The other day the nth person asked me how and why, after 60 years recognition as a professional artist, I started to write. Someone else asked how my two lives overlapped – and seemed surprised at how much writing I  had done before I was finally published. So, it has dawned on me that I really ought to start putting some of the answers down, for friends, family and anyone else who might be interested in an artist that writes – or a writer that paints! I am not the first and surely will not be the last – I just hope that you enjoy my rambles… and will not mind the spasmodic nature of my postings. Currently mid-painting and also have just started my fifth book (with my publisher breathing down my neck) you will appreciate that time is not always on my side… I will write again when I have decided where to start – at the beginning, or what I trust is late middle. I hope the end is not yet in sight!

There have been constant distractions this year – I have even been painting again – so my publisher will be a little put out that No. 5 isn’t yet ready for printing. I say “a little” because, thank goodness, there are several new authors in the queue who are looking forward to seeing their books on the shelves before Christmas (check out the U P Publications website).

I do try to vary the plots of each book in the Grey Series. The main characters are there but new and different people crop up in their lives, each bringing a new challenge for Sarah. In book one, “Deadly Shades of Grey”, three stories were interwoven and the leading characters (Sarah, her daughter Clarrie and the indispensable Polly) were together most of the time. Having kept her psychic gift private for much of her life, Sarah attracts the attention of a senior police officer who, once convinced of her sincerity, is very willing to accept her help privately as long as his integrity is not compromised.

Book 2, “A Poisonous Shade of Grey”, deals with one story throughout the book, although I couldn’t resist at least one diversion, allowing another mystery to emerge. I make no apology for this …that is how life is; the unexpected happens, throwing us into disarray, or bringing joy. It probably has more funny moments than either “Deadly…” or the book that followed.

“Grey Masque of Death”, is packed with more mystery and perhaps more challenges to the reader’s thought process than the first two books in the series. Sarah is away and Clarrie on a painting commission within a few pages of the beginning, so Polly decides to go away herself to tackle a family problem alone, rather than bother them.  All three become embroiled in difficulties but the three stories intertwine and I hope, as the book evolves, that readers enjoy imagining how they would cope in similar circumstances.

Book 4, “Haunted Shades of Grey”, was an opportunity to re-introduce a few characters from the earlier stories – some by special request. I also had fun taking readers back to Spain and, with their permission, naming some of my favourite places and traders. That was only a slight diversion… The story explores the possibility of coma patients being more aware of their condition than is supposed, but I have no medical background and am, after all, writing fiction.

Until book 5 is finished, this brings me full circle. With “Haunted Shades …” being hailed as my best ever, I can only hope that more people will read it and then be tempted to read all the others.

One thing I would really like is for readers to send their reviews directly to newspapers or Amazon, rather than (or as well as) to my publisher. Neither of us can re-publish without seeming prejudiced!! You might even doubt everything that you have read on my site …

That is your prerogative …so it’s over to you!

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I suddenly realised that all of the paranormal experiences within the books were pretty much unchallenged by the protaganists. In the books, neither  psychic is working for financial gain. Their skill is regarded as more of a curse that interrupts their attempts at living ‘normally’. Apart from a few slightly challenging members of the police force who are reluctantly convinced of the genuineness of the key characters, there was little in the first two books that covered the vast scope for fraud, which exists within the realms of the ‘business’ of spiritualism.

I felt it was time to show that it is right to question every psychic experience. If genuine, they will more than stand up to close scrutiny; if not, it is right to expose them… but take care. If, like Polly, you start  investigating a practising medium who is prone to violence – please don’t act alone!

Once started down that particular track, I then speculated on the circumstances that might give rise to having  a dead body problem in the first place…

Of course, at this point, my thoughts automatically turned to murder… and when I added a malevolent and very angry ghost, I found that ‘A Poisonous Shade of Grey’ started to write itself!

In 1993 we had been living in Spain for four years, having owned the villa for seven. I was busy painting and helping my husband to produce a magazine for the rapidly growing Computer Club over which he presided. We were active in several associations and I ended up ghost-writing articles and editing several newsletters on a lot of diverse subjects. For relaxation, I joined the local Book Circle where we discussed published fiction and, in passing after the meetings, our own work – past and present. I soon began to realise how lucky I was that there were so many published writers in our small expatriate community. Among those known to me personally were Melanie Pflaum, Sylvia Schofield (Max Mundy), Jay Blakeney (Anne Weale), Charlene Quince and Lena Whitely and all were very encouraging to anyone who expressed an interest in writing.

So it is hardly surprising that I started sorting through my old manuscripts and short stories. Very few had ever been submitted anywhere. One, entered for an international competition, had been published and awarded a prize… and another was short-listed in ‘Writers News’, but on the whole I’d had no time to spare from painting, or been too busy writing for other people. I just hadn’t done anything with them.

While sorting out the short stories and filing them into genres, I realised that many fell into the area of the supernatural, of death and mystery. I pondered over how these disparate threads could be pulled together – what common factors (that I knew well) could knot these stories into a cohesive whole.  I considered my own life, the various places and people that being an artist has allowed me to see, meet and discover. I recalled my mother’s experiences as a spiritualist (and very reluctant medium), her wise words as she tried to teach me self-reliance, and her pragmatic approach to life (and death). When I brought my own daughter’s strength of character and attitudes into the equation, I realised that an amalgamation of these very real people gave me a strong foundation for the characters and lives of Sarah Grey and her daughter Clarrie.

Before very long, the first draft of Deadly Shades was constructed – primarily to entertain my own family. I was enjoying myself so much that I just kept writing on and on, without really considering what a publisher would want! When I found that my finished novel was over 240,000 words, I realised that it was far too long to be acceptable from a previously unpublished author.  All was not lost however; I decided to split it into three. Of course, each part needed to stand alone and it was challenging but also satisfying to replace one book with three!

I neither expected nor asked any of my friendly authors to read anything I’d written but when Lena, who wrote many magazine articles, volunteered to read some of my stories and promised to criticise them honestly, I was delighted, especially when she afterwards declared that I should write books. She was astonished to discover that I had already written three and immediately wanted to read one. Within a week or so Lena had read them all and her only criticism was of the titles!  So ‘Shades of Grey’ became ‘Deadly Shades …’, ‘The Wrong Shade…’ became ‘A Poisonous Shade…’  and ‘Strange Shades…’ is now ‘Grey Masque of Death’.   It was difficult for her to understand how I could have written so much without trying to find a publisher. Other people have also asked – including Sylvia Schofield.

I met Sylvia while out shopping a few days after Lena had returned book 3 and she greeted me, “Mai, I thought you were just an artist – now Lena tells me you are a born writer. When can I read one of your books?” The day after it was delivered at teatime by a mutual friend, Sylvia sent me a note to say that she had started reading it after her guest departed and hadn’t been able to put it down without finishing it at 3am. She ended by asking for the other two. Her only criticism was minor. She advised me to proof read them again to eliminate a few typos.

However, it was many years and several thorough polishings later that I finally decided to submit the first manuscript, ‘Deadly Shades of Grey’ to a publisher… Since then it has been a roller-coaster ride with the ups far out-weighing the downs!

As a footnote, I must stress that although Sarah and Clarrie, who have developed into such complex characters, are entirely fictional, I hope readers can see resonances of personal experience in some of the less sensational manifestations in my books. Murder mysteries have to be sensational and sometimes horrific but  I continually remind myself that none of the characters should experience anything that, through my own close contact with a psychic, I do not feel is possible. One of the continuing mysteries of life is death; one day we will all know the answer (or not!) …

During the construction of the plot for Book Four, I have now planned out the two books that will ultimately follow (life, readers and publisher willing) and laid a skeleton plan for a side series, developing one of the subsidiary characters who already looks set to lead quite an adventurous life of their own.

The good news is that initial discussions with the publisher (accompanied by the first half of the manuscript, which they liked) seem to be very positive.

They are a little worried about how Haunting Shades of Grey will finish though, because I am keeping both you and them in the dark, for now! All they know at the moment, is that Clarrie is viciously attacked at the beginning and is in a deep coma – not expected to pull through, a woman has fallen from the top of a multi storey car-park and a fifty year old mystery needs to be unravelled.