My guest today is author Jody Cooksley, who writes Victorian Gothic Crime novels. Jody is going to talk to us about her writing journey, and her latest book. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Jody.

Bio

Jody Cooksley is a writer, originally from Norwich and based in Surrey. A trained journalist, Jody’s career has spanned writing in all its forms – media, publishing, PR and communications. She is a coach and mentor to young women in communications and works for a range of literacy organisations in addition to her work in communications.

Jody studied literature at Oxford Brookes University, and has a Masters in Victorian Poetry. Her debut novel, The Glass House, is a fictional account of the life of pioneer nineteenth-century photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, praised as a ‘riveting account’ by poet James Harpur. Her second novel, How to Keep Well in Wartime, was hailed as ‘a powerful and finely crafted novel, exploring how we deal with grief, relationships and mental health,’ by author Tracey Iceton. Both are published by Cinnamon Press and have been shortlisted for various literary awards.

Jody’s Victorian gothic novel, The Small Museum (May 2024), was the winner of the Caledonia Novel Award 2023.

Hi Jody, welcome to my blog. Congratulations on winning the Caledonia Novel Award 2023. Can you tell us about your writing journey?

My life has revolved around writing in various forms, even as a child I wrote and produced a neighbourhood newspaper which, thankfully, I never had the courage to distribute. At uni I studied both Literature and Physical Anthropology then a Masters in Victorian Poetry and these things together are what sparked my love of the Gothic and fascination with the darkness of nineteenth-century science. I trained as a journalist (which was great for writing discipline) worked on newspapers for a while, moved into academic publishing then PR and communications and I still work in communications. But I knew that I wanted to write more creatively and 12 years ago I set myself the challenge to create a new piece of flash fiction every day for a year, based on unusual news articles from around the world. That was a great start because it trained me to write creatively every day. I won a few flash fiction competitions and gained a bit of confidence.

My first novel, The Glass House (a fictional account of the life of pioneer nineteenth-century photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron), was self-published. Since its launch I’ve given dozens of talks to art societies and it continues to sell well via museums, especially Dimbola House, Julia’s former home in Freshwater Bay on the isle of Wight.

Positive feedback on that book kept me at the desk, focused on a Gothic novel that I had always wanted to write – The Small Museum. I’ve long been fascinated by the nineteenth-century urge to discover, collect and sort the natural world. As much as the Victorians were eager to exploit industry and dominate globally, they were frightened of the new evolutionary science and what it meant for religion. And they were obsessed with trying to understand it. It’s a rich context for fiction and the opportunity to explore dark motivations for character. In the novel, Dr Lucius Everley is a ruthless scientist with a burning ambition to restore his father’s name – at any cost.

The Small Museum won the 2023 Caledonia Novel Award and resulted in me being signed by literary agent, Charlotte Seymour. I knew from the first conversation that I wanted to work with her as we share a love of the Gothic genre, as well as a passion for telling women’s stories. Whilst Charlotte was working to find a publisher, I realised I wasn’t finished with the characters and so I drafted a sequel. We secured a two-book deal with publishers Allison&Busby. The Small Museum was published last May and The Surgeon’s House launches in hardback and audio on May 21^st.

Over the last couple of years I have finalised a further two, unrelated, Victorian Gothic novels, which can also be categorised as crime or thriller – the body count seems to be creeping up with each one!  To make sure the story stays with me all the time I write for at least thirty minutes every day, regardless of what else I have on the agenda. I work full time and have teenage children, so I don’t generally start writing until around 9 or 10pm, writing into the early hours if the words are flowing. It helps that I don’t seem to need much sleep. Sentences must have a certain lyricism and I will edit and edit a text until each sentence sounds exactly right. The only thing that stays broadly the same is the dialogue. I hear the characters speaking and the words are theirs, they usually come out right the first time.

Jody’s Latest Book was published on 22 May

The Surgeon’s House

London, 1883.

The brutal murder of Rose Parmiter seems, at first glance, to be a random and senseless act. Rose was the beloved cook at Evergreen House, a place of refuge for women and children, a place from which they can start their lives afresh. Proprietor Rebecca Harris is profoundly shocked by the death of her dear friend and alarmed at the mysterious events which begin to unfold shortly afterwards. Could the past be casting a shadow on the present? The malign legacy of the Everley family who called Evergreen home, cannot be ignored.

After two further deaths it becomes clear there is an evil presence infecting their sanctuary, and Rebecca must draw out the poison of the past so the Evergreen residents can finally make peace with the darkness in their lives.

Currently on promotion at Amazon

More books by Jody.

Also available from https://jrcbooks.co.uk/books/

Thanks for dropping by to talk to us today, Jody. I hope your books soar!