VICKI TYLEY
- Special Guest Author -
G'day folks,
Today I feature an author who has worked hard at her craft and achieved success - Vicki Tyley. Vicki lives a few kilometres from me - as the crow flies. She considers herself a computer geek, but I'm glad she is. Vicki Tyley knows what she is on about and has offered me swags of great tips.
Here are more details about this author, who by the way, happens to be a great photographer as well.
Go, Vicki ...
Born and raised in New Zealand, I
traveled to Sydney, Australia with my boyfriend when I was nineteen years old
and boarded a train to the other side of Australia– my first overseas
adventure. We fell in love with Australia – the people, the climate, the lifestyle,
the wildlife, the wide-open spaces, everything – so much so that we didn’t want
to leave.
Seven years later and still there,
we purchased backpacks, Eurail passes and a round-the-world airfare each. After
an amazing year spent traveling and exploring, we returned “home” to Western
Australia.
In 2000, an old boss of mine
offered me the position of Finance Manager with a Victorian toy company he’d
just bought into. I jumped at the chance to work with him again and at the same
time experience a part of Australia I hadn’t visited. (The victim’s home in Brittle Shadows is
based on the inner city apartment where we lived.)
Unfortunately, two years later I
became quite ill. It was while recovering from surgery at a country holiday
property that I decided that if I didn’t follow my dream of becoming a writer
then I never would. Not long after that I resigned my job and much to the
consternation of many friends who saw it as dropping out of society, we moved
to a rural property ninety minutes north-east of Melbourne.
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When I started writing, my dream
– like most new writers’ – was to be a published author and to make a living
from writing. I didn’t expect it to take so long. I was naive, but in hindsight,
I don’t think that’s a bad attribute to have when you start out. If I’d known
that I’d write two novels only to consign them to the bottom drawer, would I
have even started? I don’t know. Would I have given up everything to write if
I’d known that my third novel, Thin Blood, even though agented, would fail to
sell to a publisher in large part because most of the publishers refused to
even look at the book? (“Americans don't want to read Australian mysteries,” my
agent was told.) I don’t know.
But would-haves don’t matter.
It’s what I did that’s important. I just kept writing and my agent kept
pitching my work to publishers. Six novels later, I’m still writing. Thin
Blood, the novel rejected by publishing house after publishing house peaked at
#1 Mystery in the Kindle Store (#6 All Paid Kindle Books) and was named an
Amazon 2010 Customer Favorite.
I often say that all my life
experiences are brought to bear in my writing, but it wasn’t until my last
novel, Bitter Nothings,
that I delved into my own family experiences. And that’s probably because
enough years have passed that I can now talk openly about it. In Bitter
Nothings, the protagonist’s mother had committed suicide on what would’ve been her
and her estranged husband’s thirtieth wedding anniversary. In one of those
truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twists, my mother committed suicide on my
parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Obviously the details and motives
are different and my parents were still married, but the emotion and questions
are still the same.
The two brothers in Bitter
Nothings are loosely modeled on my own two brothers (except my brothers can
tolerate each other even less than the brothers in the story). But that’s as
far as the similarities go to my own situation. Dervla, the sister in the story,
is nothing like myself or any of my three sisters.
My next novel is very much at the
plotting stage and I’m still getting to know my characters, which for me is one
of the most exciting aspects of writing.
However, my biggest buzz comes
when I receive emails from readers who’ve loved my stories (and even the odd
one who hasn’t), many who’ve read every book I’ve written and are eagerly
awaiting the next. And that is why I write.
My books are all standalones, but
in order published:
Thin Blood:
Ten years after two juries fail to convict a stockbroker of the murder of his
missing wife, retrenched journalist Jacinta Deller befriends the stockbroker’s
new wife, the victim’s sister.
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Sleight Malice:
When a badly charred body is discovered in the remains of her best friend’s
home, Desley James is devastated. Except the body is male and her friend is
missing.
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Brittle Shadows:
Two months after finding her fiancé’s naked corpse hanging from a wardrobe rail
in their apartment, Jemma Dalton’s sister takes her own life, leaving Jemma to
probe the dark shadows of her sister’s life.
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Fatal Liaison:
The lives of two strangers, Greg Jenkins and Megan Brighton, become
inextricably entangled when they each sign up for a dinner dating agency. But
Greg's reason for joining has nothing to do with looking for love.
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Bitter Nothings: Half
her family have been murdered in their beds. Her father is the prime suspect.
And things are about to get a whole lot worse...
*** My claim to fame per se is with Thin Blood reaching #1 Mystery in the Kindle Store (#6 All Paid Kindle Books) and being named an Amazon 2010 Customer Favorite ***:
The inspiration for each of these
came from news articles and true crime cases to which I then applied a series
of what-ifs. It’s unlikely now anyone would recognize the true crimes that
sparked them though.
Outside of writing and reading,
my main interests are design and photography. I like to laugh, drink coffee,
spend time alone, spend time in company, and get close to nature. I dislike
crowds, hospitals and offal.
“I’ve
read all of Vicki Tyley’s books and they all have some qualities that keep me
coming back starting with well constructed plots with multiple “suspects” to
choose from. I’ve yet to figure out whodunit until just before the climax,
often getting completely blindsided. (I then think back to the clues and realize they were all there,
if I’d only seen them.) The tension tends to be high, like a thriller,
with the protagonist often in danger (or at least feeling they are). The
protagonist is always someone I like and find myself pulling for them to solve
the mystery. The Australian settings and characters add a little spice, setting
them apart and giving me a change of pace from the norm.
Bitter Nothings has all of these qualities which leaves me feeling that I don’t have anything new to say (other than “buy this book, you’ll like it”). So, buy this book, you’ll like it.” – BigAl’s Books and Pals
Bitter Nothings has all of these qualities which leaves me feeling that I don’t have anything new to say (other than “buy this book, you’ll like it”). So, buy this book, you’ll like it.” – BigAl’s Books and Pals
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“I absolutely love
Vicki Tyley’s suspense books, and Bitter Nothings is certainly no exception.
Her skill in weaving the various strands of the story together, and in dropping
just enough hints and clues to keep you on both the tips of your toes and the
edge of your seat, is immense. Each time you think you’ve
got a handle on the plot, it veers off in a new direction and throws you
a curve ball. Yet again I did not see the end
coming, and her ability to consistently mislead and blindside her readers is
remarkable. I think I suspected every single person at one time or another. Her
characters are always vivid and realistic and she often sneaks in a bit of
humour and a smidgen of romance. Once again, I have no hesitation in
wholeheartedly recommending this book.” – Julia Hopkinson for Readers’ Favorite
Vicki
Tyley author website:
Vicki
Tyley blog:
Eucalypt Habitat
Living in
rural Australia photoblog:
Some of Vicki's photography:
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Clancy's comment: Thanks, Vicki. Trust me. Vicki has been fairly humble here today. Mind you, success doesn't happen overnight. It takes lots of time and energy, and I take my hat off to her.
Love ya work!
I'm ...
Think about this!
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