We chat with ex-cop turned small-town bookstore owners Gareth and Louise Ward about their new charming cosy crime novel The Bookshop Detectives 2: Tea and Cake and Death, which follows their fictional counterparts Garth and Eloise (and their beloved dog Stevie) as they investigate a series of deadly poisonings ahead of their annual fundraiser, the Battle of the Book Clubs.
Hi, Gareth and Louise! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourselves?
We’re both ex-coppers from the UK. We met at police training college and have been married for a mere thirty years. After many and varied jobs and adventures we pitched up in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, where we run two independent bookshops by the name of Wardini Books, a riff on Gareth’s magician stage name of The Great Wardini. We love to create community and draw people into reading and the machinations of the book trade. Apart from the usual socials we have a YouTube page where we have some stellar author interviews and quite a bit of marital bickering in our vlogs.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Gareth: I’ve always loved stories. I can remember at the age of four having a picture book about Goblins exploring a cave which I adored.
Louise: When I was in my early teens I forwent pocket money in order to collect editions of classic novels that came out once a fortnight. That’s where I met Heathcliff, who I loved back then, buy now realise is a terribly flawed and abusive human! I still have all of them, and seeing them on the shelf invites me into a world of storytelling every time I look at them.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading:
Louise: Little Women by Louise May Alcott.
Gareth: The aforementioned Goblin book, then The Hardy boys and The Twisted Claw - The one that made you want to become an author:
Louise: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – Holden’s voice is crystal clear
Gareth: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - The one that you can’t stop thinking about:
Louise: Molly in Trent Dalton’s All Our Shimmering Skies – her best friend is a shovel with which she digs graves!
Gareth: Tarquin the Honest, The Hand of Glodd by Gareth Ward – it should have found a much wider audience.
Tea and Cake and Death is the second installment in The Bookshop Detectives and it’s out April 1st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Compelling, comedic, bookshop based mystery.
For those who haven’t picked up Dead Girl Gone, what can readers expect?
Garth and Eloise, ex-coppers and owners of Sherlock Tomes bookshop must launch the book of the century while trying to solve the cold-case of a missing school girl and ward off sinister serial killer, Arthur Pinter. A fantastic cosy crime novel with great characters, literary laughs and an engaging mystery that will leave you feeling upbeat and wanting more.
And for those who have, what’s to come in the second installment?
Garth and Eloise’s Battle of the Book Clubs fundraiser is threatened as serial killer Pinter reaches further into their lives from his prison cell.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Gareth: I love writing the character called the Admiral because he is so eccentric and also Dead Girl Deidre, the mysterious, glamourous goth.
Louise: I very much enjoy Stevie’s heroic moments. For a dog who spends most of his time hiding, he really knows when to pull out the bravery. I also love delving into personality traits of the bookshop’s customers; people are so strange and wonderful.
Can you tell us about your process when it comes to co-writing?
Gareth: We plot out the novel beforehand, working out what needs to happen in each chapter. We then write alternate chapters with Gareth writing Garth and Louise writing Eloise and read through each other’s chapters, offering thoughts and suggested revisions. It’s a great experience because at the same time as writing the novel it’s like reading one. It’s the most fun I’ve had writing a novel.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
There were no real challenges in the writing. The editing was more considerably more difficult. Because we were writing alternate chapters from Garth and Eloise’s viewpoints it meant we couldn’t just move a single chapter or add one chapter in where it was needed.
What’s next for you both?
We’re currently writing book three in the series which is going great guns. Then we will have to decide whether to continue the series or start a new one, for which we have myriad ideas.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Louise: Dervla McTiernan’s next installment of her Cormac Reilly series, The Unquiet Grave; the conclusion to John Boyne’s elements quartet, Air; and Catherine Chidgey’s The Book of Guilt (It’s out in May and I’ve already read it but can’t wait to talk about it).
