Dervla McTiernan

Em, you finished?

I'm in Busker's, the back bar.

The half smile on Cormac's face dropped away and he stood, putting a hand to his ear to block the noise of the bar.

He locked eyes with Carrie.

Where are you, Emma?

Stop, take a breath.

Cormac's face was tense, but his tongue was very controlled.

Tell me where you are.

And then he was moving.

That's where it all kicks off.

I think it's an awful lot easier to be writing a series with a character you know really well than writing standalone novels or novels that are completely different, set in different worlds every time you start afresh.

You know, I get to go in with a cast and I already know them.

I know their backstory.

I know their families.

I know how they relate to each other.

So I just have to take something new and put it in that setting rather than build a whole world from scratch.

So I think I have an easier starting point than a lot of other writers.

I am.

I have to cheat sometimes.

I have noise cancelling headphones and I use this Noisely app on my phone.