Interview with Wendy Carmell,
Author of STEPS TO HEAVEN
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I’m an expat Brit who lives on the Costa del Sol in Spain. I live with my husband and two dogs near the beach. I've a BA Hons degree in English and Education and have worked in PR, communications and edited a large corporate newspaper. I’m very lucky to have a writing group nearby which I’ve been attending for four years now.
Do you remember the first story you wrote?
It was a Halloween witch story for my children. The Brownies needed a storyteller for the Halloween Night meeting, so I made up a story where a young witch needed items for a spell. I collected all the things she needed and the children got to put their hands on the ingredients. This later became the Wilhelmina the Witch story I self published.
Were you inspired by someone or something?
I started off, like a lot of writers, by writing what I wanted to read. And that was crime novels. Using the old adage of 'write what you know' Sgt Major Crane was born out of my husband's 22 year's service in the British Army. We set the books in Aldershot - The Home of the British Army. I am very humbled that the Crane novels are now being enjoyed all over the world, sometimes to critical acclaim.
What do you like about writing a story?
Being transported into Crane’s world. It’s like watching a tv programme in my head and I write down what I see.
Can you tell us about your book?
Steps to Heaven: Sergeant Major Crane is a Special Investigations Branch Detective in the British Army, he is the soldier who polices other soldiers. He thinks he has seen every crime known to both war and peace. But nothing has prepared him for the case of Solomon. An Afghanistan veteran he has murdered his wife and six year old son and then committed suicide. Soon there are similar horrific murders around the country. Crane knows there must be a connection. But what? Crane starts to investigate the local Church Solomon was attending. But with the body count rising, events start to take a darker turn … could the Church be the connection? Is the Church offering salvation? Or is it forcing people to take the first, untimely Steps to Heaven?
What genre best fits for the book?
They’ve been called thrillers, mysteries set in the military and they also read like police procedurals – so take your pick really.
Are you working on something new at the moment?
A new series based on another character from the Crane novels. This time they’re more action/adventure and I hope to write books in this series and the Crane series.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Read a lot, write a lot and read a good writing book. Stephen King’s On Writing is excellent.
Where can people go to read your work?
At the moment the ebooks are only on Amazon. The paperbacks can be ordered through Amazon or your local bookstore.
Do you have anything to add?
I’ve just been published by Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading publisher of digital books, so I’m really excited about that. There are five books so far in the Crane series and the first two books Steps to Heaven and 40 Days 40 Nights have now been published by Endeavour. At the moment we’re bringing out a book a month.
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