AJ’s
interest in this area of the human mind led her to publish her first novel, The
Evil Beneath - a successful
psychological thriller whose protagonist is a psychotherapist called Juliet
Grey. Her second novel Girl on a Train sold over 60,000
copies worldwide. In July 2015 A
Dark Place to Hide was published and now AJ’s fourth thriller, No
Longer Safe, has sold 30,000 copies in the first month, in ten
countries worldwide. She has publishing deals in France, Germany (Random House)
and USA (audiobooks).
AJ Waines
currently lives in Southampton with her husband and as well as writing fiction
she has published The Self-Esteem Journal (as Alison Waines).
No Longer Safe is a psychological thriller about four friends who meet, after no contact for six years, in a remote cottage for a winter reunion. The dynamics of the friendships have changed from their time at university and as secrets and lies unravel events quickly turn sour.
Tell us of your journey as a writer
I’ve had a colourful career
from professional musician through to psychotherapist, which I enjoyed for 15
years, then writer. I’ve always loved words, images and metaphors and in
psychotherapy, these are the means by which we navigate our inner emotional
worlds. I pay a lot of attention to how we explore and express what we feel. By
2008, however, I felt quite burnt out with others’ emotional upheavals and
started my first piece of fiction. I always thought novelists were superhuman, so I started with a short
story – then somehow just kept going until it was a novel! That book got me a
top London agent and from then on, I was completely hooked and have never
looked back.
How do you see your role as a writer and what do you like most about
it?
I see my role mostly to
transport and entertain. I love that feeling, as a reader, of having a gripping
book to come back to and if I can deliver that same kind of escapism, I’m
delighted. I can categorically say that writing novels has taken over my life! Being
both traditionally and independently published, writing has become my ‘business’
and I love co-ordinating the entire book producing process, from start to
finish. I’ve learnt a huge amount and it’s been the most challenging and
rewarding thing I’ve ever done. The best bit, if I had to choose, would be the
writing itself – I completely lose track of time and relish the escape into the
scenes of my story. To quote Gloria Steinem: ‘Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't
feel I should be doing something else’.
Have you ever created a character who you dislike but find yourself
empathising with?
I’ve written plenty of
characters with flaws or psychological disturbances, but I hope I portray them
in a way that allows the reader to see why they act as they do. My most
unpleasant character is probably Mark, in No
Longer Safe. He’s moody and a control freak, with very few saving graces –
but I loved writing about him! I think central characters need to be complex
and compelling and as a former therapist I’m always drawn to the dark side.
GW
recently organised #diverseauthorday. What has been your experience of writing
about characters of colour?
It would be
inauthentic to set a novel in London (Girl on a Train has scenes in
Stockwell and Brixton), without including characters from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
I used to live in the centre of Brixton and two of the characters in that book have
Afro-Caribbean origins. There is
also a character who is blind. It felt important to bring those distinctive personalities
to the story.
If you could be transported instantly, anywhere in the world, where
would you most like to spend your time writing? And why?
Ideally, I’d like to be on a veranda
overlooking a river. I love The Thames and several of my books include scenes there.
In The Evil Beneath, I wanted to
capture the two aspects of the River Thames; one as a beautiful and majestic
presence winding through the city, the other as a sinister force harbouring
unexpected offerings. I love writing about the changing seasons, so even though
I hate the cold, it would have to be the UK. A balcony in Hammersmith, Mortlake
or Richmond would be perfect!
What is the one book you wish you had written?
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller. It’s a very
intense slow-burn about obsession, jealousy and betrayal, from the viewpoint of
a lonely spinster who finds out her fellow teacher at the school - the young,
vivacious woman she’s fixated on - is having an affair with a pupil. It’s a
superb psychological thriller.
What advice do you have for would be novelists?
Don’t worry too much about how
‘good’ it sounds – just get the story down. No one need see those early drafts
and you can go back and fill things out, cut them, mend them, improve them at
the next stage. This takes the pressure off that first draft straight away.
Set writing goals. I set myself
writing targets every day and keep records of how much I’ve written. Then I can
see a steady progress and get a sense of achievement.
Never leave your writing at the
end of a scene or chapter. I always sketch notes for what is to happen next, so
that I can step straight into the feel of the story the next day. A blank page
is hard to work with.
What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to reading?
I have a
Trilogy – a series of three psychological thrillers coming out next. They all
feature an intrepid (fictional) Clinical Psychologist, Samantha Willerby, who
is based at a hospital in London. She faces extraordinary crimes hidden inside
chilling mysteries that test her to the limit. The first book is called Inside the Whispers (due out Autumn
2016) and is about several passengers who recount scenes from the same Tube
disaster - an incident, Sam discovers, that they were never involved in. I’m
also halfway through writing a first draft of another one!
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