wrote stories about ponies and pop stars, though not together. Today they call it fan-fiction; back then it was just weird.

After school, I worked as a reporter on a local newspaper. From there I went to university to study English Literature. After backpacking around the Middle East, South America, Australia, I did a PGCE in English and became a teacher.

Many years later, I bought myself a lovely big notebook and some new pens. I enrolled on the MA Writing For Young People at Bath Spa University, and got writing again. ‘Frost Hollow Hall’ was started on the MA course. It is my first novel, and took two years and many cups of tea to write.
I live in the Somerset hills with my husband and two Jack Russell terriers.

Words taken from: https://emmacarrollauthor.wordpress.com/about/

Lisa Regan

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.

Words taken from: https://lisaregan.com/bio/

Elly Griffiths

My name’s Elly Griffiths, except it’s not really. My real name is Domenica de Rosa and I’ve written four books under that name (see link above). I was born in London in 1963 and my family moved to Brighton when I was five. I loved Brighton and still do – the town, the surrounding countryside and, most of all, the sea. I went to local state schools and wrote my first book when I was a 11, a murder mystery set in Rottingdean, near the village where I still live. At secondary school I used to write episodes of Starsky and Hutch (early fan fiction) and very much enjoyed making my readers cry.

I did all the right things to become a writer: I read English at King’s College London and, after graduating, worked in a library, for a magazine and then as a publicity assistant at HarperCollins. I loved working in publishing and eventually became Editorial Director for children’s books at HarperCollins. All this completely put me off writing and it wasn’t until I was on maternity leave in 1998 that I wrote what would become my first published novel, The Italian Quarter.

Three other books followed, all about Italy, families and identity. By now we had two children and my husband Andy had just given up his city job to become an archaeologist. We were on holiday in Norfolk, walking across Titchwell Marsh, when Andy mentioned that prehistoric man had thought that marshland was sacred. Because it’s neither land nor sea, but something in-between, they saw it as a kind of bridge to the afterlife. Neither land nor sea, neither life nor death. As he said these words the entire plot of The Crossing Places appeared, full formed, in my head and, walking towards me out of the mist, I saw Dr Ruth Galloway. I didn’t think that this new book was significantly different from my ‘Italy’ books but, when she read it, my agent said, ‘This is crime. You need a crime name.’

And that’s how I became Elly Griffiths.

Words/Pictures taken from: https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/about-me/

Robert Bryndza

Hello, I’m Robert Bryndza and welcome to my website. I’m a crime writer and my books have sold 3 million copies, and they’ve been translated into 29 languages. I’m British and live in Slovakia.

I’m the author of the international #1 bestseller THE GIRL IN THE ICE, which is the first in my Detective Erika Foster series, and to date, it has sold over one million copies. There are six books (so far) in the Erika Foster series, and you can find out more about them at the top pf the page in the ‘Erika Foster Crime Series’ tab.

NINE ELMS, the first book in my new crime thriller private detective series, has just been published!

In addition to writing crime fiction, I have published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels. I hope you enjoy visiting my website, and welcome!

Rob 

Words taken from: https://robertbryndza.com/

Megan Miranda

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger. She has also written several books for young adults, including Fracture, The Safest Lies, and Fragments of the Lost. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.

Words taken from: https://meganmiranda.com/about/

Jo Spain

Jo Spain is the author of the Inspector Tom Reynolds series. Her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was a finalist in the 2015 Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller. The Confession her first standalone thriller, was a number one bestseller and translated all over the world.

Jo is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, a former political advisor in the Irish parliament and former vice-chair of InterTrade Ireland business body.
She now writes novels and screenplays full-time. Her first co-written TV show TAKEN DOWN was broadcast in Ireland in 2018 and bought by international distributors Fremantle.

Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four young children. In her spare time (she has four children, there is no spare time really) she likes to read. Her favourite authors include Pierre Lemaitre, Jo Nesbo, Liane Moriarty, Fred Vargas and Louise Penny. She also watches TV detective series and was slightly obsessed with The Bridge, Trapped and The Missing.

Jo thinks up her plots on long runs in the woods. Her husband sleeps with one eye open and all her friends have looked at her strangely since she won her publishing deal.

Words taken from: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14190033.Jo_Spain

Laura Purcell

Laura Purcell is a former bookseller and lives in Colchester with her husband and pet guinea pigs.

Her first novel for Raven Books THE SILENT COMPANIONS won the WHSmith Thumping Good Read Award 2018 and featured in both the Zoe Ball and Radio 2 Book Clubs.  THE CORSET was published in September 2018, and will be followed by BONE CHINA and THE SHAPE OF DARKNESS in later years.

Laura’s historical fiction novels about the Hanoverian monarchs, QUEEN OF BEDLAM (2014) and MISTRESS OF THE COURT (2015), were published by Myrmidon and are available from all book retailers.

Words taken from: https://laurapurcell.com/

Adam Baron

Adam Baron is the author of five successful novels and has, in his time, been an actor, comedian, journalist and press officer at Channel 4 television (as well as things he’s too embarrassed to mention). He now runs the widely respected MA in Creative Writing at Kingston University London. Adam lives in Greenwich, South London, with his wife and three young children. He wrote <i>Boy Underwater</i> (his first novel aimed at younger readers) because they told him to. While still in the flush of youth he knows what his final words are going to be: ‘clear the table’.

Words taken from: https://www.harpercollins.ca/author/cr-189775/adam-baron/

Patricia Gibney

Hi all,

My name is Patricia Gibney and I’m from Mullingar, County Westmeath. Right in the heart of Ireland. Surrounded by lakes, Mullingar is damp and wet most of the year but when the sun shines it is a little piece of heaven on earth. I’ve lived here all my life. I’m widowed, seven years in May, but was married to Aidan since 1982. I’ve three children who keep me sane, or maybe keep the madness at bay, just a little bit! I say that because I am an artist and a writer. I started writing, for therapy, when Aidan died. I self-published a children’s picture book, called Spring Sprong Sally.

I secured an agent in January 2016 and she is fighting my corner in an effort to get my debut novel published.

A few years ago, I decided to get serious about it. I joined The Irish Writers Centre. Started doing courses. I love reading crime thrillers so it was obvious to me to start writing in the crime genre. And let me tell you, it is not easy. A crime novel needs to be tightly plotted and plotting is the bane of my life. I prefer to write straight off the top of my head. Oh, Oh. Feels good when writing but then comes the editing.  I lost 20,000 words in the process. But at least I am proud to say I got it done.

My debut Novel, The Missing Ones was published on March 16th 2017 followed by The Stolen Girls on July 6th 2017 and The Lost Child on October 28th 2017.

The Missing Ones has been a bestseller in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. And it has sold over half a million copies worldwide.

I am now writing the fourth novel in the series, featuring Lottie Parker and a host of credible characters. They are all part of my extended family, you know the kind – people you love one minute and want to kill the next!

So join me on this journey and lets see where it leads us.

P.M. Gibney

Words taken from: http://patriciagibney.com/index.php/about-me/

Cressida Cowell

Cressida Cowell is currently the Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2019 – 2021). She is the author and illustrator of the bestselling The Wizards of Once and How to Train Your Dragon books series, and the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton.

Words taken from: https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/landing-page/cressida-cowell/cressida-cowell-about/

What do you think? What would be in your list?