Author Biography
From DianeJeffrey.com
Diane Jeffrey was born in 1973 and grew up in the UK: in North Devon and Northern Ireland. She spent a lot of her childhood in the water: either in the swimming pool or the Atlantic Ocean, as she swam competitively and also did surf life saving for several years. She was actually the first female lifeguard to work on the beaches in the UK. This is probably her main claim to fame!
I have written five psychological thrillers, all published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, and all bestselling ebooks: Those Who Lie (2017), He Will Find You (2018), The Guilty Mother (2019), a USA Today bestseller, The Silent Friend (2020), A Karin Slaughter Killer Reads pick for ASDA, and The Couple at Causeway Cottage (2022). I am currently working on my sixth novel.
When I’m not teaching or writing, I run (a little) and swim (a lot). I devour chocolate, books and beer. I love holidays and travelling. Above all, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
When did you start writing? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
I started writing when I was very young. Poems, a diary, short stories. I’d written my first novel by the age of 8, entitled The Stowaway, although I doubt very much it was anywhere near the required word count! Needless to say, it didn’t get published!
How did you come up with the idea for The Couple at Causeway Cottage?
The Couple at Causeway Cottage is set on a tiny island off the Northern Irish coast called Rathlin. The germ of an idea was planted when I visited this island with my family. I’d visited it before as a child, but this was the first time I was struck by what life as an islander really involved. On that day, the weather was glorious and we hiked all around the island. But I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like in the winter if there were storms and the ferries couldn’t operate. And my “novel” idea sprang from that!
On your website, you say, “My plots are based on ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary – and terrifying – situations.” Why do you think you like to explore those kinds of stories?
I think it’s vital for readers to root for your main character and if your main characters are ordinary people with flaws and qualities, then we can relate to them.
Authors need readers to care what happens to their characters.
Did you have a specific writing routine/process for The Couple at Causeway Cottage? Has that process changed at all over the course of your successful writing career?
I’m not one of these people who can sit down and write 1,000 words every day. For a start, until now, I’ve been juggling writing with a full-time job (this year I’m teaching part-time to get more writing done!), I have three children and like to do a lot of sport. I write when I feel like it and when I have the time. That way, it never feels like a chore; it’s always a thrill to sit down and type away at my keyboard.
It takes me a year to write the first draft of my books, but I edit and revise extensively as I go along, so when I’ve finished the first draft, I send it straight to my editor.
I always write my books more or less in order, though, chapter by chapter. And I have to plan my books in some detail before I start writing. I write a synopsis and character profiles and I need to know my main twist before I can even think about the opening paragraph!
This has been my writing process for all five of my books as well as the one I’m currently working on.
You’re represented by Sam Copeland of RCW Literary Agency. How did you find Sam? What was it about him that made you want to work with him? Do you have any advice on what writers should look for in an agent?
Sam was my first choice as an agent, so I was very lucky that he offered me representation. I wanted to work with Sam because he’s one of the best agents out there, he’s brilliant and he has an amazing sense of humour.
If writers are looking for an agent, they need to approach someone who is a good fit for them as far as their personalities are concerned and someone who will champion their books.
My agent is always extremely quick to get back to me, even when I’m panicking over nothing. He rings me when I need pep talks / advice / to whinge. He manages me pretty well on the whole!
As an experienced, successful author with multiple e-book bestselling novels as well as a USA Today Bestseller (The Guilty Mother) and a Karin Slaughter Killer Reads pick (The Silent Friend), what do you suggest for aspiring authors? Any advice or suggestions that worked for you that you can pass along?
The best piece of advice I can give from my own experience is that you should never give up if you want to become a published author. It has been my dream since I was little to be published, but it got put on hold for years and then my first serious attempts were unanimously rejected.
My dream only came true when I was 43. You need a little bit of luck, but, above all, you need to persevere and learn to take on board any comments and feedback you get along the way.
What book(s) are you reading at the moment?
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I love her work and was a huge fan long before Me Before You!
What book(s) most inspired you to write?
I started to read very young and as a child, I was an Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl addict. Their books were what made me want to write.
As a young teen, my mum took me to the library and we would take out thrillers by Mary Higgins Clark, Ruth Rendell and P.D. James. A little later, I discovered Stephen King.
I wrote a ‘chick lit’ novel when my son was a (very calm) baby, as I was reading a lot of romcoms at the time, but ten years later when I tried my hand at novel-writing again, I switched to psychological thrillers. Elizabeth Haynes’s Into the Darkest Corner was the book that inspired this change of genre.
So now that The Couple at Causeway Cottage is out, what are you working on? Do you have another story in the works?
I have another psychological thriller – my sixth – coming out next year. I’m currently writing the final chapters of the first draft of this book. I’ve had so much fun writing it and can’t wait for it to be published!
What do you hope people take away from reading your books?
I hope that something in the novel stays with them after they finish the book. Hopefully, my readers will spend a few days thinking about the main character or the ending or some of the issues dealt with in my books. Ultimately, I hope that my readers will finish one book and either look forward to my next one or look up my backlist!
