Meet the Author: Leigh Russell
Leigh Russell is the author of three acclaimed series of crime novels featuring British detectives Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson, and international investigative reporter Lucy Hall. Her books have been shortlisted for several major awards and translated throughout Europe.
The Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson series are set in London and York, while Lucy Hall’s adventures take place in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome. Leigh's latest Geraldine Steel novel is Fake Alibi, published by No Exit Press on 30 August. You can find Fake Alibi and Leigh's other books on our catalogue.
Who were your heroes when you were growing up?
The question is based on a false premise, because writers never grow up. All our lives we remain children, playing make believe.
It was 2009 when DI Geraldine Steel was introduced in Cut Short. How do you view her now?
With enormous gratitude, as she has transformed my life! Without her success as a fictional detective, I would never have found myself in the fortunate position of being able to give up the day job to write full time.
What part does research play in your books? How do you know when you have enough to start creating the story?
In my case, it works the other way round. Research plays a key role in my writing process, but I always start with a story. The research follows, undertaken as I go along. My research is painstaking and detailed, but is only carried out to serve the story. Without a story in mind, I wouldn’t know what to research.
Your latest book is Fake Alibi. Can you tell us a little about it?
The story hinges around an alibi which is easily disproved, as the title indicates. But identifying a killer is never straightforward in crime fiction, and my detective and her team face a challenge when they try to find the real culprit. While this is the eighteenth title in my detective series, like all the Geraldine Steel stories it can be read as a stand alone.
Readers who are not already fans of the series can read any one of the books without having read the previous titles. For those who prefer to start at the beginning, the first title in the Geraldine Steel series is called Cut Short.
Is there anything you can share with us about your latest project?
I usually have more than one project on the go. The eighteenth title in my Geraldine Steel series, Fake Alibi, is published in August 2022. Final Term follows in January 2023, after which the twentieth book in the series will be published in the summer of 2023. I also have a cosy series launching in March 2023, which is a departure from my police procedurals, and very different.
You are Chair of the judging panel for the CWA Debut Dagger Award. How do you manage to fit in reading all those submissions and are you hopeful for the future of the genre with the new talent that is coming through?
Reading the submissions is a real pleasure. It gives me real hope for the future of crime fiction, seeing so many exceptionally talented new writers emerging. I’m only sorry that so much of that talent is never recognised on a larger stage as the competition to be noticed is really fierce, with thousands of new books being published daily.
One book, piece of music or work of art that everyone should experience?
I don’t think it’s possible to be prescriptive about what other people should read or listen to or view, but I can certainly give you some of my favourites in each form: Shakespeare, Mozart and Van Gogh. Their work never palls for me, however many times I revisit them.
What is the funniest or strangest reaction to your books from a reader?
When Geraldine Steel first reached #1 overall on kindle, a spate of 1 star reviews appeared on amazon. My favourite was, “I’ve heard better stories from my cat.” I’m still waiting to meet that cat!
What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?
There have been many, but one useful piece of advice relating to writing comes from Jodi Picoult who said, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”
Can you tell us one thing about yourself that your readers may not know?
During lockdown I ran a series of creative writing courses online, based on courses I had delivered in France, Italy and Greece, before lockdowns were even on the horizon. I really enjoy working with other writers, helping them to avoid the many mistakes I’ve made, and learned from, in my writing career so far.