Sarah Bailey is the Author of Into the Night, which I reviewed earlier this month. Here, she talks about her new book and the inspiration behind it....
Tell me about your new book.
WHERE THE DEAD GO will be released in August and is the third book in the Detective Gemma Woodstock series. In the first book, THE DARK LAKE, readers witnessed Gemma struggle with the homicide of a local high school teacher as she navigated some pretty hairy events in her personal life. This time Gemma is confronted with a tragedy that impacts her family and of course she is also tasked with solving a new case. A fifteen year old girl goes missing from a small coastal town near Byron Bay and her boyfriend turns up dead a few days later. Gemma is flown in to work out what has happened to both of them.
What was the first flash of inspiration for it?
Because this book is part of a series, I have been toying with a few different plot lines for a while. I am always thinking about what Gemma might get up to next!
When I started writing this book a year ago, I knew I wanted to deviate from a pure homicide storyline and had been thinking about exploring a missing person mystery. Then I read about a case in the US which prompted me to consider a scenario whereby it wasn’t clear if a missing person was the victim or the perpetrator, and I just created the story from there.
What do you love most in the world?
Lots of things! It probably goes without saying that I adore my two crazy and interesting children. I also don’t think you can beat the feeling you get when an idea starts to form. There is nothing quite like the potential of a new idea.
What do you fear most in the world?
I am terrified of injections and blood tests. I know it is completely irrational, but I lose it every time I need to get either. I had hoped to out-grow it but I actually think it’s getting worse.
What are your five favourite childhood books?
I loved Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and read it several times. I also loved The Secret Garden and The Hobbit. When I was a bit older, I couldn’t get enough of John Marsden’s Tomorrow When the War Began series and I must have read Anne of Green Gables about one million times. I read a lot as a child.
What are your 5 favourite books read as an adult?
It is virtually impossible to narrow it down to five. I think I would struggle to nail my top twenty! I have a huge soft spot for Tully by Paullina Simmons and I was blown away by Alex Garland’s The Beach when I first read it. I think The Great Gatsby is the perfect book and reread it every couple of years. More recently I loved Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney and thought that Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough was one of the best thrillers I have ever read.
What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I read fairly widely. I enjoy most literary fiction, I really like mainstream fiction and lately I have gotten into non-fiction and memoirs. Anything that sucks me in has my vote. I’m not sure that there is anything that would be especially surprising although people might expect to find more crime fiction. Perhaps the sheer volume of books might be a bit shocking!
How would you describe perfect happiness?
It depends entirely on my mood. I am fairly mercurial. Sometimes my favourite thing is to go out to an amazing restaurant or a fun bar with a bunch of friends and eat, drink and enjoy debating the hot topics of the day. Other times all I want is to be home on the couch with my kids watching a movie or reading a book. I’m very social but I enjoy my downtime too.
What are your dreams for the future?
I have many! I want to write more books and have lots of plot ideas already. I also want to try my hand at a screenplay. But I am also passionate about my career in advertising and have huge ambitions for the agency I currently manage, and the success I think it can have. I guess I’m going to be busy!
Click here to read my book review of Sarah Bailey's Into the Night:
