Author Ruth Dugdall talks to us about her upcoming screenplay of The Woman Before Me and about her upcoming appearance at Skulduggery in Stowmarket, our annual crimewriting festival.
Ruth Dugdall is an internationally published novelist and short-story writer. Her seven novels are inspired by her interest in the psychology of deviance. The Woman Before Me explores post-natal depression and infanticide and won the Crime Writers Association debut dagger. The Sacrificial Man combines cannibalism and Keats in a psychological thriller that was discussed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. My Sister and Other Liars has an anorexic protagonist, and was an Amazon number one bestseller. The Things You Didn't See is her most recent novel.
Prior to her literary career, Ruth was a probation officer, based for two years in a prison environment. Ruth lived in Silicon Valley for two years, researching and writing The Seventh Circle, a campus thriller that holds a mirror to contemporary America. She was an active member of the civilian police academy, and a guest lecturer at Stanford University. Ruth now lives in Suffolk, where most of her books are set.
Ruth will be appearing at our upcoming Skulduggery in Stowmarket crimewriting festival on Saturday 29 April at Stowmarket Library. Tickets are £5 and are available to purchase online.
All my life, I have loved books. They have been my friends, my solace, my escape. Writing also came naturally, and from the age of 7 I kept a diary and wrote stories. It’s still a large leap to choosing writing as a career, but I’ve been fortunate. Along the way, people nurtured the spark. The first, as is often the way, was my English teacher at school.
People are sometimes surprised at the switch from probation officer to writer, but they’re really the same job. Both require a natural curiosity and a willingness to ask questions. Both jobs are also underpaid and under appreciated, but essential for a healthy society. Practically, I made the jump after winning the Debut Dagger. My agent asked if I wanted to be a probation officer, who wrote for a hobby, or a real writer. So I resigned from the career I loved, to take a huge gamble on making it as an author…
It was a life-changing moment, but I was very naïve about how difficult the road ahead was going to be. The award did open doors, and I quickly signed with an agent, but writing is still an incredibly difficult career to pursue. I am, however, a strong advocate of competitions as a way to make contacts and achieve success. It was another competition - the Luke Bitmead Bursary - that won me a publishing deal.
I’m a sociologist rather than a psychologist - for me, like most social workers, I see the roots of problematic behaviour within society. Poverty, addiction, poor parenting - these are the problems I saw again and again in my working life. I can put my hand on my heart and say I’ve never worked with anyone who I considered to be ‘evil’ or intrinsically bad. And I worked with murderers.
I’m very excited to say that I’m working on the screenplay of The Woman Before Me - finally, there is more awareness about the probation role and an appetite for the type of ‘domestic’ crime I explore.
An honest interview. There may be people in the audience, who’d like to know what it’s really like to pursue a career in writing, and I can give a ‘warts and all’ answer, but also with optimism. Because I write about crime, I think we should discuss our appetite for crime drama, and what it’s really about. Is it healthy? And what are the responsibilities of the writer in using crime for entertainment?
Abi Morgan’s This is Not a Pity Memoir - I’m half way through and it’s the best book I’ve read in a long time.
I’ve also just downloaded Jojo Moyes latest novel onto audible. I’m a huge fan of hers.
As a novel, The Go Between by L.P Hartley is almost perfect. If you haven’t yet discovered it, I envy you.
Hell, as depicted by Hieronymous Bosch is horrific, but you can’t look away.
The coast. Walking by water - either the river or the sea - is one of my favourite things to do. We are blessed to have a beautiful county, that is still something of a secret.
I work at Essex University, as their Royal Literary Fellow, which means I can help anyone on campus (staff or student) with any piece of writing. I love not knowing who will walk through my door, or what we’ll be discussing. I’ve learned so much!
