NK Chats To… Gina Cheyne

Hello Gina. Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your novel, After the Husbands and what inspired it?

After the Husbands is set on a river cruise in Vietnam. I have always been fascinated by Vietnam, ever since I was in the USA shortly after the Vietnam USA War had finished. There I kept meeting men who had served in Vietnam and hearing their stories of this incredibly beautiful place torn apart by war. It gave me a real interest in the county but I always wondered what the Vietnamese thought about the USA. Then a couple of years ago we were lucky enough to win a Mekong Cruise; the basis for After the Husbands was set.

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have a favourite place to write and any daily rituals?

I have three places in the house where I like to write, and one away from home. The first is my office, which is good in the summer or if there are too many people in the house, however it has a big drawback; it has three outside walls and is perishingly cold in the winter. My second favourite place, and where I do most of my writing is on the kitchen table. There I am definitely in the thick of things and I enjoy the general buzz around me. However, sometimes that gets too much and I retire to the only smart room in the house. It is very seldom used but is within the body of the house so it is warm. I like to sit behind the sofa on a little table and write. In that place I have a fabulous view of the garden and the world outside my writing.

Away from home I will write on my Ipad. My computer is very old and I don’t like to carry it outside the house, so I write on the Ipad and transfer my writing back there when I get home.

Most days I will write in the morning, but sometimes life gets in the way of writing and then I just take whatever moments I can get to write. Once I’m started I find it easy to concentrate, even when surrounded by people.

What were the challenges you found when writing your novel especially when it’s part of a wider series?

The biggest challenge for me in the series is remembering the exact timeline and not making children into adults too early or adults suddenly regress ten years. I do spend a lot of time working out what ages people should be.

What songs would make up a playlist for your book?

First, The Animals We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place – signature tune.

Second, Traditional Vietnamese Music on the Mekong Delta – played during the cruise.

Third, Death on the Nile by Christopher Gunning – when the body is discovered.

Paint it Black Rolling Stones – as the police look for perpetrators.

River Joni Mitchell – at the end of the movie, since it highlights that while the cruise and the people on it are ephemeral, the river itself is timeless.

From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you? How do you know when you’ve done enough research/prep?

Most of my books seem to take about a year to write. When I read about how quickly some writers put out books (sometimes even weeks) I am in awe, but I’d never manage to write anything I was proud of in that time. I need to go over my text again and again to make sure everything is as I went it to be. Sometimes I even change fundamentals like who actually was the villain in a late draft of the book.

As for how do you know when you’ve done enough preparation you never do. However, at some point you have to stop, so I make a publishing plan and fit into it. I may still stretch my own deadlines, but hopefully not by too much.

In your opinion, what are the common mistakes aspiring authors make?

I find aspiring and early authors often worry too much about the rules of writing. Yes, know about them. Think about them. But don’t be so hidebound by them that you fail to write your story with your emotions. One particularly rule that early writers tend to cling to is point-of-view. This is the idea that in a scene you can only have one view point or the reader will get confused. I don’t agree. As a reader I have read many books where the view point changes from one person to another without any difficulty at all. Obviously, you can’t keep changing endlessly or you lose the emotional pull, but it is sometimes important that you know how differently two people view a single action.

Which fictional world would you like to visit and why?

There are so many fictional world I would like to visit but probably the one I think about most is the San Francisco of Tales from the City by Armistead Maupin – a crazy world of laughter but also quite a few tears.

What type of scene do you find it hardest to write?

Love scenes undoubtably. In my third book I did have a love scene but I cut most of it out because it felt too forced. Luckily, since I write crime love scenes are not usually integral to the action.

Which books and authors do you enjoy reading?

The books and authors I enjoy have changed through my life. I used to love the magical realism of Haruki Murakami but later I started preferring the more realist worlds of Kamila Shamsie, Marian Keyes and non-fiction writers such as Catherine Belton. However, I have just started reading Leonora Carrington and am loving it, so I may well move back to the world of magic reality. Possibly as the real world becomes so violent I feel the need to escape away into more hopeful fantasy.

Any other advice for new authors?

To new writers I would say write for yourself and then see how it fits into the writing world. Of course there are different reasons for writing. Some people write for money, in which case I would say read everything in a genre and emulate it however you can. But for real worth I would suggest it is better to write from your own knowledge and experience and really feel the emotions of your own writing. Some readers will inevitably not be able to join your writing journey because they have different ideals but some will. Those are the people who will enjoy your writing and understand where you hope to go.

Would you rather –

Have the ability to see into the future or be able to visit the past?

Definitely rather see the past because it is immutable and you are just a visitor. Seeing the future you could be led into believing something is true when it is not and then becoming scared and not want to live anymore.

Have the ability to move things with your mind or read minds?

I would much rather move things with my mind, reading minds strikes me as too upsetting. I can read my dogs’ minds and I constantly feel guilty that I am not giving them my plate of food or taking them for endless walks!

Sing or dance to your favourite song for the rest of your life?

This is such a difficult choice. I am one of those people who sings as they dance. Tiresome to others perhaps but clearly enjoying both the movement and the tune.

Have money or power?

Money. With only a few exceptions people with power so often misuse it just because they can, and I’m not sure whether I would have the basic integrity to stay true. So I choose money, because that is all it is, coinage.

Have an endless summer or winter?

Summer.

Tea or coffee?

I like both but if I had to do without one I could stop drinking tea.

Movie or book?

I prefer books.

Morning person or night owl?

Morning person. I would love to be a night owl but never managed it.

Paperback or eBook?

As a practical choice I like eBooks if I’m travelling but I find my reader gets very hot, so at home I read paperbacks.

*****

About Gina Cheyne – 

Gina has worked as a pilot, physiotherapist, freelance writer and dog breeder. As a child, Gina’s parents hated travelling and never went further than Jersey. As a result she became travel-addicted and spent years bumming around SE Asia, China and Australia, where she worked in a racing stables in Pinjarra, South of Perth.

She then lived and worked in various places in Spain, the USA and London before settling in West Sussex with her husband and dogs. This is her fifth crime novel in the SeeMs Detective Agency series.

This book is set in Vietnam.

Say hello to Gina via her website, Instagram, Facebook, Reedsy and TikTok.

***** 

About After The Husbands – 

What do you do when you’ve buried four husbands and not yet found a fifth?

Wealthy Lady Bumstead takes a cruise down the Mekong in Vietnam with a hired female companion, Anne de Tonkin. Annie is not just a kind old lady, she is a brilliant listener and soon knows all about the other travellers. But, on the last day of the cruise she is murdered.

Lady Bumstead, unable to see any reason why Annie should be murdered, is convinced the killer was after her. She hires the SeeMs Detective Agency to protect her and find the killer. At the same time she decides to do some sleuthing herself, and, with the help of her high powered hearing aid, she begins listening to all the conversations around her.

As the SeeMs Detectives investigate the crime, they find Annie had a rich past and connections with almost everyone else on the boat. There seem to be plenty of reasons for killing her, but who did the deed?

Will Lady Bumstead and the SeeMs Detectives find the killer before he/she strikes again? Will Lady Bumstead find a fifth husband? Or will she become another victim?

Written in the first person by Lady Bumstead this novel will be particularly enjoyed by readers of Agatha Christie and A Man Called Otto. Or anyone interested in whodunnits.

After The Husbands is part of the SeeMS Detective Agency series and was released on 1st September 2024. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.