I also feel that a certain fearless honestly is a hallmark of much great writing, so it can help to write while imagining that no one will ever read it!Īnd lastly, what does the rest of 2014 have in store for you? With fiction especially, it’s important to write about what inspires you and what you like to read.

Writing ability is like a muscle, I feel they more you use it, the more it can do. I think it’s important to write on a regular basis, if only for a small amount of time each day. What advice would you give to new writers aspiring to publication? Novellas do need to be well-structured because there’s so little space, so I carefully keep track of things going on at the sub-plot level, and it’s important of course to try to provide that satisfying yet inevitable ending! I try to have a hypothetical ending in mind and then let the characters come alive. How would you describe your writing process, do you dive right in, or plan the story out first? Plus, it has a pace and a structure that makes for a very satisfying read, when done well. All crime results from some failure in relationships. I read social history at university and I find that crime fiction is a fascinating way to explore themes in society. What attracted you to writing crime fiction?

It wasn’t all bad, but getting up at dawn on wintery mornings to peruse the harbour (as my central character does) took some getting used to! I spent a lot of time in bars and cafes listening to locals and watching how they interacted. Thank you! I lived in the docklands area of Amsterdam for three months to capture the voice of the main character and his physical world. Your novellas have a really strong sense of place, how do you go about researching them? I felt that Amsterdam lent itself as well to the genre as the neighbouring Scandinavian capitals, where of course crime fiction is huge! So finally I decided to write some … I have a close sister living in Amsterdam so I’d visit often and struggle to find good crime fiction set there, which surprised me. The Maze is one of the first crime books I’ve read set in Holland, what was it that inspired you to write a series about a Dutch detective? As his investigations gather pace, he has to fend off powerful, vested interests while unravelling the connections between the crimes. Protagonist Henk van der Pol, a maverick Amsterdam cop, confronts a maze-like set of cases involving diamonds, fine art, drugs and high-class prostitution. It’s the second novella in a Dutch detective series (you don’t need to have read the first). So, Daniel, your latest novella/Kindle Single – Harbour Master II: The Maze – is out now. Hot on the release of his latest novella, Daniel kindly agreed to allow us to grill him about his writerly habits … Today I’m delighted to welcome author Daniel Pembrey to the CTG blog.

The Harbour Master II by Daniel Pembrey