Often something happens that changes my outlook on life. It could be personal or something that affects us all. I call myself an optimist person, thinking the best of everyone, that good will prevail, a glass half full person. But with this year being the award-winning, best ever year for bad news, I found my optimistic skin beginning to wear thin, and close to bursting. Then came a couple of glimmers of hope: an American president elect who’s likely to bring changes for the better, and positive news on Covid vaccines. It’s too early to cheer, but 2021 could be markedly different from this depressing year.
This wind of change gave me cause to reflect. I’ve written twelve books and several short stories. Eleven of these books are crime thrillers, and one, the latest, is a change of genre, about life and how people deal with its challenges – love, relationships, loyalty, grief, infidelity, and other tests on our character and emotions. So, I asked myself, do I continue writing in this new genre or write a few more crime novels? To help me in this decision, I took a look at the books I’ve written.
I’ve written about a man faking his death, a murderer meeting up again with the man he thought he’d killed, a man who forgot he’d attempted to kill his wife, a chef who uses his restaurant to conceal his drug dealership, a man who pulls up his wife’s dead body in a fishing net, and a group of terrorists holding the world to ransom by threatening to drop a dirty bomb on London.
I then created my Harry Fingle character, a guy searching for the truth who was chased by the same assassin over three books. After I’d done with Harry, I wrote two psychological thrillers: one about a night runner who was suspected of being an arsonist, and one about a man who mistakenly thought his wife was dead and remarried.
It was then I thought I’d lay my dagger down and write about people’s experiences and feelings.
My latest book is called Otto and Frankie and is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter.
Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit.
And so, I’ve answered my question, I’ll be writing more in this new-for-me genre.
To find out about my other books see the Books page.
Nick Wastnage 