Hi everyone!
This week’s #SJsTwitterBookClub featured author A A Dhand (@aadhand), who popped in to talk about his writing, and in particular his brilliant Harry Virdee thriller “One Way Out”.
I asked Amit if he would give us a spoiler-free, tweet-length introduction to the book. “My latest #HarryVirdee novel asks the very simple question - in order to save 1000 innocent lives, would you kill 4 toxic, criminals? I wrote this book asking myself - are all lives equal? You'll have to read it to find out the answer!” Tantalising stuff!
We talked about whether we write in silence or like music. Amit said, “I used to write in silence for many years and then read Stephen King's "ON WRITING" and learned that he writes to music. I tried it and never looked back. There music drowns the noise of the world out but also depending on the track it also influences me”.
It was a fascinating, fun discussion, even though we also got onto more serious topics (such as the ongoing lack of representation of BAME authors, and crime authors in particular, in publishing). Amit said, “Publishing needs to look long and hard in the mirror and ask itself if all of the noise it makes about representation is backed by investment in BAME writers. Has a BAME author EVER signed a six-figure deal for commercial crime fiction? Answer... NOPE.”
We also talked about Amit’s home city of Bradford, UK, where his books are set. I mentioned my first ever event (for Before I Go to Sleep) and the fact that a certain someone was in the audience.
It’s a story I knew already of course, as Amit told me when I met him at Capital Crime in 2019. Here he is, signing a copy of that book for me. Full circle!
Next week on #SJsTwitterBookClub we welcome Dorothy Koomson (@DorothyKoomson) and we'll talking about her brilliant ALL MY LIES ARE TRUE. That's Thursday at 7pm (UK time).
Happy reading!