G. M. Malliet’s first DCI St. Just mystery won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and was later nominated for Anthony, Macavity, and Left Coast Crime awards. The series continues in Oct 2021 with Death in Cornwall. A new series with Augusta Hawke appears in 2022, also from Severn House. Malliet was nominated for a 2020 Macavity Award for best short story for “Whiteout,” which also placed 3rd in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards. Her novella Murder at Morehead Mews was nominated for a Derringer and was a finalist in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards.

What do you enjoy about the mystery/crime/thriller genre(s) and what do you feel those areas of writing afford writers? Are there any limitations, or genre conventions and norms to be celebrated or avoided?

There are no limitations, which is why I love the mystery genre, particularly the puzzle mystery. Just when you think every possible permutation has been explored (especially by Agatha Christie) another idea comes along, a new spin on what’s come before. Or something entirely different.

The actual plotting of a puzzle mystery is so difficult, however. It might be easier to write a love story or something else, but I think I would find that boring. Every love story is pretty much the same when you think about it. Crime is ever-changing.

What has it been like for you in continuing your St. Just series with the latest, Death in Cornwall, with your editor Carl Smith and the team at Severn House?

Carl Smith is a dream editor, patient and smart and kind. I’m sure that will hold true for the rest of the team when I get to meet them.

How did you get your start in writing books? In understanding the human condition through characters, do you feel as though your background in psychology and in writing short stories for Ellery Queen Magazine and The Strand helped in this process?

It’s not so much that my background in psychology helps as that my interest in that field (with special reference to memory and learning and the psychology of creativity) is interwoven with my fascination with the mystery genre. Why people do what they do = what’s their motive? I enjoy exploring that in both novels and short stories.

You have mentioned that modern-day mystery writers Ruth Ware and Tana French were of influence to you. Are there any classic mystery writers you are particularly fond of reading?

Agatha Christie, pretty much full stop. Daphne du Maurier—Rebecca, of course.

I should add I’ve most recently enjoyed the writing of modern-day authors like Anthony Horowitz (Moonflower Murders) and Richard Osman (The Thursday Murder Club).

As for TV series, Sarah-Louise Hawkins’ work on Mallorca Files is first-rate mystery wrapped in comedy (the two protagonistss are genius creations) and gorgeous scenery. I hope the third season makes it to the U.S. soon.

I’d best stop there. There is a lot of quality British mystery on film these days, coming from the BBC and AcornTV, for example.

In having spent some time in Japan and New Mexico, has that influenced your writing?

My writing style in Europe is ornate; in New Mexico, it’s sparer. I’m not sure about Japan since it’s been ages since I lived there, but I can imagine developing a more intricate style of writing. Think origami, folds upon folds until a story emerges. We are all so influenced by what surrounds us, particularly landscape and architecture.

What has it been like to see publishing go through so many transitions in recent years?

 I’m not sure I can comment. Overall, I’ve had a lot of luck throughout my career attracting editors, reviewers, and readers, so I can’t complain.

I do gather the pandemic accelerated book sales. (Yay.)

Where do you see the future of writing, literature and publishing going?

I foresee a big shift to eBook and audio and away from print. We love the physical book and the way it looks on a shelf, but printing and delivering copies is becoming unsustainable, if only from an ecological standpoint. (I’d love to hear what you think about this, Mark!)

Can you tell us what you thinking of writing next?

During the pandemic I had time to unearth a ton of projects from my computer—some near completion, some mere sketches. But they will keep me busy for a long time.

At the moment, I’m gearing up to deliver two books in a new series starring a character named Augusta Hawke, who is a crime writer who witnesses a crime in her neighborhood.

I also have a suspense standalone novel that’s near completion.

“Be willing to give up time for other things to pursue your dream.”

Do you have any advice you could share for hopeful writers eager to become published authors?

Be willing to give up time for other things to pursue your dream. You may have to skip that vacation, or that party, or time with your friends. But it’s your dream and don’t allow anyone—including yourself—to sideline it.

I also advise anyone wanting to be a fiction author to not work as a writer (writing ad or promotional copy or being a journalist) as your day job. It saps your creative juices for your own projects.

Can you finish this sentence? I love reading because...

…with reading (and writing) you get to live a million lives, not just one.