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Hi, I’m Vanessa and welcome to my site.
In 2015, I won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect event and my first novel, Death Will Find Me, was published in February, 2019. The second Tessa Kilpatrick book will be out early next year and in the meantime, I’ll soon be launching a series of art crime thrillers.
You can find out more about me and what I’m up to by following the links at the top, and there are contact details below if you want to ask me any questions or invite me to talk at your bookshop, library or festival.
Category Archives: My Writing
On finishing. Or not.
The world seems to have moved on from Covid. At times, unsettlingly so. We don’t wear masks any more, the use of antibacterial rub is less frequent, and it often seems that people have abandoned any notion of personal space. … Continue reading
Posted in My Writing, Writing
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What I’m writing now
Writers are often advised to pick a literary lane and stay in it. We’re told readers like us to be consistent and not to veer off down storytelling diversions because the people who buy gritty crime thrillers don’t want their … Continue reading
Posted in My Writing, Writing
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New book – Trace Evidence
The last few months have been pretty quiet, especially with our son back at university, but I’ve been using my time surprisingly well. When I look back at this year it seems I’ve been more productive than I thought. Thus … Continue reading
Posted in Life, My Writing, Writing
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Decisions, decisions, decisions…
It is striking that I’ve written only three blog posts so far this year – a vague one about the progress (or lack of it) that Death Will Find Me had made in terms of finding a publisher, a piece … Continue reading
Posted in My Writing, Writing
Tagged agents, daring greatly, Death Will Find Me, editors, plans, publishers
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Writing in the dunes, imagining the scene as the German Navy surrendered…
In the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, back when I was writing an early draft of Death Will Find Me and still getting to know my characters, I saw an image from the day the German fleet surrendered to the British … Continue reading
Posted in My Writing, Writing
Tagged Death Will Find Me, out and about, Scotland, short story, World War One, writing, WW1
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