Michelle Kidd

I've been told by readers that my writing style is easy to read, but also keeps you guessing and wanting to turn that page! That is what writers always want to do; keep their readers wanting to read 'just one more page'....I'm exclusively a crime fiction writer - police detective and police procedural books - although that doesn't mean I won't explore other genres at some point. I do have an idea for a more mysterious supernatural book, which is a little different to the books I've written to date. We'll see if it ever comes to fruition...

I grew up in a small village in Cambridgeshire, England. I'm not sure if it has influenced my current writing, as my DI Jack MacIntosh crime series is set in London! I'm very familiar with London and will often go down to have a look at various scenes from my books as I'm writing them, to make sure they work in reality. My second crime series, featuring DI Nicki Hardcastle, is set in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England - and this is my current hometown. I really wanted to write a crime series based where I live, as I was sure it hadn't been done before. It's really good writing about places I know so well!

I was an avid reader as a child, a real bookworm! I always had my head in a book! If anyone was ever wondering what to get me for my birthday or Christmas, a book was a brilliant choice! I grew up in a house full of books, and my parents would take me to the local library every fortnight to borrow books. I think this must have nurtured my hunger for reading - and eventually my hunger for writing too.

I would love to be as clever as J K Rowling. Her Harry Potter series is a masterclass in storytelling, how she manages to get all the individual plot lines and character stories woven together throughout the books is amazing.

However, I think the greatest storyteller of all time is Stephen King. I would love to be as prolific as him. No matter what theme he turns his hand to, he always manages to take me on the most exquisite journey. And that is the mark of a great author; being able to take your readers on a creative journey inside your mind. He is the ultimate author I think!

Oh this is so difficult to keep it to five! I would say (in no particular order), Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Peter James, Peter May, Stephen King.

I love giving books as gifts (sometimes even my own!). One of my favourite books to give people is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and also all the Harry Potter books!

That is a very difficult question. I would like to think I am most like the lead detective in my Suffolk based crime series - DI Nicki Hardcastle. Although I certainly don't share the same back story as her, she is a very strong and independent woman, and I feel we have the same qualities and personality. There is also a character in my DI Jack MacIntosh series, Isabel Faraday, who I share some characteristics with I hope! Again, she is a strong and independent woman, and very determined to succeed. She also has a tabby cat called Livi who lives with her in the café - and she rescued Livi from a stray cat shelter when the little cat was just 7 months old. Lo and behold, I have a tabby cat called Livi who I also rescued from a stray cat's home at age 7 months! So we are very alike in that regard!

That is a very difficult question. I love all my books for different reasons. I will always have a special place for Seven Days to Die, as that was my first published book with Joffe Books. And I still really love it. I really enjoyed writing the fourth Jack MacIntosh book - Twenty Years Buried - as this was when I reconnected with a pen pal I had when I was a child. In this book, I was writing about an Australian backpacker, which led me to thinking about my childhood Australian pen pal, Narelle. We wrote to each other between the ages of ten and sixteen, but lost contact in 1988. I have always wondered what happened to her and where she was now. I tried to find her on Facebook but no joy. I then decided to write her a letter to the last known address I had for her, the house she lived in as a child - and although she didn't live there anymore, her parents still did! They passed my letter onto her and we are now back in touch after some forty years! I then named my Australian backpacker character after her! So, for that reason, I love Twenty Years Buried. But then again - I always love my latest book! No Red Lines is the 7th DI Jack MacIntosh book and was released on 15 May. It follows Jack, and after a return to work after a short absence, he is plunged back into a tricky case. A woman's body was found hanging in the window of an abandoned building in London, a short distance from the Underground. In her mouth was a screwed up map of the London Underground. Jack soon learns that he is on the hunt for a notorious serial killer known as the Central Line Killer - who escaped justice some seventeen years previously. I absolutely loved writing this book!

I will write anywhere, anytime! I write longhand, with a pen and paper - so there really is no end to where I could work! My preferred writing space is at home - usually on my bed or the sofa, with my tabby cat Livi curled up on my legs. I think she does this to help me - preventing me from getting up and doing something else! I have written in cafes, on planes and trains, in hotel rooms, by the pool on holiday - anywhere! That is the advantage of writing with a pen and paper - you can literally just take your writing with you.

I love to read but sadly I don't get as much time to do it as I would like. I love reading outside, in a nice warm but shady space. I always read before I go to sleep, but I sometimes don't manage more than a page or two before falling asleep.