Simon Booker

Simon Booker is a screenwriter of prime time TV drama for the BBC, ITV and US TV. His credits include BBC1’s ‘Inspector Lynley Mysteries’, ‘Holby City’ and The Mrs Bradley Mysteries’ starring Diana Rigg; ITV1 thrillers ‘The Stepfather’ and ‘The Blind Date’; and ‘Perfect Strangers’, the CBS romantic comedy starring Rob Lowe and Anna Friel.’Without Trace’ is his debut novel.

1. To the readers of the blog, that may not be familiar with you or your writing, can tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
   I’ve written for many primetime TV shows, including BBC1 series such as ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’, ‘The Mrs Bradley Mysteries’ starring Diana Rigg, and The Stepfather, my ITV psychological thriller starring Philip Glenister. My US TV credits include ‘Double Bill’ – a revenge comedy about a man with two wives – and ‘Perfect Strangers’, a romcom starring Rob Lowe and Anna Friel. I’ve also written many plays for BBC Radio 4 and worked extensively as a producer in TV and radio, and as a journalist.
2. What authors do you admire??
   So many! Current favourites include Nora Ephron (her collected essays are a treat); LS Hilton whose debut, Maestra thriller, is making a big splash; and Renee Knight, a fellow screenwriter-turned-debut-author. Her book Disclaimer is riveting from page one. I was a big fan of George Orwell when I was younger, but it was the ‘Just William’ stories that first introduced me to the delights of reading, so I was thrilled when the BBC asked me to adapt Richmal Crompton’s wonderful stories for TV some years ago.
3. If you could rewrite any book, which one would it be?
   I wouldn’t dare rewrite anyone else’s book! Having said that, when adapting novels for TV, making changes is often unavoidable in order to bring it to the screen, sometimes for logistical reasons (too many locations, characters etc), sometimes because aspects of the story need shoring up. As for my own work, the urge to tinker endlessly is always pressing but must, eventually, be resisted. ‘Perfection is the enemy of progress.’
4. What is your favourite book of all time
   Can I have three? ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ by Truman Capote; ‘Travels With My Aunt’ by Graham Greene; and I loved Roald Dahl’s ‘Kiss Kiss’ stories when I was a teenager. Actually, make that four: William Goldman’s ‘Marathon Man’ was the first thriller that made my pulse
5. Why did you decide that you wanted to write crime?
   Having written many TV thrillers and murder mysteries, the crime genre seemed a natural way to go when I began toying with ideas for a series of novels. I seem to have a knack for creating plots full of twists and turns, and ‘reveals’, and I hope I’ve managed to pull that off with my debut psychological thriller, ‘Without Trace’, which introduces my series character, Morgan Vine, an investigative journalist who specialises in miscarriages of justice.
6. What do you think makes a good crime book?
   A protagonist we can root for (even if we don’t like them all that much) and a diabolically clever adversary – the ‘badder’ the better.
   [amazon_link id=”1785770225″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]
7. From books and films, who has been your favourite bad guy?
   ‘Jaws’ in James Bond movie ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ was pretty fantastic. My mother worked on the film, so I got to visit the 007 set at Pinewood. My friends turned a peculiar shade of green…
8. If you were to start your own book club, what authors would you ask to join?
   People who make me laugh would be high on the list. Can I include the late Nora Ephron? And Tina Fey? And Amy Schumer? And Dorothy Parker? They’re not ‘authors’ in the traditional sense but who wouldn’t want to spend an evening in the company of such smart, witty women?
9. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
   ‘Oxford English Dictionary; ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica; A’ la Recherche du Temps Perdu’. Sounds pretentious, perhaps, but when else am I going to find time to read Proust?
10. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    I don’t need any particular things around me but I do require peace and quiet. A neighbour’s radio or rowdy scaffolders can push me to the edge of sanity.
11. What area do you suggest a budding writer should concentrate on to further their abilities
    Study people. Be fascinated by them – by why they do what they do. Read voraciously, of course, and soak up as much writing advice as you can, especially from masters of the craft, but bottom line? – it’s all about the people.
12. And finally Simon do you have any projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the website?
    I’m exciting about my debut novel ‘Without Trace’, the first in a series of psychological thrillers featuring single mum and investigative journalist Morgan Vine. For four long years she’s championed the cause of her childhood sweetheart, Danny Kilcannon, convicted on dubious evidence of the murder of his teenage stepdaughter. But when he’s released on appeal, Morgan’s own daughter goes missing under mysterious circumstances and the finger of suspicion quickly points in Danny’s direction. Morgan is forced to question everything she thinks she knows about the love of her life. As the shout line says: ‘She fought to free him. Now is he free to kill..?’

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You can buy [amazon_link id=”1785770225″ target=”_blank” ]Without Trace: An Edge of Your Seat Psychological Thriller (A Morgan Vine Thriller) from Amazon for your Kindle [/amazon_link] and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 16th June 2016.