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What can you tell us about your new release, A Darker Place?

This is probably one of the hardest books I’ve written to date, simply due to having such a strange murder pop into my head for the opening scene, and then trying to work out how the hell it happened!

I’m always inspired by current events and although I haven’t mentioned the past horrendous 12 months everyone’s been through, I have been intrigued about some of the things that were once perhaps considered niche that have now become part of everyday life. I won’t give too much away, but I do like to get readers wondering what really goes on behind closed doors of those everyday situations we take for granted.

A Darker Place is the tenth book in the Kay Hunter series but can be enjoyed as a standalone, so if readers haven’t met her and her close-knit team yet, this is a great place to start.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I was a reader first, and started reading before I was in infant school thanks to my parents (and the local library!) so by the time I was about seven or eight I was already scribbling down my first attempts at stories.

I think I just needed to absorb a lot of my favourite genre (crime fiction) before having the confidence to take it seriously though, and once I started, I couldn’t stop.

I’ve been publishing now for ten years, and can’t wait to see what characters I meet over the next ten and beyond.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

This is so hard to answer, as I’d love to include more! I’m always discovering new classics, books I know I’ll read more than once, but these seem to be stalwarts in my library. I’ve read these over and over, and always learn something new:

• John Grisham - The Pelican Brief
• Michael Connelly - Angels Flight
• Robert Harris - Archangel
• Robert Crais - LA Requiem
• Lee Child - Bad Luck and Trouble

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Everything – I’m doing something I could only dream of when I was eight years old, and it’s the best job in the world!

I love the research part of writing crime fiction too because I’m always finding out something new, and I’ve learned to trust my characters – as long as I follow my detectives and don’t get in their way, they usually catch the bad guy 🙂 

Rachel Amphlett is the author of the new book A Darker Place

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What can you tell us about your new release, Bad Medicine?

Bad Medicine is the sequel to last year's Do No Harm, which won the 2020 American Fiction Award in the medical thriller category. Bad Medicine can be read as a stand-alone novel, but it continues the story of Matthew and Torrey, two young doctors who make it their mission to dole out vigilante justice to bad doctors practicing bad medicine. In this page turning suspense sequel, Matthew and Torrey learn of a friend's young niece who has fallen victim to a doctor who is running a phony cancer treatment center. Putting their careers and their new marriage in jeopardy, they agree to help their friend's family seek the ultimate revenge. 

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I always aspired to write a thriller novel, but 35 years of practicing law and a wonderful family got in the way. After retirement, writing the novel and having it published by a traditional publisher were high on my bucket list. 

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

I love all of Michael Crichton books and early John Grisham. And of course, Lee Child and James Patterson. 

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I would have loved to ask Crichton how he thought of the premise for Jurassic Park. 

What's your favorite thing about writing?

My favorite thing about writing thrillers is figuring out how all the pieces will come together in the end. The overarching challenge in Bad Medicine was to balance the relative darkness and moral ambiguity of vigilante doctors with the goal of a light entertaining read. My favorite part about writing this book was when I figured out how to achieve, I hope, that goal. 

What is a typical day like for you?

My typical day is to hang out with family, walk, and write. Until the last 100 pages, I seem to spend more time thinking and outlining than writing--maybe 2-3 hours per day. In the last 100 pages, I know how everything is going to play out so I write as many hours as possible until I have a good draft. Then comes the editing. 

What scene from Bad Medicine was your favorite to write?

My favorite scene to write in Bad Medicine was the last one where all the loose ends are tied up. I like clarity when I read thrillers so I try to give that to my readers. 

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Everyone in my family knows that I do not let grass grow under my feet. I want to be productive every day doing something. If not writing, then playing with my grandchildren, mowing the lawn, or anything that will give me a feeling of accomplishment. 

James B. Cohoon is the author of the new book Bad Medicine

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