This week, we got to speak to the Queen of Crime herself, Fleur Hitchcock! Fleur shared some of her brilliant tips and tricks to writing her novels, as well as letting us in on a secret or two (hint: you might be surprised by the authors she's never read!) We discuss setting, Scandi noir vs. 'cosy' crime, the vital importance of pony books, and a wonderful connection to the great Nina Bawden. Get your crime-solving hats on, and join in the fun!

Find Fleur online at her agent's website: The Shaw Agency

Stories mentioned this week include some of Fleur's own:

Shrunk!

Dear Scarlett

Murder at Wintertide

Murder at Snowfall

... and many more

And the stories which shaped her include:

The work of Malcolm Saville

The Silver Sword, by Ian Seraillier

Richard Scarry's Storybook Dictionary

Ant and Bee, by Angela Banner, illustrated by Bryan Ward

Andy Pandy - originally a BBC television show; later a comic strip in Robin magazine

The Batman comics/character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane

The Superman comics/character, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

The Green Lantern comics/character, created by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell

The Justice League comics/characters, originally conceived by Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox

Tintin: Explorers on the Moon, by Hergé

Asterix, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

Tammy, and June - comics originally published by Fleetway between 1971 and 1984

Bunty - comic originally published by DC Thompson and Co between 1958 and 2001

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Michel Simeon (1967)

The Otterbury Incident, by Cecil Day-Lewis, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone

Nightbirds on Nantucket, by Joan Aiken

Black Hearts in Battersea, by Joan Aiken

The work of Josephine, Christine, and Diane Pullein-Thompson

National Velvet, by Enid Bagnold, illustrated by Lauriane Jones

The Manual of Horsemanship, and Keeping a Pony at Grass, published by the British Pony Society

The Ponies of Bunts, by Marjorie Mary Oliver

The work of Dick Francis

Flambards, by KM Peyton

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

The work of Henry Treece

Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliffe

Boys' Own books belonging to Fleur's uncles

The work of Nina Bawden

The work of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James Elroy, Louis L'Amour , James Herbert, Stephen King, Rachel Ward, Belinda Bauer

A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula le Guin

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

The Kelpie's Pearls, by Mollie Hunter, illustrated by Charles Keeping

Stig of the Dump, by Clive King, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.