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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author Stacey Murray shares the inspiration behind her new book, The Thief Of Joy, and her creative writing process.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Stacey Murray about her life and career, the story of her new book, The Thief Of Joy, and what inspired her characters.
I’m a Glaswegian lawyer turned film producer turned novelist. After living and working all over the place (including the City of London and Hong Kong), I’ve now settled in the Derbyshire Peak District where – so far – my books have been set.
When I was nine, I wanted to be an author, a sleuth or a lawyer. The lawyer in me won out (maybe because it had a more obvious career path!)
A few years ago, I got involved in producing independent feature films. It was a fascinating (and extremely challenging) role and, through that, I developed a real interest in screenwriting, story structure and editing. I decided I’d like to focus on these skills and wrote a pilot for a sitcom. The main character of the sitcom ended up being the protagonist of my first novel, The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth – a slice of feel-good fiction which I’d describe as ‘Legally Blonde for the mid-life crisis generation’!
I put (literal) pen to paper in early 2016 – and the book was published in March 2020.
My second book (the suspense novel The Thief of Joy) took longer – nearer six years! But that was because I was spending time promoting my first book, writing short fiction, and focusing on other life-type-stuff, which slowed the process down. Also, I was having to learn to write in a new genre with a darker tone.
I’ve always been fascinated by people who see life as a competition – and who are forever comparing themselves, and their lives, to other people’s (whether in real life or on social media). We all do it to some extent, and it can be hugely destructive, as the main character (Roz) in The Thief of Joy finds out.
Unlike the main character of my first novel, Roz is quite a different person from me – with completely different life experiences – and I had to really imagine my way into her psyche as the story is very much told from her close point of view. Once I got into it, I enjoyed the process and the chance to experience the world through someone else’s eyes.
I love characters who are complex and contradictory – for instance, Tony Soprano or Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire’s character in Happy Valley). Characters who have their strength and their vulnerabiltities, like real people. This is what I was aiming for with Roz. (TV and film inspire me a lot actually!)
Ah, good question! I have to be careful not to give away any spoilers, however… A wise person once said that a story is only as good as its villain and I think that’s so true. The antagonist must have their own wants, needs and goals and not be a ‘bad guy’ just for the sake of it. This is something I took on board when writing the character of Mark, who is a widower Roz meets on an online grief support group and the story’s main antagonist.
At the start of the book, Roz is convinced she’s found happiness in her relationship with ‘perfect’ Daniel. But he dies suddenly and tragically, which spurs her to join the online grief group where she meets Mark…
The relationship between Roz and Mark throws up the main conflict in the book as he becomes ever more creepy and controlling over time. But she’s also extremely conflicted in her own mind – as well as having issues with her mother, her sister and even her surrounding in the dramatic Derbyshire Peak District.
I’m a ‘plotter’ by nature and I like to know the endgame I’m writing towards, so that I foreshadow it and build towards it. BUT inspiration and new ideas and directions can strike at any time in the process and I like to stay open to those surprises.
My publishers adopted a light touch on the editing front. As a filmmaker, I was very used to editing and I think this helped me enornously with both my novels.
Apart from the advice – ‘Go for it!’ – I would say… Think about creating an interesting main character for your story. This person – how they they see the world, the situation they find themselves in, the choices they make – will colour everything about the story. For me, everything starts with character. And when I think about stories I’ve loved, they’ve all had a great character, or ensemble of characters, at the heart of them.
Staying on the dark side(!), I have a high-concept murder mystery bubbling away in the background. Watch this space!
Most definitely. Every time you finish a piece of work and have it published, you learn so much. It was definitely worth pushing through to the end.
The Thief of Joy is out on 19th March 2024, but you can pre-order it now from all the usual outlets, including:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4aGf90I
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4dZDsd0
Hobeck Books: https://www.hobeck.net/product-page/the-thief-of-joy-by-stacey-murray
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