Criminally Inspired

“I’m quite proud of the fact that over the years I’ve adapted and reinvented myself.” Stephen Bentley joins Ben Bruce to talk about how reinvention has moulded his career, the impact of Liverpool on culture and the joys of Readers Digest.

“they were living life and death every day… there was all the trivia, people had their complaints and niggles and frustrations, but it was an intense period” Mike Hollow talks about the inspirations behind the setting for his Blitz Detective series, creating a backstory for his MC, and the fun of Saturday cinema matinees.

“The shadow of that past still influences a lot of decisions that are taken in Stormont or a lot of day to day decisions that people have…” Phillip Jordan talks about the big themes behind The Belfast Crime Series, finding the pathway to success through a screenwriting guide and the joys of writing on a typewriter.

“Someone told me if you’re writing the darker side of fiction, if you explore your own phobias and fears then you can really write something a bit scary and dark.” Roxie Key talks about how she began to develop the idea for Deadly Spark, finding inspiration in TV Detectives and how Brighton helped shape her debut novel.

“They could really stir your emotions and make you feel something and I think that was the author where I thought I wish I could do that.” Liz Hedgecock talks about being inspired by Leon Garfield, the co-writing process, dictating rather than typing, and never saying never to revisiting old series.

"I read an article… about two Mills & Boon authors. One was living in tax exile in the Isle of Man and the other had just bought a million dollar house in the Bahamas, and I thought, I’d really like to have some of that." Liz Fielding talks about how her writing career began, early hopes of a career in acting and turning terrifying situations into inspiration.

“That’s the tricky thing about inspiration; you never know when it’s going to pitch up." Jamie Sinclair talks about the difficulty in knowing when a Eureka moment might hit, drinking with Jarvis Cocker, and selling stories to his grandparents.

“Readers don’t care. If you think about the books you’re reading at the moment, you probably don’t know who the publisher is.” Elizabeth Ducie puts forward the case for people to seek out self-publishing, finding moments of inspiration at the Iguazu Falls, and the risks of crossing genres.

"It's like walking in snow, that I'm brushing the snow behind me to hide my footsteps and you never know how on Earth I got there and I can't remember because everything is white and looks the same." Paul Gitsham talks about how he keeps the answers to whodunnit under wraps, the "job" parts of writing, and his dream of writing Star Trek.

"I felt as a journalist, I couldn't just make this stuff up." Roger Corke joins Ben Bruce to talk about why research matters in fiction, his career in journalism and the joys of bee keeping.

"Spending time with your work and giving it to other people that you trust is invaluable." Luke Deckard talks the importance of finding inspiration from your peers, his route to publication through his masters and a shared love of Avril Lavigne (sort of) with Ben Bruce on Criminally Inspired for the UK Crime Book Club.

"Get him to read anything and everything. It doesn't matter if it's the Beano or the back of a sugar packet." Jonathan Whitelaw recalls the advice of his teacher to his parents, and talks about the need to always remain flexible as a writer and that it is never too late to start anything.

“The thing that’s been an influence on me all my life is that I am an only child. We’d adopted my sister for six months and then one day I was told she was going back, and I could not understand…” Bryan Mason talks about a very different kind of inspiration, imposter syndrome and how you write a humorous crime novel set in Belfast during The Troubles.

“I think the first question was why on earth was this blokes head in a cardboard box?” Brian Price talks about turning a competition entry into a fully fledged book, how a love of science took him to working with Friends of The Earth, and keeping MW Craven out of jail.

“I wrote all the fun bits – the torture – first.” Donna Morfett joins Ben Bruce to talk about her new novel, blogging, and finding inspiration in the writing community.

“If you read something you really identify with, that’s a big clue of the mystery of what you want to write.” Guy Gardner and Ben Bruce talk about writing music, working on oil rigs, and being brave enough to delete a whole novel.

“Off and on I researched for 20 years before I started writing the Cesare Aldo novels.” D.V. Bishop talks to Ben Bruce about writing historical fiction, creating enemies for the Daleks and his characters unexpectedly finding love over a dismembered goat.

“To me it was just my old primary school, but apparently… it’s known as one of the most haunted buildings in Northern Ireland. James Murphy talks to Ben Bruce about the inspiration behind his books, serving his apprenticeship as a writer and how Jason Donovan gave him COVID.

“You can read my books, then you can go for a walk where it happens.” Ken Ward chats to Ben Bruce about setting his work in Norfolk and drawing inspiration from what’s around him, as well as writing classes, and how ballroom dancing helps with multitasking.

“In Avenue Cars there are a lot of characters from different foreign countries because basically I don’t know if fiction and literature and media have included them in such a way as I think they deserve to be included, because they are part of our society.” Chris Speck talks to Ben Bruce about the people who inspire his characters, the depths he goes to for research and playing the washboard in a...

“I always know how my book’s going  to start, and I usually have a good idea how it’s going to finish. The bit in between is the difficult bit.” Denise Beddows joins Ben Bruce to talk about the murders that haunt her family tree, her life working for the Home Office, and being denied access to her library as a child.

"Let's face the elephant in the room. Writing is really difficult." Sheila Bugler talks about her career so far, finding her place in the world as a writer and Wim Wenders.

Andrew Lowe delves into his past to talk about how shaving inspired him as a child and the benefits of Bullet Hell in finding a creative groove.

“I always day dreamed about blowing Nottingham up…” Claire Sheldon talks about how her home city feeds into the storylines behind her novels in the latest episode of Criminally Inspired for The UKCBC.

Ben Bruce talks with Cosy Crime author Sheila Perry aka Cecilia Peartree, about her inspirations, creating the setting of Pitkirtly and scoring plays with her sons.