A Chat with Karen Campbell

You are a police officer. This is what you do. You speak for the dead, and the desperate living.



When Anna Cameron is promoted to Chief Inspector and moved to a new division, it should be a turning point for her. But if she thought having a female boss would make things easier, she'd reckoned without the fearsome 'JC' Hamilton.


Then her mother goes into a coma in a foreign country and an old woman disappears from a Glasgow care home under suspicious circumstances, and Anna's career and personal life both threaten to implode. The gang-related murder of a young Asian boy and an assault on one of her officers only serve to turn the screws tighter - can Anna be both a good cop and a good person?

It's no secret that I'm drafting out a new book with a police element in it.  So when I came across Karen on twitter, we got chatting and I read her first book, The Twilight Time, as I thought it would be great research. And it was just that, as well as a terrific read. For me, as a crime thriller writer who writes about women in jeopardy, I thoroughly enjoyed a different take on a crime thriller book. As well as the raw emotions of life, The Twilight Time was a winner for me because it wasn't all about the men. I'm delighted that Karen agreed to be interviewed on my blog and can't wait to read the next two books.

Hi Karen and welcome to High Heels and Book Deals. You've recently been nominated for an award?

Yes, I’ve been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, which is one of the oldest literary awards in the country, and is for the best crime novel written in the English language that year.

It's for my third book, Shadowplay, (yes – it is named after the very fine Joy Division song!) So far. I’ve had 3 books published –the first two being: The Twilight Time and After the Fire. Each of these books are about people who happen to be cops, and I wrote them primarily because I used to be a police officer myself, and I felt that cops tend not to get a fair hearing in literature! I wanted to show what life is really like when you don a uniform and start plodding the streets – you become very visible, and people react to the uniform in all sorts of different ways – and that’s before you even open your mouth! In Shadowplay, one of the characters I follow – Anna – has become a uniformed Chief Inspector, and the book is about what she has to do in order to survive and to climb the greasy pole of promotion. I suppose it’s as much about office politics as it is about police work. Plus I give her the bitch boss from hell – Mrs Hamilton - whose management style is ‘You’re either on ma bus, or you’re under ma wheels’!

What was it like to be nominated? 

It was amazing being nominated. I was actually on holiday in Italy and got simultaneous texts from both my agent and editor saying ‘Phone me now!’ And then of course I couldn’t get reception on my stupid phone, so by the time I spoke to my agent, my editor had already sent me 3 more texts telling me I’d been nominated. That same week, my agent phoned me again, to say I’d just secured a French foreign rights deal for all the books, so all in all it was a pretty brilliant holiday. Lots of Prosecco was enjoyed, and I’m starting to think that maybe I should go and live in Italy since that’s where nice stuff seems to happen for me!

Who are you up against in your category?

I’m up against George Pelecanos – who also writes for the fantastic series, The Wire, and is another writer who’s interested in getting behind the skin of his characters and looking at social issues as well as crime- and two other women writers – Belinda Bauer and SJ Bolton, both of whom are big-hitters. So I’m very much the wee Scottish minnow in the pond!

5. Where is the award ceremony being held? 

It’s in the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, and just to up the ante, the book awards are being combined with the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller awards for TV dramas, so the whole thing is going to be filmed, and then broadcast on ITV3 at 9pm on Tuesday 12 October.

What are you wearing? (I caught a tweet about a new dress?)

The dress code is quite loose – cocktail or long, so it leaves you plenty of scope to be inventive. I’ve always been what you might call an ‘eclectic’ dresser (which is a polite way of saying I’m rather unfashionable, and still cling to the punky drabness of my youth!) Purple is my absolute favourite colour, and I managed to track down (what I think!) is a gorgeous maxi dress – purple and green peacock feather pattern. It’s got black stitching on the bodice, which, if I have time between now and next week, I plan to customise by sewing onto it hundreds of little iridescent bluey-purple beads. However, I’m also meant to be finishing the edits for my fourth book this week, so we’ll see!

What is the best thing about being nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger Award?

Writing is a pretty lonely profession – you’re holed up in your spare room listening to voices in your head (which is really not normal behaviour), and then, once a book is sent out into the world, it all goes quiet, unless you’re lucky enough to get some reviews, and so it’s hard to know what people think of this book you’ve just spent a year and a half working on. Being nominated for a writing award is a wonderful thing, because it lets you know people have read the book, and that they enjoyed it. I think that’s all that any writer wants – to know that, somewhere, their voice has connected with somebody else’s thoughts.

And finally, what's your poision - high heels or flat shoes?

I’m five foot nine in my bare feet, so tend not to wear heels very much. However, I’m making an exception for this event, and have just bought a cracking pair of purple wedges. They are Hush Puppies, so while they’ve got the height, they are also very comfy – I want to minimise the risk of stumbling inelegantly as I walk to my table and land face-first in the starters…


You can buy Shadow Play here but Karen has kindly donated a copy for one lucky reader of High Heels and Book Deals.  All you have to do is answer the following question:

Which police force did writer Karen Campbell work for?

You can find the answer here as well as more about Karen.  Please leave your answer here or here and not in the comments below. The competition will be open until 6pm on Sunday 10 October 2010.  I'll announce the winner shortly after.

NB A personal note from me. All the very best, Karen. I'm routing for you.  And, one day, I defintely hope to follow in your foosteps...