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Delightfully Wicked:

A behind the scenes interview with Samantha Goodwin, author of the debut murder mystery novel Murder at Macbeth.


"When a talented, young actress unwittingly stabs herself live onstage after a prop knife is tampered with, suspicion immediately falls on her eclectic band of castmates.
But who had the motive to kill the show's leading lady?"

Debut author Samantha Goodwin is a pretty cool customer as her murder mystery novel, Murder at Macbeth goes live to the public on Amazon. And rightfully so: she has a much-anticipated novel on her hands after being longlisted in the Flash 500 fiction novel competition, readers are eager to get their hands on a copy.


Murder at Macbeth is active, suspenseful and utterly thrilling; I couldn't put this book down!


As a debut release, Murder at Macbeth delivers to readers everything that a classic whodunnit should: murder, mystery, intrigue, and a compelling plot with vivid characters that will keep you turning page after page. This was Samantha’s driving force; she wanted to create “an intriguing whodunnit where [readers] are genuinely captivated by the mystery which keeps them guessing right until the end."


Murder at Macbeth is packed with suspense, and I love the active pace of this story. By chapter two we have a scene unfold, yet the best is still to come as the story continues to peel back the mysterious layers chapter to chapter. The dialogue is active and engaging; it held my attention from page one right through to the end.


It's no surprise then, that everyone is reeling over the hot new book release, Murder at Macbeth. Even bestselling crime writer, Joy Ellis- along with a spattering of other notable authors- endorsed this novel, heralding Murder at Macbeth as a MUST READ for 2019. And, after reading Murder at Macbeth I can certainly attest to the ingenuity of this book. In fact, I was so enthralled with the genius of this story that I felt compelled to chat further with Samantha about her novel.

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” - J. D. Salinger

Fortunately for me, I am privileged to count many a great author as friend, and today I am thrilled to be chatting more with friend and author, Samantha Goodwin, about her novel, Murder at Macbeth.


Samantha, congratulations on the huge success that you have received around the much-anticipated Murder at Macbeth. What can you tell us about your novel? What compelled you to incorporate the chilling and dark Shakespearean classic, Macbeth, into a murder mystery?


"Murder at Macbeth centres around a talented, young actress who unwittingly stabs herself live onstage after a prop knife is tampered with. It’s a classic whodunnit as suspicion immediately falls on her eclectic band of castmates and the detectives have to figure out who had the motive to kill the show’s leading lady. Bitter rivalries, secret trysts and troubled pasts are just the beginning of the story...


I love Shakespeare and I’ve always been fascinated by the superstitions surrounding Macbeth- about it being cursed- and the fact the play itself is about corruption and deception provided an interesting parallel to the murder mystery. I performed in a high school production of Macbeth, so that definitely inspired me too. Plus, I found the concept of interviewing suspects who are also actors really interesting; they could so easily be playing a part to hide the truth."


How and when did Murder at Macbeth begin to take shape for you? When did you realise that you had something special?


"Map[ping] out the story arc of the mystery was the pivotal moment for me because that was when the novel really started to take shape. It was great being able to visualise all the twists and turns that would keep readers guessing."


The first thing I noticed when I reading Murder at Macbeth is the suspense and intrigue surrounding the chief investigator, Detective Inspector Finley Robson. I was immediately drawn to him; I thought, this is a character with a backstory. What can you tell us about D.I. Robson?


"D.I. Finley Robson leads the murder investigation. He is smart and resourceful, with an uncanny ability for getting to the bottom of the toughest cases. However, he is also feeling rather jaded and disillusioned with the police force because he is struggling to overcome his own troubled past. He definitely has his own demons that he is fighting and finds the unusual theatrical case resonates deeply with him. To reveal any more would give away some key spoilers…"


Is it just me, or is there a bit of chemistry brewing between D.I. Robson and his partner Detective Sergeant Nadia Zahra?


"Indeed, there may well be! Robson definitely has a lot of admiration for his no-nonsense partner Zahra. She was actually my favourite to write as I think she’s a really strong female character and is a really interesting counterpart to Robson."


Murder at Macbeth has so many intriguing characters, setting the stage for a classic murder mystery that leaves the reading guessing right ‘til the end. These characters hook the reader early on, leaving the reader mentally filing away every single detail from the get-go. How important was it to you to leave the reader questioning everyone as a suspect?


"I knew who the killer was from the beginning, which was important so I could leave subtle clues. [But] it was really important for there to be a question mark over everyone. I think the best whodunnits are the ones which keep you guessing right until the end. What I love about this particular crime is that it centres around a prop knife which was switched to a real blade backstage so literally, anyone in the cast could be the killer because everyone had the means and opportunity. So it’s then up to the detectives, and the reader, to work out who had the most compelling motive."


It’s obvious that a lot of time and effort went into the character building. Did you plan each character’s profile out separately, or did their personalities form naturally as you wrote them? What’s your writing routine? How did you create, and tie all of these complex scenes together?


"I really wanted the novel to be very character-driven so the process of developing the characters was key for me. I created a character profile for every person and spent a lot of time making them all multi-dimensional. The bestselling crime author, Lesley Thomson, once told me that it is important to give every character both positive and negative traits to help humanise them. That was such wise advice as it really helped me to form interesting, complex personalities.


I personally love the first draft process when I’m coming up with all the new ideas. There are loads of twists in the second half of my novel, so I actually wrote it backwards in some sense as I got really swept up in writing all the revelations first and then backtracked to lay down some of the foundations for the story in the first half.


I also had a few master files that outlined the timeline of all the scenes and what clues would be revealed that pointed to different characters’ motivations and how everything all tied together. Plus, I made a list of [lingering] questions [from] throughout the novel to make sure everything was resolved by the end."


Given how character-driven Murder at Macbeth is, were there any characters that you struggled with writing or plotting?


"Peter. He has an interesting character arc but was quite complex to write as different things are revealed gradually, so he is definitely the one whose scenes I rewrote the most."


It’s evident that your style of writing, and the crime fiction genre, invites for complex secondary characters- which can be difficult to write without making the plot too heavy with detail. You’ve managed to balance enough backstory to make these characters 3 dimensional without the story being bogged down with excessive heavy detail- keeping the pace fast yet mysterious and suspenseful. Was that a complicated balancing act, and how important was the pace to you?


"It was definitely a complex balancing act. Early on in my writing process, I got really great feedback from fellow crime author Lorraine Mace, who said it was important not to reveal too much detail early on as it slowed the pace down and could become intrusive. That insight was so helpful as I could edit with a more discerning eye to make sure the pace was maintained; less is more when it comes to revealing character backstories throughout."


I felt early on that D.I. Robson was complex and intriguing enough to carry a series. So what’s next for him? Are there more stories to come? What can we expect next from you?


"I’ve definitely left it open so that the series can indeed continue…there[‘s] a lot to develop D.I. Robson further. I do have a lot of ideas, but haven’t started working on my next book just yet – I recently became a new mum so am taking my time on the writing front at present."


Murder at Macbeth is complex yet easy to follow, suspenseful and mysterious, engaging and captivating. What drives you as a writer, who inspires you, and what compels you to write crime fiction and mystery novels?


"I’ve always wanted to write a book and it was my husband, Chris, who finally convinced me that I could do it. Also, it ended up being the last proper conversation I had with my Dad before he died suddenly of encephalitis two years ago so I felt very driven to finish it as a tribute to him. I found the whole process of writing very cathartic during grieving, it was helpful to be able to pour my energy into something positive.


I find J.K. Rowling very inspiring. Not least because of the amazing world that she created with Harry Potter, but also the fact that she wrote the first novels while being a single parent to a young child. I find that incredible!"


[Crime fiction:] "It's the perfect genre for me as I love all things crime-related, from books and TV shows to murder mystery games! I think everyone enjoys an intriguing whodunnit. There is such a sense of satisfaction in trying to identify the culprit, especially when there are lots of twists and turns as new clues turn up. I’ve always found the best mystery books hook you so well that you end up thinking about solving the crime even when you’re not reading it."


ABOUT SAMANTHA

Samantha Goodwin has written professionally for her business career as a Chartered Marketing Manager for over a decade before turning her hand to fiction. As an avid crime fiction fan, she regularly participates in the renowned Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate and relishes attending literature festivals across the country as well as engaging in numerous online writing communities. Keen to support new and upcoming authors, Samantha recently launched the #IndieWritingWisdom initiative on Instagram to collate and share inspiring, original writing quotes from a wide range of different writers to encourage others. When not writing, Samantha enjoys reading, movies, musicals, countryside walks and almost all chocolate (but controversially not Oreos). She lives in Leeds, England with her husband, Chris, and young son, Jack. Murder at Macbeth is her first novel.


Samantha, thank you so much for chatting with me and delivering such juicy insight to your readership. Congratulation again on the release of Murder at Macbeth, and congratulations on its widespread success and reception. I can't wait for readers to delve into the mysterious and suspenseful pages of your novel where I'm certain they will love it as much as I do.


Grab your copy of Murder at Macbeth on Amazon NOW!

(Available in E-book and Paperback)

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