My name is Alice Bell, aged 33 and ¾, and I started trying to write books when I was about 11. There followed 20 odd years of failure, during which I got a job writing about video games, got married, got divorced, moved several times and eventually ended up in Cork in Ireland, which is a lovely place to live. I spend most of my time reading books and repeat-watching the same two-hour-long YouTube documentaries for comfort, and also eating kebabs from the takeaway on the corner and then feeling a bit guilty about it. And also I write books now! My first book, Grave Expectations, is a funny, friendly, modern cosy crime with ghosts and swearing and falling over.
Meet Alice Bell
Questions on Writing
What was the hardest part of writing Grave Expectations?
The middle bit. I find that’s always the hardest part of writing anything, including articles. Most of the time I have an idea where I’m going, and the process of getting there includes running into some brick walls (often self-constructed by procrastinating and wanting to just be at the fun bit). This is compounded by the fact that I have to write my books in a straight line – that is, in order, start to finish – so I can’t just actually skip ahead to the fun bit and come back to the middle late, like some authors are well able to. So I just go off in a sulk for a bit and can’t bear to look at the wretched document.
What have you learnt about yourself when writing?
That I have absolutely no accurate concept of how long it will take me to write something. Often it takes me much longer or much less time than I expect, but either way I am always wildly off-target.
Do you make yourself write everyday/regularly, or only when inspiration strikes?
I’m on a break right now, but I do try to do a little bit every day so that I am keeping my eye in, and so that the manuscript I’m working on doesn’t get wildly unmanageable, because if I don’t look at it for a while then I’ll forget where I am and what characters are supposed to be doing. But I only have a tiny goal every day, about 250 words or less, because if I gave myself a goal of a thousand words I would never hit it and then I’d feel bad about it. A small goal is achievable! Much of writing for me is treating my brain like a fairly annoying dog that I have to trick into doing or not doing what I want.
What does literary success look like to you?
It’s funny how quickly the goalposts move. The first time I got a full request from an agent I burst into tears, and then again when I got an offer of representation. I was so happy! And then of course you see that other authors are getting more press than you or more bookseller heat, or any number of things. It’s very tempting to think that ‘literary success’ is ‘selling as many books as Richard Osman’ or ‘winning the Booker Prize’, neither of which are very realistic goals for me. I try to think of success as, even though my book might not be read by that many people, the people who do read it seem to like it. I’m not sure I can ask for much more than that.
How much planning/world building do you do before writing, and how much comes along as you write?
I plan the key bits – the start and the end, and some stepping stones in between – and then vibe my way between them all, which is where my answer to question one comes in. My books are genre-y, and technically I think fantasy, because they have ghosts! But I don’t have to do a tremendous amount of world building. I try to stick to the rules I’ve made about ghosts though. I get a bit annoyed when you read the fourth book in a series and it invents a new magic thing that was never hinted at before to solve a problem – and then of course has to sort of forget about it in the next book in the series because it could solve most subsequent problems too.
What was it that attracted you to this particular genre?
I love mystery and crime books in general, and I love books that are a bit funny. And I love cosy crime! It’s such a diverse genre these days, and it was always a little dark and strange (Agatha Christie counts as cosy crime, for example). So I’ve broken a lot of unspoken rules by making my book sort of a cosy crime but with lots of swearing, but I think it still counts.
How do you celebrate when a book is published?
I get myself a physical thing that I’ve been saving up for. So my first book is represented in the special collectors’ edition of the complete works of Terry Pratchett. I finished the second draft and bought myself a Lego house.
Questions on Books and About You
Firstly, the most important question, what books are currently ‘on your bedside table’?
I am starting The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I tried to read it when I was about the same age as the characters in it and didn’t get very far, for whatever reason. It’s very good but I feel I was deceived by the size of the book, because it has extremely thin pages like in a Bible, and thus disguised that it is 600 pages long. I’m also part way through Babel. So, I need something short.
What children’s book would you suggest every adult read?
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively. I’m not just saying that because of the ghosts thing. It’s a fabulous book. Very funny, bursting with character, extremely well-balanced story. And I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith – although I think that would probably be in the YA section today, so that might not count as a children’s book. I read it when I was a child, anyway.
What does your writing space look like?
I sort of don’t have one writing space. I switch between using my laptop on the sofa or in the giant beanbag, or writing at my desk (which is strewn with change, random bits of paper, paracetamol packets, etc.). I’m quite messy.
How many books do you think you own?
God. Too many for the flat, but not as many as I’d like. I have physical and ebooks, and quite a lot of audio books as well. I listen to audiobooks to get to sleep. But overall I prefer physical books, I think, because I like seeing how much I have left, and seeing that shrink gradually.
Who is your literary icon?
I fear to name anyone would be to leave people out. Probably the biggest influence on my own work is Terry Pratchett.
If you could own one rare/1st edition copy of a book, which would it be?
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, I think. It’s a great book, and also a fascinating one. One of, possibly the first, great true crime stories, complete with the ethical implications and allegations of making stuff up for a good story.
Is there an author who you always read?
Janice Hallett, Siliva Moreno Garcia, throw in Graeme Macrae Burnet maybe… There are some of my fellow 2023 debuts who I would always read anything they come out with as well: Chikodili Emelumadu, Heather Darwent, Aoife Fitzpatrick, Cailean Steed, Disha Bose.
And finally, are there any plans for any new books? If so, what teasers can you give us?
I’m currently finishing edits on the Grave Expectations sequel. Same gang, same lack of expertise, new crimes! It’s a closed loop mystery on an island, and will hopefully be fun. I’m also working on some other book ideas as standalones – a very violent vampire horror book, and one more like Grave Expectations that would be a bit of a meta cosy mystery.
Thank you Alice😊These are some really insightful answers
Alice Bell’s Books
Books By Your Bedside 