Blazing Minds have always loved the work of Samantha Lee Howe so today we are very pleased to bring you an interview with the award-winning author about her writing and her novel Stranger in Our Bed being made into a movie and it is up for an award. Read on to find out more in the Blazing Minds exclusive interview.
Why did you move from your original writing of books previously, such as Posing for Picasso to The Stranger in Our Bed, which is more Psychological Thriller?
I moved genre from horror, fantasy and SF to writing mainstream thrillers because at that time I felt I’d said all I wanted to in those other genres. I was looking for a challenge and a change and it was an obvious transition really, because most of my stories already had a thriller, mystery or psychological element to them.
Where did the idea come from The Stranger in Our Bed come from?
The Stranger In Our Bed is based on a true story that my friend, Ayshea Brough of UFO fame and Lift Off With Ayshea, told me happened to one of her friends. In that instance her friend was catfished by a man who lied about who he was, persuaded her to leave her husband and then didn’t show at the meeting point they’d agreed on. I took this basic story and twisted and turned it into a domestic psychological thriller.
Who influenced your characters in The Stranger in Our Bed?
My characters are influenced by real people and situations. Some I’ve been in myself. Charlotte can be frustrating as a character because she finds it so difficult to extract herself from Tom’s coercion. Statistically, it takes a victim of domestic abuse and coercive control approximately seven attempts to leave their abuser. That is shocking to some people. For friends and family who want to support this it can seem as though they are weak and won’t help themselves, but in actual fact they have been so conditioned by their abuser that to extricate them is a very hard thing to do. The grass may not be greener on the other side when you’ve spent years being told you’re worthless by the person closest to you. For anyone who hasn’t experienced this kind of controlling person in their lives its very difficult to understand why the victim can’t get away. So this story is, and always was, for women in that position. It is an exploration of how it feels to be trapped and be helpless and to feel as though no one will believe you or can help you. As a survivor of Domestic abuse I know first hand how hard it is to leave and so, although Charlotte is a completely fictional character, I used my knowledge of the situation to show how it feels to be powerless and then to gain the strength and ability to stand up for yourself. That’s also why I wanted to be an Ambassador for the Yorkshire based domestic abuse charity, IDAS.
Where do you start with your writing? Does the beginning, end or middle come to mind initially?
All of my novels and stories are a germination of an idea initially but they all come to me in different ways. With The Stranger In Our Bed it was a light bulb moment when Ayshea first told me her friend’s story. But at other times I have a vivid dreams, I wake up and I know that this is going to evolve into something. My second and sixth vampire novels were based on dreams I had that became a whole story thread within both books. Sometimes I start with a title and then think about it for days, weeks, months, on and off, and the first line will come to me and then I can’t stop writing and the story pours out. Other times it is a character that comes to mind that I want to explore.
I am what they call a ‘Pantzer’, that means I most write and don’t plan every single beat but let the story unfold naturally (flying by the seat of my pants so to speak!!) as this is the most fun journey for me and also makes the stories less predictable. But, on occasion, I have plotted entire novels and worked with that, but still allowed myself to go with the twists and turns that came up naturally.
I do plan in a way though. I almost always know the start and the end, but not always how I will get there. It all works out in the end though!
With the success of The Stranger in Our Bed in the US charts, are there any more plans to return to the US? Any conventions?
I actually don’t have any plans for the USA this year unfortunately, but there may be some on the cards for next year. David and I are doing a Doctor Who cruise in December 2024 though from Fort Lauderdale. Other than that, I am always open for an invite somewhere!
Moving away from the writing of novels. You and your wonderful husband David are deeply involved in SciFi Weekender, are they any artists or authors you would love to be involved at the Weekender at Author Central?
There are so many authors I’d love to get! Some new ones we have agreed with for next year, but I can’t say who they are until they are announced. But I’d love to get George RR Martin along and Darren Shan again. The hardest thing to find is female SF, Fantasy and Horror writers these days. Like me, they have mostly migrated to the mainstream.
I love that Authors and Artists are central to the Weekender. Who are your biggest influences with writing books? Is there anyone you would you collaborate with for writing a book?
There is something on the cards in terms of co-writing but I can’t really talk about it at the minute as it’s NDA’d but I guess I would love to have worked with some of my early favourite writers, like Stephen King, Anne Rice as I found their work hugely influential back in the day. Currently, I’m a big fan of Ruth Ware and Tim Weaver’s thrillers – they are both at the top of their game. I really like upmarket thrillers, psychological and noir mostly.
I am absolutely loving the artistic new cover for The Stranger in Our Bed. Who designed it? And is there any other of your books being reissued with different covers?
I love the new cover too! In paperback the new cover is only in the USA but it’s also used for the ebook now. The cover was designed in house at HarperCollins but the picture used of the amazing Emily Berrington, was a screenshot from the film. I think it’s stunning.
Posing For Picasso now has a beautiful new cover too and is a new edition in both hardback and paperback. For fans of crime and horror, this is a supernatural crime procedural that I’m really proud of and was my closest forage into thrillers before going full mainstream.
What is next coming up for you? And can we expect another psychological thriller?
I have just completed a new thriller which is now out with publishers – so I hope you will see a new thriller from me soon. But I will definitely have a short story crime/thriller collection out later this year called Crimes of Passion and it has a variety of stories that I’m in the process of writing, covering all aspects of crimes. So you’ll see some psychopaths, Cults, mysteries, thrillers, stalkers and a little delve into cosy crime too. Anything and everything that I feel like writing within the genre!
I know you have been busy writing recently, how has the process been going for you? What do you do to get in the “zone”?
I have a variety of techniques to get into work mode. Firstly, I write sat on my bed with a laptop tray. I do have an office but I prefer to do paperwork and less creative things in there as I struggle to not be distracted. So I wake up at 7.30am. I get a cup of tea. I sit back on the bed with my laptop tray. I check emails, social media and then I try to get straight into work. I find that the earlier I get into work, the more productive the day is. I usually write until 10am then I shower etc. I get back to work again. Then at lunch stop to eat. After that I write until 3pm-4pm depending on how engaged I am. When I finish for the day and I try to stop in the middle of some action that will make it easier to pick up again the next day. After that I turn my attention to editing. I have about 6 titles I’m working my way through one at a time for Telos Publishing. I’m working on a crime novel, a horror novel and I then have 4 historical romances to proof read at the minute. So I try to spend 2 hours a day on those.
And just for fun to wrap things up.
Who would be your top guests, dead or alive, at yours and David’s dinner party?
David Bowie. Stephen King. David Tennant. Alexander Skarsgard. Rege-Jean Page. Jane Austen.
Thank you so much Sam for your time, and I’m really looking forward to see what is next from you, and purchasing and reviewing
Thanks again.
With the movie adaptation of The Stranger In Our Bed nominated in the National Film Awards, you can now vote for the movie via the website here.
Chrissie loves movies and spends a lot of her time with her kids at the local multi-plex watching a great selection of kids movies.
