About Wendy

When did you first know you wanted to write?

I loved writing stories at school and have experimented with poetry and short stories on and off throughout my life. I also wrote several pantomimes for my local Am Dram group during the twenty-tens. Writing a novel was always on my bucket list but, for many years, I didn’t have the time or the self-belief that I could finish a full-length novel.

When did you write your first novel?

I started writing my first book during the COVID lockdown in 2020 when, like many people, I suddenly had time on my hands. It took two months to complete the first draft of around 80,000 words, after which I inflicted it on several friends and family members. The manuscript was set to one side for a couple of years, and then it took a major re-write to eventually finish it.

When and how was your first book published?

I took a hybrid self-publishing route, using a reputable small Press in the UK. Yes, there were cheaper options if I was prepared to do all the editing, page design, book layout and book cover design myself, but I’m not that great with technology and I wanted a professional finish for my book. The Choir Press in Gloucester have been brilliant. My first book, The Mystery of the Missing Brooch, was published through them in October 2024.

Why not use a traditional publisher?

I tried sending my manuscript to several publishers, without success. That doesn’t mean my book wasn’t good enough, it’s simply that the odds of a debut author (without an agent) getting a traditional publishing contract are miniscule. For most new authors, self-publishing is now the way to go. There are many excellent self-published authors out there!

How did you choose what genre to write?

I have been an avid reader since I was a child and have read widely across genres, although I don’t like sci-fi or horror. But as I’ve got older, I mostly read crime and thrillers, and I watch a lot of crime dramas and documentaries on TV. I wanted to write a murder-mystery that was as much about the mystery as the actual murder, and I wanted an amateur sleuth. That lead me to cosy murder-mystery.

What authors have influenced your writing?

I am a fan of Agatha Christie, and I’ve read many of the classic crime authors including Dorothy L Sayers, Colin Dexter, Elizabeth George, Ngaio Marsh and many more. But I also like contemporary authors, including LJ Ross, Joy Ellis and Ann Cleeves, to name but a few. But I’d like to think that I’ve developed my own style!

Why set your books in Salisbury?

I lived in various villages around Salisbury in Wiltshire over a twenty-six-year period. It’s a beautiful city that’s close to my heart as it’s where my two children were born and where I married for the second time. Although I no longer live there, I return regularly to visit friends and family.

What inspired your pair of amateur sleuths?

My characters are entirely fictional... but I will admit that Meg Thornton shares elements of my own life and was partly inspired by a dear friend who has now sadly passed away. In the first draft of book one, Meg was a solo sleuth. But I realized that having a resident of a care home investigating on her own had certain limitations, particularly when it came to planning the series. That inspired me to create Lauren Peachy, her much younger counterpart, who brings a balance between age and youth, experience and willingness to learn. Lauren can do all the things Meg can’t, like using modern technology!

How many books have you written and published?

So far, only two have been published, in October 2024 and April 2025, but there are more to come. Book three in my series The Salisbury Murders is due for publication in autumn 2025, and book four is also written and will be published in spring 2026. I’m currently researching for book five, which I’m excited to say will be set in Salisbury Cathedral!

Have you any plans to write a different series?

I still have lots of ideas for The Salisbury Murders, but I think that series will reach a natural conclusion at some point in the future. So, I am currently exploring two possible spin-off series, one of which will follow Lauren into her future, and the other will be a retrospective series about Meg’s earlier life with her DCI husband in the nineteen-seventies and eighties.