Literary Birthday – 26 September – Minette Walters

Happy Birthday, Minette Walters, born on 26 September 1949.

Minette Walters Quotes

1. When I set out to write my story, I did so with the absolute understanding that the people who read it would be intelligent.
2. I have always been fascinated by the challenge that crime fiction represents to an author. I wanted to know if I could carry an intricate plot for 100,000 words, and keep readers guessing, while I was portraying characters under considerable tension.
3. My two best working times are from early morning to about 1.30 p.m. and then from about 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. or later.
4. My major hobby and the way I always unwind is to decorate my house while listening to the many excellent BBC stations on the radio.
5. The Ice House took me two years to write. a year for my agent to sell it and a year before it was published. By that time I had already finished The Sculptress. It takes me about a year to write a thriller now.
6. I believe you should write what you enjoy reading. If you attempt to write something you don’t like, you’ll go mad!
7. My two favourite genres growing up were crime and historical fiction, so both subjects – criminology and history – have always fascinated me. There are many similarities between the two, not least motivation. Why is any victim murdered? Why do governments see war as a solution? And then, of course, the fingering of the culprit or culprits. Who was responsible? In each genre, there’s as much grey as there is black and white. Murderers aren’t all bad. Victims aren’t all good. War may be a necessary evil to keep a country safe. Or it may be a reckless squandering of life to shore up an unpopular government. For an author, to explore and balance such ideas is intriguing, challenging and exciting.

Minette Walters is an English crime writer. She has written numerous books, five of which have been adapted for television. Her works include The Scold’s Bridle, The Ice House, The Echo, The Sculptress, and The Dark Room. The Ice House won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey award for best first novel. Minette was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. Her second novel, The Sculptress, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. Her third novel, The Scold’s Bridle, then won the CWA Gold Dagger, giving her a unique treble. Walters is published in almost 40 countries and has sold in excess of 25 million copies of her books worldwide. Her themes include isolation, family dysfunction, rejection, marginalisation, justice, and revenge. Her latest book is The Players, a work of historical fiction.

Source for Image: Author’s website

by Amanda Patterson
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