THE WRITER’S LIFE

Vicki begins her day by walking up 30 flights of stairs in her apartment building to ‘wake up’, before having breakfast and heading for her desk. As her editor and marketing advisor are in London, Vicki touches base with them before starting work. Then it’s onto the self-appointed goal of writing 1000 words a day, which is about as long as this article. Usually, she writes 500-750 words because “if I try to write too many, then they end up being rubbish and I need to rewrite too much”, she says.

“I’ve never actually had a problem with doing the writing — it’s just that I rewrite things a million times before I’m satisfied. Although I am starting to find now with book No. 2, I am not doing that quite so much. I usually know what I want to say and the feeling I want to evoke but finding the right words sometimes takes a few attempts.

“The main thing I had to learn about writing a whodunnit is what information to hold back to keep the mystery intriguing. What I might have revealed on page 10, for example, might have ended up being revealed on page 100. And I had to add in huge chunks to show more of the relationship and tension between the characters. The first 70 pages of The Raffles Affair weren’t even in the first draft.”

The Raffles Affair was published in April in Singapore, with it’s New Zealand release scheduled for 31 August. It is currently available for pre- order. vickivirtue.com