I was born and raised in Redditch, Worcestershire. Having completed an English degree, I first started taking my writing seriously in my 20s. At the same time, I had to find a job to pay the bills, so I decided to train to become a barrister. While studying in Birmingham, I also taught martial arts part-time. I have a black belt in Tang Soo Do, so used to go to the college in the morning and then teach karate in the afternoon as a way of making money while I was studying.
In 2016, I qualified as a barrister and moved from the West Midlands to Cardiff to start my pupillage. I’ve lived in Cardiff ever since and consider it my home. As a junior barrister, I started out doing all areas of work including Crime. I’ve prosecuted and defended many jury trials in the Crown Court but have since become a Human Rights barrister specialising in Health and Social Care Law. My most well-known case is the Covid-19 Public Inquiry in which I represent those who were bereaved in Wales.
It was never my plan to write legal thrillers, in fact I actively resisted it because it seemed too close to home, but at the tail end of 2020, I had the idea for a high concept thriller in which the main character was a barrister. By this point I’d written two unsuccessful historical novels so writing something which required no research appealed to me enormously, so I decided to draw on my experience as a barrister and write a courtroom drama with a speculative twist.
Meet L.J Shepherd
Questions on Writing
What is the hardest part of your writing experience?
For me, it’s the eternal frustration of having something perfect in my mind that I can’t quite envisage clearly enough to allow me to translate it onto the page. In my mind, there is a fantasy palace of a novel, waiting to be written. As soon as I start writing, I find that I don’t even know how to lay the foundations. My first attempts were less palace and more garden shed. The process of writing is really just working as hard as I can to realise my initial vision for the book.
What have you learnt about yourself when writing?
I’ve learned that I am definitely ruled more by my brain than my heart. This can sometimes mean that I forget about pesky emotions and relationships because I’m so in love with the puzzle. When I edit, I try to tape into more emotions. As a reader, I love books which make me laugh and cry, or fall in love, so one thing I always try to work on in the editing process is to write something which generates an emotional reaction as well as an intellectual one.
Do you make yourself write everyday/regularly, or only when inspiration strikes?
I do try to write every day, because it’s very difficult to get started again once you stop. However, sometimes I recognise that what I need is some more time to think about what is going to happen next, and in those cases, it’s almost always better to step back, think, and plan rather than plough on with something uninspiring in pursuit of an arbitrary daily word target.
What does literary success look like to you?
What a difficult question! I suspect it changes daily. In one sense, I’ve already achieved literary success because I’ve written a novel I’m proud of and I think I would genuinely enjoy were I to read it. That’s possibly the most sensible metric by which to judge success. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in writing a bestseller, or at least something which reached “cult” status.
How much planning/world building do you do before writing, and how much comes along as you write?
I do a lot of planning and world building before I start writing, but I like to allow some flexibility for new ideas to come through as I’m writing. For the most part, The Trials of Lila Dalton is true to the vision of what I planned before I started the first draft.
What was it that drew you to the thriller genre?
I love reading thrillers. As someone with a busy job, finding the headspace to concentrate on a book can be difficult. Any book I read must grip me, no matter the genre. Thrillers are designed to be gripping and “unputdownable”. There is nothing more escapist than feeling your heart pumping on behalf of a character who has been made up by someone you’ve never met.
How do you plan to celebrate when the book is published?
I would really love to go out for some tapas with friends and family.
Questions on Books and About You
Firstly, the most important question, what books are currently ‘on your bedside table’?
There are about 200 books I wish I’d read yesterday, but next on my list are Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, The Secret Hours by Mick Herron, and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.
What children’s book would you suggest every adult read?
The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman – pure bliss.
What does you writing space look like?
I write in my office which is white and blank. I love colour and fabrics in the rest of my house, but my office is pretty bare. I find blank walls helpful for concentration.
How many books do you think you own?
Including electronically, over 1,000. In terms of physical books, possibly around 500. I am a big believer in giving books away to people who I think will like them so I travel fairly light from a physical books perspective.
Who is your literary icon?
Angela Carter. She was so fearless and unabashed. I love watching old interviews of her.
If you could own one rare/1st edition copy of a book, which would it be?
It’s got to be a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I was a huge Potterhead as a child so that is up there for me.
Is there an author who you always read?
Mick Herron, Charles Kennedy, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Natasha Pulley, Catriona Ward, Robert Harris, M.W. Craven, and Janice Hallett. Those are authors whose books I buy as soon as they come on pre-order without even checking the blurb. I’m sure there are others I’ve failed to mention, but those are in my mind at the moment.
And finally, are there any plans for any new books? If so, what teasers can you give us?
I handed in my second novel to the publishers in November 2023 and receiving notes takes time so I’m still waiting to hear back as to whether the book is a goer or not. Though it does feel a little presumptuous to talk about it at this early stage, I will say this: it’s a standalone legal thriller with a speculative twist. Rather than focussing on a barrister, this time we’re focussing on a member of the jury. There’s also an unusual structural element to the book as well as a big, high-concept idea which is the “hook”. I hope that’s enough to go on for now!
Thank you Laura for your insightful answers😊I haven’t heard of Angela Carter, but I will definitely be looking her up now.
L.J Shepherd’s Books
Books By Your Bedside 