Author Alexandra Benedict talks to us about her latest title The Christmas Murder Game and the time she was a backing dancer for The Who.
Alexandra Benedict is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and scripts. Her most recent novel, The Christmas Murder Game, was published in September by Zaffre. You can find Alexandra's new novel on our catalogue.
My writing heroes when I was growing up ranged from Louisa May Alcott and E. Nesbit to Charles Dickens, Bram Stoker, and Agatha Christie! I also loved David Bowie, The Cure, The Smiths and Kate Bush - all inspired me when it came to writing.
I started writing early, at around 3 or 4. My first publication was in the school magazine when i was 7 and involved a creepy old house, so I haven’t moved on much since then!
I generally work 9.30 - 4, five days a week, around childcare for our 2-year old. Around deadline times for novels, stories or scripts, though, I often work through the night.
I’m in the process of moving house so I have a whole new writing set-up to establish when we’re in our new place. For now, though, our flat is in the attic of a Victorian house, and my desk is tucked under the eaves in the bedroom. I have to duck to get in and out! I face a wall covered with abstract Ferris wheels. Or dandelion clocks, I can’t quite tell. Either way, it works for creativity. I always have a pot of tea next to me, and a variety of smells that suit whatever I am writing. I have a HUGE collection of perfume oils that I can mix and match to make the right smell for the story. My dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford, is usually on my feet. My fiancé, Guy Adams, is also a writer, so I can hear him tapping away in the next room, which is inspiring and comforting.
If I get blocked on a scene, I like to work in cafes, with noise-cancelling headphones and a cappuccino. I usually listen to spooky or atmospheric film soundtracks to help me get into the mood of the book or script. Sometimes I go and sit by the sea and write by hand. The sea always soothes me.
I LOVE Golden Age crime. I read all of Agatha Christie during my summer holiday when I was about 10. A few years later, my local librarian recommended that I read Marjory Allingham, Georgette Heyer, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey etc, and I adored those, too. When I was planning The Christmas Murder Game, I wanted to include as many reverential nods to these authors and their books as I could. It was incredibly fun to fold secret references, puzzles and clues into the story for the reader to find and solve if they wanted.
Impossible to choose! My brain loves variety, although there are lots of similarities between my work as singer, songwriter, actor and writer - they all involve storytelling in different ways. I also love helping people become the writers they want to be.
I’m usually always working on several projects at once. At the moment I’m at various stages of development on five audio dramas, a TV drama and several novels in different genres. That’s as much as I can say before things are announced!
Ray Bradbury.
I (sadly) wasn’t given this piece of advice from the hero himself, but I try to heed David Bowie’s wise words on creation:
“If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting
I was a backing dancer on The Who’s Tommy US Tour around ten years ago. Kind of. Unfortunately I didn’t get to travel, my silhouette was projected, Bond-style, onto the huge screens behind the band.
