Introducing my friends and fellow (or should that be sister?) authors of Honno – The longest-standing independent women’s press in the UK – who will be at the Honno Book Fair on the 7th May 2022 , 10.00am until 4.00pm, at the Queens Hall, Narberth, Pembrokeshire. Over the next few weeks I’ll be introducing the each author.

If you’re in the area,we’d be thrilled if you popped in to say hello.

Today, I’m really pleased to be joined by Thorne Moore

Hello and welcome, Thorne. It’s brilliant to see you here today. 

Hello, and thanks, Judith. Glad to be here.

How many books have you written, and which is your favourite?

I’ve written too many books to count, but I’ve published nine now. And my favourite one, of course, is always the last one, in this case Fatal Collision, which is set on the north Pembrokeshire coast. I have set books in Pembrokeshire before, but usually inland, and this is my first opportunity to revel in the best coastline in the world.

How did you come up with the title for your book?

I like titles that imply more than one meaning. At the heart of the book is a fatal collision in which the protagonist’s husband is killed by a drunk-driver, but when she comes to Pembrokeshire to recover, she finds herself in the midst of other sorts of collisions, of class, of culture, of personalities.

What inspired the idea for your book?

I wanted to explore justice, not as interpreted by the judicial system which decides guilt and dishes out punishment, but justice revolving around remorse, recompense, but most of all Truth. And I wanted to write about the Pembrokeshire coast, because it’s worth it.

Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why.

Nicki Bryce, the protagonist, entirely. I’ve probably given her more of my own voice than I have done with characters in the past. She shares my views on most things, which is always a help.

If you’re planning a sequel, can you tantalize us with a snippet of your plans for it? If not, your plans for your next book?

There won’t be a sequel to Fatal Collision. I do have plans for another crime novel, but at the moment I am working on completing my Science Fiction trilogy, Salvage, which began with Part 1, Inside Out, last year and Part 2, Making Waves, which was published earlier this year.

At what point did you think of yourself as a writer?

Probably at the moment when my careers advisor, at school, informed me that, being a girl, I was going to be a teacher. I was writing before that, but that was probably the moment when I decided that I would not train as a teacher because that would mean not having time to write. Later at VI Form, my headmaster told me I should study law, but no way was I going to be a lawyer, because I was going to be far to busy writing.

 Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not?

I suppose I do use one, since Thorne is not the name on my birth certificate. The name that is on my certificate is not one my family have ever used, so I don’t know why they registered it. When I came to write, there was a schizophrenic problem: which one of me was writing? The girl at home as part of a family, or the one that existed on official forms. I decided it was neither, so I used another name.

 What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?

At my desk, where I physically put words on a page, I need a cup of coffee, and that’s it. Everything else is just a distraction, including the cat. Especially the cat. But most of my writing is done in my head first, usually while I am walking up and down my lane. So, birds, trees, flowers, clouds, stars, and the occasional toad – all very helpful.

What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Usually, the first thing that comes is the setting. Then the theme. Then the characters, and finally the plot. I have to know the characters first before I can possible figure out what they would do, so putting the plot first would be a waste of time. They’d only ignore me. 

How do you use social media as an author?

Not very efficiently. I am on Facebook, Twitter and, theoretically, on Instagram, but that requires a smartphone, which I don’t use. I do go on Facebook and Twitter every day but not with any great enthusiasm, more a sense of duty.

 

Why did you choose Honno as a publisher?

I’d had an agent who very nearly got me a publisher, and when it didn’t happen, for no precise reason, everyone got rather ratty, and I thought maybe I’d better off on my own, approaching publishers directly. Which, these days, means approaching small indie publishers. I was working part time at a library when a colleague recommended Honno Welsh Women’s Press. I was half-Welsh, I live in Wales, and I was writing about Welsh women, so it seemed the obvious choice.

Links

website: https://thornemoore.com/

FB Author page: https://www.facebook.com/thornemoorenovelist

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThorneMoore

Amazon author page http://amzn.to/1Ruu9m1