Interview with Louise Phillips, author of crime novel, Red Ribbons

Why crime, Louise? Why for you as a writer and why for us as readers and moviegoers etc? What is it about crime, horror, violence, murder, and in particular serial killers, that we find so captivating and compelling?

I think writers and readers are intrigued by crime fiction for similar reasons- an attempt to understand those who live by a different set of rules to our own. However, crime writing done well doesn’t only look into the dark; it also inhabits both the light and dark within all of us, asking big questions. I didn’t specifically set out to write crime fiction, but very early on I recognised that my writing tended to inhabit darker places. I felt compelled to explore areas which as a writer and as a reader, I and others, might find uncomfortable. I think one of the more interesting aspects of crime fiction is that it often attempts an understanding of not just who we are, but also many of the difficult questions in this world we inhabit, reflecting social norms, and contradictions.

As for the concept of the serial killer- I think it pushes the boundaries of our understanding to the extreme. A crime of passion, an unplanned murder, a fictional killer driven by greed or ambition, or whatever, takes on a different level when you enter serial killer territory. In the fictional sense, it means creating someone who is capable of committing multiple murders, often without guilt, sometimes randomly, someone for whom the emotional and social norms no longer apply- someone beyond understanding. Perhaps part of our humanity is seeking out the things we fail to understand.

You use multiple viewpoints in this novel. How difficult was it for you to delve so deeply into each character’s voice and point of view? It had to be particularly difficult, disturbing, to go into the murderer’s point of view? How did you accomplish that? Did spending so much time inside a fictional serial killer take a toll on you?

There are three principle viewpoints in RED RIBBONS. One is Kate Pearson, the criminal psychologist, the second voice, and probably the hardest one for me to crack, is the voice of the killer, and the third and rather interesting voice is that of Ellie Brady, who was institutionalised for killing her own daughter, 15 years before the current investigation. I describe Ellie as the woman who stopped talking because everybody stopped listening.

It was difficult and challenging to work the three voices, alternating between chapters, but that was part of the excitement, as it was something very new and different. Other than nailing each of the individual points of views, they had to be woven together in a seamless experience for the reader, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked.

As for the killer, whose voice is extremely dark and disturbing at times – I needed to do a lot of work with him before I even started the novel, writing him into smaller pieces, until I was sure I knew everything about him. I tried to avoid creating a stereotypical psychopath, but rather a character who like many, is made up of different layers. I had to get inside a bad man’s head, and yes it was uncomfortable at times, but also intriguing.

In the first draft, I couldn’t write two characters in the same day, but in the editing process, it was far easier to switch, as they became as familiar to me as real people.

There were times, particularly while in the killer’s point of view, when the read proved difficult but remained gripping. How did you control the suspense and measure out the heinous so well and thereby keep the reader turning the page?

Thank you, Ethel. When you’re writing from a point of view of someone very dark, you live it in the fictional sense. You write the way you believe your character thinks, sometimes controlled, sometimes angry, sometimes reflective of a particularly disturbed life. Everything about him is conjured up within the words on the page, so in a sense, he sets the pace. You think the way he thinks, and you write accordingly.

It’s clear you invested a lot of time and effort in research for this novel, everything from technology, medical, forensic, psychological, legal, and more. Can you give us a sense of how you went about such detailed research and over how long, and also what was the most rewarding and the most difficult aspect(s) of your research?

I studied behavioural psychology as part of a degree a very long time ago, but when it came to inhabiting Dr Kate Pearson’s world, I needed to know a lot more. To create a fictional character capable of being the psychological puzzle-solver of a crime, I needed to learn about how those who worked in this field analysed criminal behaviour, identified personality traits, patterns, and how they used the information gained from a crime scene to understand what factors influenced it. So, I sought out the work of people who do this for a living – people such as criminal psychologists, Paul Briton and David Canter in the UK. I read as much material as I could get my hands on, until as a writer, I felt comfortable bringing this fictional character to life, and not simply within her role as a criminal psychologist, but also as a well defined being on the page – someone readers could relate to.

The novel is based in Ireland, so an enormous amount of research went into studying how the police force in Ireland worked, what technology they used, establishing the legal and the many other aspects which would apply. But just as the studies into criminal psychology were fascinating, it was also fascinating working with the Irish police force. Perhaps the most interesting day I spent during my research, was with a Bookman from Tallaght Incident Room. In Ireland the role of the Bookman is unique in the police force. If you have the right Bookman assigned to a case, the chances of solving the crime are greatly increased. I spent an awful lot of time researching for RED RIBBONS, but it was absolutely necessary. As a writer, I needed to feel completely confident that I had all the information required, to deliver an authentic story.

I know readers and reviewers have received the novel well, congratulations. It’s difficult subject matter though. Do you worry that not all readers will embrace such dark material?  

I don’t think you can allow yourself you worry about it. I tried not to write the narrative in a shocking way, or take shortcuts in this regard, but equally, I knew it would be wrong to hold back when the narrative dictated a particular level of truth. Readers are very discerning, and they can tell when something has been watered down, or exaggerated unnecessarily. As a parent, I think with RED RIBBONS, I faced mine, and other parent’s greatest fear, that of something dreadful happening to our children at the hands of another. There is no denying that the emotional stacks are extremely high in this novel, which is all the more reason to handle them with sensitivity and truth, and I hope I have done this.

You have a second novel forthcoming, congratulations again. Can you tell us about that?

Thanks again Ethel. Yes, at the moment I’m working on The Doll’s House, another psychological crime novel. Again it is set in Ireland, and Kate Pearson, the criminal psychologist will also be in this novel. Kate still has a distance to travel, and I’m looking forward to travelling the creative writing journey with her.

The Doll’s House however is very different-  this time the killer could be any number of voices, and the main protagonist Clodagh Hamilton seeks the help of a hypnotist to answers questions which have plagued her for a very long time.

When Clodagh travels back via hypnosis to her past, her subconscious mind in an effort to protect her, reveals answers through the dolls in her doll’s house, a form of unreliable narrator, which neither Clodagh Hamilton, nor the reader can be completely sure is telling the truth.

In Red Ribbons, the tag line was- ‘The bad man is everywhere. Can you see him? In The Doll’s House, it is, ‘What if the only thing you can’t remember – is the one thing that can save your life.’

If you didn’t write, what would you feel most compelled to do?

I’m not sure, but I know it would have to be something creative. I think one of the most amazing things in the world, is to create something which didn’t exist before. There is no guarantee that it will be great, worthwhile, or anything else, but there is enormous bravery and integrity in the art of trying.

Anything else you would like readers to know?

There is a lot of information about my writing journey, and the creation of RED RIBBONS, and THE DOLL’S HOUSE, on my website www.louise-phillips.com

But most of all, I would ask readers to try RED RIBBONS.

As a debut author, you are competing with a lot of established names. I learned last Tuesday, that after only one week of sales, RED RIBBONS made the Irish TOP 10 Bestsellers Listing, with names like John Connolly, John Banville, Ian McEvan and Lee Child. This was a major achievement, and I hope the first of many.

RED RIBBONS was a story worth telling, and one which as I writer I’m proud to have written.

You can order RED RIBBONS in either paperback or in kindle version at www.amazon.com

Launching this new voice in crime, Ciara Doorley, Editorial Director of Hachette Books Ireland, says of Louise:

Louise Phillips returned to writing after a 20 year gap spent raising her family, managing a successful family business, and working in banking. Quickly selected by Dermot Bolger as an emerging talent, Louise went on to win the 2009 Jonathan Swift Award and in 2011 she was a winner in the Irish Writers’ Centre Lonely Voice Platform, as well as being short-listed for Bridport UK Prize, the Molly Keane Memorial Award, and the RT Guide/Penguin Short Story Competition. In 2012 Louise was awarded an Arts bursary for literature from South County Dublin Arts. Other publishing credits include many literary journals and anthologies, including New Island’s County Lines. Louise’s psychological crime novel, Red Ribbons, is published by Hachette Books Ireland, and her second novel, The Doll’s House, will be published in 2013.