Interview with Wendy Jones

Wendy H. Jones is a Scottish crime writer who lives and works in Dundee, where her books are set. Before becoming a full-time author, she served 23 years in the Royal Navy and British Army as a nurse, leaving with the rank of Major, then worked in academia directing nurse education and university faculty. She is the president of the Scottish Association of Writers, co-founder of Crime at the Castle (a Scottish crime festival), and presents the Writing Buzz show on Mearns FM. She writes the DI Shona McKenzie mystery series, the Fergus and Flora young adult mysteries, and the Cass Claymore Investigates series. She makes a good living as a full-time writer.

Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Wendy H. Jones

Interview Transcript

Richard: Tell me about yourself.

Wendy: I joined the Royal Navy at 18 as a nurse, then the Army as a nurse, and after 23 years left with the rank of Major. I’ve always been a reader — I joined the library when I was three, which was some feat because you couldn’t join until five. I worked my way through all the mysteries: the Hardy Boys, the Famous Five, Nancy Drew, everything. Crime was a natural progression.

When I was five, my mother — who was a secretary — decided I needed a typewriter. A real typewriter. So at five, I was writing Enid Blyton fanfiction before fanfiction was a thing. I’ve been writing all my life.

From Nursing to Novels

Wendy: In academia, you’re expected to publish, so I wrote modules for nursing courses, articles for magazines, and nursing textbooks. Then I got really ill and reevaluated my life, moved back to Scotland, and thought I was too young to just sit around. So I tried my hand at writing a novel. It seemed to work, and the rest is history.

The DI Shona McKenzie Series

Wendy: DI Shona McKenzie is a bit feisty, a bit funny, a bit smart, a bit sassy. At the beginning of the first book, Killer’s Countdown, she’s just returned to Dundee after her husband left her. The books are a dual storyline — you get to see things from the perspective of the killer and from the perspective of the police. There are six books and they all begin with “Killer’s” — Killer’s Countdown, Killer’s Craft, Killer’s Caught, and so on.

I’ve also written the Fergus and Flora mysteries for young adults — a bit Famous Five meets Scooby-Doo for an older age range. And my newest series, Cass Claymore Investigates, starts with Antiques and Alibis. Cass Claymore is a red-headed, motorbike-riding ex-ballerina who inherits a private detective agency and accidentally hires an ex-con dwarf and an octogenarian. It’s a bit Janet Evanovich comes to Scotland.

Never Kill an Animal

Wendy: Meeting fans is amazing. Sometimes you get letters saying you got something wrong, which is fair enough. But here’s the rule: never kill an animal. Seriously. I write about serial killers. There are a lot of dead bodies and nobody cares — until you kill an animal. Then you will get letters. Keep your hands away from the animals.

Say Yes

Wendy: One of my mottos is: say yes. Worry about the logistics later. If somebody says, “Would you like to write a picture book about a young buffalo?” say yes. If they say, “Would you like to speak at a conference in Australia?” say yes. Then work out the details afterward. Every time I’ve said yes, it’s worked out. My upcoming American book tour started because I said yes to something small, and it grew from a couple of weeks to six weeks.

Within reason, obviously — if someone says go to Tibet for a book signing but you have to pay for everything yourself, you might want to weigh the pros and cons.

Betty the Buffalo

Wendy: Last December in Scotland, a young buffalo went missing from a buffalo farm. They hunted for this buffalo for 13 days — the air patrol got involved, people were looking with night vision goggles, they sent friends’ cows out for a walk to attract him. The BBC got involved and called him Knab. Eventually he just took himself home.

The buffalo farm asked me if I’d write a children’s picture book about him. I said yes, got a publishing contract — which is very hard to get for children’s picture books — and the book is called Knab’s Great Escape.

Promotion: Be Everywhere

Wendy: People say, “Wendy, you are everywhere.” I go to conferences, I speak at conferences, I go to local book fairs, I use social media and paid advertising, I co-promote with other authors. I’m in all the bookshops and do events in bookshops. I’ve done book signings in banks — I entertained the queue with stories about murder and mayhem in Scotland, which is easy because I live in Dundee. Dundee is the murder capital of Scotland in real life.

I tell stories like how Jack the Ripper might be buried under the Dundee police station. A man named William Henry Bury came up from London, went into the police station and said his girlfriend had died, so he’d chopped her up and put her in a packing case. They were about to hang him when the Met Police arrived saying, “That chap you’re about to hang — when he left London, the killings stopped. We think he’s Jack the Ripper.” Nobody proved it either way. He was hanged inside the police station because they couldn’t manage the crowds for a public hanging. Then they buried him there.

The best time to start promoting your book is right now. If you haven’t started writing yet, promote your book. If you have nine books and haven’t done any promotion, promote your book. Tell the whole world you’re writing a book — people will keep you accountable. When I announced my first book, people immediately asked, “Where can I buy it?” I hadn’t written anything yet.

Advice for Writers

Wendy: Sit down and write. Just try it. Join a writing group — local or online — and you’ll get help, encouragement, and assistance. You’re more likely to finish if you’re part of a community.

I try to write every day. I write on trains, planes — not automobiles because I get carsick. If I get stuck on one part, I just start a bit later in the book and move on. I use Evernote on my phone — if I have five minutes waiting somewhere, I type something and paste it into my book later.

What I love about being an author is the autonomy. You’re your own boss. If you want to write in your pajamas downstairs, you can. What I like least is the same thing — if you want to sleep on the sofa and do nothing, that can happen too. You really do need to motivate yourself.

Learn more about Wendy H. Jones at wendyhjones.com.

Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.

Video edited by Bonnie Dillabough.