Theakston Crime Novel Of The Year Award - Fiona Cummins

Due to a mix-up with timing, I catch Fiona Cummins on the hop just before she is about to sit down and work on her next novel.

It doesn’t matter, though; I think she welcomes the opportunity to be diverted away from the computer, as she is relaxed, friendly, and enormous fun. I feel immediately at ease because we have the county of Essex in common as well as journalism. In fact, when she mentions Leigh-on-Sea, the inspiration for the fictional Midtown-on-Sea, where the novel is set, I mention that it has been decades since I have been there, she immediately throws out an invitation to join her for coffee next time I am down visiting family!

We discovered the Essex connection when we began talking about the Art Deco house that features in her novel.

"Midtown-on-Sea is a fictionalised version of the town where I live because I wanted something a bit bigger, more affluent, and with more of a sweeping coast line, and my inspiration were the art deco houses along the sea front.

"I am drawn to the seascape in all of my books or the natural world. I am fascinated by the vast skies and the changing landscape, so it seemed natural for me to use this sort of coast."

Our conversation moves at a fast pace like one of her novels, and we duck and dive around many issues that are fascinating. I could chat for ages, but I need to get back to the reason for the interview.

Fiona Cummins’ Into the Dark, featuring the wonderfully named DS Saul Anguish, is on the shortlist for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

Crime is such a popular genre, as the Harrogate Festival brilliantly demonstrates, and Cummins has always had a fascination for the dark side, something that attracted her to write in the genre.

"I don't mean I'm particularly morbid, but I grew up with a dad who always said, 'Hope for the best but prepare for the worst’. I'm always looking at worst-case scenarios, and what better way to do that than to play out some of your darkest fears through fiction in a safe environment?

"It’s about imagining all these terrible things that might happen but being indifferent to the real world in that you might not be able to control what's happening around you, but you can control the fate of the characters on the page."

It’s an interesting point, and we both agree that there have been some terrible things happening in the world in recent years and these feel like particularly dark times.

"It happens in every sort of generation, but we are living through these moments of history that do feel really significant.

"When you look at the pandemic or big world issues, I suppose something like cosy crime is a safe way to explore in a way that doesn't feel too dark.

"Crime fiction in all its forms is a reflection of contemporary culture, a way to explore our darkest fears, and most crime fiction, but not all, has a sense of redemption to it. There's always a little bit of light."

Although it's not all fiction, she starts laughing as she recalls the reaction from one of her editors to her first novel.

"Every single character died, and I remember the reaction. It's really good, but you know there needs to be some element of light and an element of hope in there somewhere; it can’t all be bleak and dark."

An interesting point, and one she has taken on board, "it’s about remembering that you always need to have that sort of shaft of light to illuminate the darkness."

One of the areas where she does have fun and lets in the light is in creating characters with noteworthy names, as I find out when I quiz her on DS Saul Anguish.

"I absolutely love to write fiction with characters with memorable names, which is typical of people in any of my books.

"But it is a real surname. A friend of a friend is called Anguish. When she was talking about that, I thought that couldn't really be his surname, and when she told me his full name, it was really cool, and I thought I couldn't use that because that is actually a real person, but I will try and incorporate it.

"It just felt like the kind of name I wanted, but I am conscious there's a fine line. I don't want to create something that's too ridiculous and far-fetched. I recently signed a book for him and thanked him for inspiring the name because lots of people have commented on it."

While we are talking characters, I am surprised she has not yet thought of using her work as the showbiz correspondent for the Mirror because the world of celebrities is about as dark as it can get, a point that is noted and maybe a case of watch this space.

As to characters, Cummins tries to create characters with depth and recalls another story from her early days.

"One of the things I remember my agent saying to me is, Why?

"Why do we do the things we do? I found that really interesting because, if you think about any of us, we're not wholly good, and no one is wholly evil either. People who commit terrible crimes probably love and care for someone too, and by the same token, ordinary good people can find themselves in terrible situations and pushed into committing dark crimes they might otherwise not have considered.

"These kinds of Shades of Grey exist in all of us, so it's really important for me to try and create characters that are not two-dimensional but are fully fleshed out. I spend a lot of time thinking about backstories and ways to bring the characters to life so they feel real to readers."

From the way that we are chatting, I can see why Cummins describes herself as a ‘pantser’ compared to her plotter friends, who outline and plan their novels meticulously.

"I don't really write anything down. I keep all of my stories in my head. I know what form the story is going to take and what my reveals are going to be, but most of the time I know exactly what the ending is going to be, and sometimes I even know what my last line is going to be."

"However, I've realised as time has gone on that I do plot quite carefully, but I hold all the strands in my head rather than writing them down because I think if I planned it out beforehand I would get so bored I wouldn't want to write the book. Part of the joy for me is discovering the story as I go along."

Cummins, still the inquisitive journalist, asks me if I have any ideas for novels, as there are plenty of transferable skills and, of course, a love for words.

When I say I do, but it is a blank page, she encourages me by saying, "You can't edit a blank page; you have to have written something, and once you've got something done, you can always make it better."

A good tip I respond, asking if there is one thing a budding crime writer should focus on.

"It’s obvious, but finish what you start and remember it doesn't have to be perfect. When I started writing, I would furiously polish my first chapter and feel like I couldn't progress to the second or the rest of the book until that first chapter was perfect. What I've learned over time is that you can always go back and make it better, but you need a manuscript first.

"If you're serious about it, just get the book down in any way that you can; you can always fill in plot holes, and characters can be rounded off later."

That’s given me an idea. I’m due to visit family soon; what if I get my crime novel down and meet up for that coffee in Leigh-on-Sea?

But even I know that is pushing my luck, and I might find myself as a victim in one of her next books.

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