Today iI’m taking part in the blog tour for Pass The Cyanide. I’m sharing my Q&A with the author with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to Karmen Spiljak for answering my questions!

Have you always wanted to write?

Definitely, but I didn’t know I could also do this for a living. I’ve always loved stories and started writing them when I was very young, almost as soon as I learned how to write. Later on, writing became relaxation, a mental adventure of sorts. It was only in my thirties that I considered writing could become more than a hobby.

What were your previous jobs? Have they helped you with your writing process?

Oh, where do I start ☺? I’ve had loads of odd jobs, but I’ve learned something from each one of those, even if it was how to attend to people at cultural events, make coffee and serve wine, pack envelopes, type really fast or scan items at the cashier’s desk.

The one that helped my writing more directly was working for a student magazine as a writer and later on as a content editor in an agency. I’ve learned how to cut the fluff out of text, so as not to lose the precious few seconds of people’s attention when surfing the web. That unvaluable skill has served me well when revising.

As for the other jobs, I mostly learned a lot about people, which definitely helps when creating characters.

What was your inspiration for the story A Little Revenge?

I saw one of those viral TikTok stories, where the wife complains about her husband inviting a horde of people over for holidays without even asking her. Naturally he expected her to cook and clean for all of them without complaining, while also tending to their children and whatnot. This triggered an idea and soon enough I drafted ‘A Little Revenge’.

How do you construct your characters? Do they have traits of people you know?

I’m not sure I actually do a lot of constructing. Usually, the characters emerge either by starting to talk or by doing something peculiar that makes me wonder who they are and why they’re acting this way. From there on, I lure them out with different exercises and explorations. Though they sometimes have traits or small details that I’ve noticed on other people, they’re not based on a real person. 

What does your writing process look like? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A mess, to put it shortly, but I came to accept and respect that mess. My ideas and notes on developing them are scattered across several notebooks, invoices, paper napkins, audio recordings, files and Post-it notes. Despite my wish to be more organised, I tend to use whatever is at hand and fumble later on when trying to retrieve the details.

While I do a fair amount of plotting, I don’t start until the idea has had the time to ferment and gain some substance. Afterwards, I plot out the core structure, a few pillar scenes that will carry the story, and then wing the rest. Before I finish, I use three or four different story structure models to bring everything together into a coherent unit.

I give myself more freedom when writing short stories, and just write without knowing exactly where I’m going or how I’m going to get there. Of course, I redraft and revise until the story makes sense. 

How did you research? Did you enjoy it?

Ha! Yes, I always research, though for ‘Pass the Cyanide’ it was mostly about different poisons, ways to make my characters suffer or get away with crime. I do enjoy some of it, but I often have to look into some tedious details that aren’t so enjoyable. Frankly, I’m surprised no one has knocked on my doors or that Google hasn’t pegged me down as a person of interest.

Who are your favourite writers? Are you influenced by them?

There are so many! I love reading Svetlana Makarovič, Vesna Lemaić and Miha Mazzini. Then there are Ira Levin, Margaret Atwood, Rod Serling, Shirley Jackson, Agatha Christie, Sarah Vaughan, Alex North, Silvia-Moreno Garcia and Stephen King. The list keeps on growing as I discover more great authors.

Am I influenced by any of them? I sure hope so, because they’re wonderful writers ☺.

If you could invite three people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be and why?

I’d invite three characters from my thriller, “No Such Thing As Goodbye”, Toni Morretti, Carl Lindhardt and Toni’s brother Jimmy, and interrogate them till they told me all their secrets. I was supposed to write more books in the Toni Morretti series, but the characters seemed to have made other plans.

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?

A spider, because they terrify me.

Who would play the main character/s in a film version of Marcel?

I’d love to see Michelle Dockery cast as Dani and Sandra Oh as Nora.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’ve recently rekindled my passion for sewing and added knitting to the list. Otherwise, mostly cooking, reading, taking photos, listening to podcasts and taking walks.

What is next for you?

I’m working on a speculative fiction dystopia, which is a bit of a change from my usual stuff, and I’ll follow up with a collection of speculative fiction that I’ve already started to assemble.

Favourites:

Book?

Just one? Ha! Impossible, but I might be able to narrow it down to top ten.

Film?

“Control” by Anton Corbijn

Band/Singer?

Depeche Mode

TV show?

Black Mirror

Colour?

Teal

Place?

Istanbul

Biscuit?

Speculoos. It’s irresistible.

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Pass The Cyanide is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: