**AUTHOR Q&A** Fleur Hitchcock "Murder in Midwinter"

Today I'm lucky enough to welcome Children's Author Fleur Hitchcock to my blog! 

"Murder in Midwinter" was published in October by Nosy Crow and would be the perfect wintery tale for any reader between the ages of 9-12 years. 

But enough of this - let's meet Fleur and find out more about murder, mystery and midwinter!

  I love the opening of "Murder in Midwinter" and that idea of just glancing out of the window of a bus and in those crucial two minutes, seeing something that changes the course of your life. Has there ever been a moment in your life when something caught your eye from the bus, car or cafe window that somehow affected you?

When I was a child, I did the same bus journey every Saturday and I would look into the same houses from the top deck of the bus.  I never saw anything as disturbing as Maya’s glimpse, but I did see tiny fragments of other people’s lives. I saw people aging, new babies, ill advised building projects that languished and died. It was that sense of passing through, which is exactly what happens to Maya.  More recently, I did travel on a stop start bus through central London at Christmas, and without realising it, it must have been the germ of the idea.

In your novel, Maya uses her phone to take a photo. What was the last thing you took a photo of on your phone and who did you share it with?

Oh this is sad – The last photo I shared was a picture of a 1970s brown sink that was in a cottage we rented in Cornwall. It was so extraordinary, I had to capture it, and I shared it on twitter. 

 In the novel, Maya has to go and stay with relatives in Wales. For you, where would be the worst place you could be sent and why? 

A place with no books – that would be awful. I’ve recently stayed in a long string of holiday cottages with no books and no pictures on the walls. Boy, were they hard work.

 Have you ever been a witness to a crime or seen something you wish you hadn't? (this question comes from my 10yr old!!) 

A crime was committed very near my childhood home (kidnapping) but I kind of missed out on all the excitement – and a policeman who lived near us thought he had a bomb left under his car but it wasn’t a bomb, it was just a badly welded exhaust pipe. Still, it provided some excitement for the day. But my dad, who was disabled, once brought down a bag snatcher with his walking stick and sat on him.  Does that count?

Absolutely!! That sounds like a scene that needs to be written into a book sometime! 

You have written a lot of novels! Which would you recommend I read next and why? 

If you can get a copy (DEAR SCARLETT is having a shiny new cover) I’d recommend DEAR SCARLETT or SAVING SOPHIA – They’re not quite so heart-in-your-mouth – but they are character led adventures and they do contain risk, and in DEAR SCARLETT’S case, quite a few laughs. Your 10 year old might like them too.

They sound great - I shall investigate and add them to his Christmas present list! 

Are you writing anything at the moment? Will there be a "Murder in Midsummer" to look forward to at any point in the future?!

Right this second, I’m writing four younger adventure stories about a collection of cousins who stay on their grandparents’ farm in the countryside.  They’re a great deal of fun and there are lots of cream teas and are for Nosy Crow

But more murder? That would be telling...

.......oh that is too tantalising!! I will be watching out for your new titles when they appear! 

Thanks so much for answering my questions - it's been really interesting hearing you chat and finding out a bit more about you. Thanks so much for your time and good luck with all your writing projects! 

You can find out more about Fleur on her website:
https://fleurhitchcock.wordpress.com

Or from Nosy Crow:
nosycrow.com

For my review of "Murder in Midwinter" please click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/childrens-fiction-murder-in-midwinter.html

If you would like to see more or my reviews or recommendations, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)