'The Sizewell Murders'

I began writing crime fiction in the first instance using the name of Ellis Johnson (there is another L. S. Johnson out there, in California). This includes my ongoing DCI Doggett series – kicking off with ‘The Sizewell Murders’ (where a rotating cast of criminals, set in sleepy Suffolk, confront murder most foul against the backdrop of the construction of a new nuclear power facility in the area).

I was initially approached by an alternative fiction fan who wanted to develop his publishing company (using my writing) and then branched into doing my own imprint, encouraged by the positive reception my first book received. As of December 2024 'Case Closed Monday' has sold well over a thousand copies, all digital, via Amazon. I consider myself a professional novelist.

In ‘The Sizewell Murders’ I redefine the crime genre for the 21st century taking all the well-worn but much-loved tropes fans will recognise and giving them a new spin that update the time-honoured staples of the genre. A grizzled old copper (DCI Doggett) is tempted out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of a beautiful young girl (Cora – the chief nimby’s cleaner). 

As Simon (CEO of a large energy company charged with building Sizewell) tries to clinch the deal his problems seem to multiply – are his spoilt, rich daughters involved or implicated, can his marriage survive the strain?! In doing I meet the high standards that all crime fans will expect – the cherry on the cake is that her writing is hilarious and she is having the time of her life as an author. 

Join me on my writer’s journey.

And now, onto the Q & A:

GA: What got you started as a writer? 

I started a few years back – I found out that it was possible to publish your own work and promote it via Amazon in conjunction with social media channels. I just got on with it. 

GA: Where did you find the inspiration for The Sizewell Murders? 

Circumstances took me to Suffolk where I now reside. There is a lot of local furore around the eponymous power station – I liked the idea of weaving a trail of corruption around realising such a controversial construction project alongside a selection of almost stock crime/thriller characters. 

GA: Your main character is the wonderfully idiosyncratic Doggett, reluctantly retired from the police force. What were the challenges in writing close third person from his viewpoint? 

I am not a retired policeman propping himself up with an ill-chosen snifter, however I have a lot of feeling for the opposite sex who are in the twilight years of their career. He is the least troublesome of my ensemble cast. 

GA: How did you choose Doggett’s name? 

It is just a play on words really – Doggett, Dogged, it is his character. He doesn’t really give up although he would be a lot better off if he would! 

GA: You call The Sizewell Murders a novelette. Can you explain the term novelette? 

I looked it up on the internet, apparently you can have a long length work of fiction that isn’t fully a novella – technically it is a novelette. I was tired of the pressure to produce a longer word count so I thought I would leave the work as it stands. I would rather write in the manner of a Dickens than a Dan Brown anyway. 

GA: With regard to the word count for a novelette, Jericho Writers explains: 

…the novelette falls somewhere in between a short story and a novella. With a word count of around 7,500-19,000 words, the novelette borders both the top end of a short story and the length usually acceptable for a novella… the novelette enables writers to give more flesh to the bones of their short story, though the writing still needs to be concise. 

GA: I also came across this interesting article in the Guardian, in praise of short books.

GA: Do you have a typical writing routine? 

When I was under the pressure to prove I could do it (write a book), I knocked out 1-3k words a day – however a good friend fed and watered me over that time. I would say to writers or people who want to be writers, write as well as you can, not as much as you can. That isn’t really fashionable at the moment, especially when it has never been easier to publish and reach an audience but it would be nice to look back and not regret one’s output, after all we are putting our name to it or even our reputation in whatever small way. I realised I was a writer when I looked back and saw the vast collection of notebooks I have amassed, full of my scribbles, ideas and notes to self. I can’t change, managing creative people is really herding cats! The routine part would really be showing up in on-line communities – to be frank. 

GA: What are your favourite and least favourite parts of writing? 

I love positive feedback – don’t we all? I was almost beside myself when I realised I could actually do this for a living. Working alone can be a bit monotonous so that is not great – you do need validation in some respect, that is why the ability to meet the public via the internet is such huge progress – for all writers, however they are working. 

GA: Are you part of a writing community? If so, how does this help? 

I have mixed feelings about writing communities – I have been a member of several but I am quite distrustful of other’s supposed expertise. We can all get hold of Stephen King’s book about being a writer and proclaim ourselves, and established institutions have their agendas, inevitably. Let the work speak for itself and find your way – there is no shortage of advice out there if that is what you want or need but they don’t necessarily know better than you. You must put in the time and effort, it is boring really. I realised it is a business and my efforts are no better or worse than anyone else’s. 

 The Sizewell Murders will be released on 28 September 2023. It’s available for pre-order through Amazon UK and Amazon US now.

This interview first appeared on Gail Baldwin dot com and has been subsequently lightly edited.