This week I managed to grab a quick word with Kate Riordan, author of this summer’s most gripping psychological suspense, The Heatwave.
Penguin were kind enough to send me out a copy of her latest novel in the early stages of lockdown, and I devoured it over two afternoons sitting in the back garden. It was well worth the sunburn, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The writing and the atmosphere, the darkness, the beautiful French setting, the characters... So of course I was delighted when the author agreed to speak with me.
Penguin were kind enough to send me out a copy of her latest novel in the early stages of lockdown, and I devoured it over two afternoons sitting in the back garden. It was well worth the sunburn, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The writing and the atmosphere, the darkness, the beautiful French setting, the characters... So of course I was delighted when the author agreed to speak with me.
Let me start by saying how much I loved and enjoyed your latest book. I simply couldn’t put it down and it feels like the perfect edge-of-your-seat read to get lost in during lockdown. I’m very excited to be able to speak with you.
Riordan: Yay, thank you! xx
What have you been reading in 2020 so far? Has the lockdown expanded your reading choices?
Riordan: I am a pretty eclectic reader at the best of times so I wouldn’t say lockdown has expanded my choices. So far this year I’ve read a mixture of proofs - I’m lucky to get sent quite a lot, although I do end up feeling guilty when I’m slow to get to them - and stuff I’ve bought myself. I loved Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson, and I’ve just started Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, which I already know I’m going to enjoy. I’ve also just reread Normal People by Sally Rooney after becoming obsessed (like everyone else) with the TV adaptation. I think they complement each other beautifully, and I don’t think I’ve ever come across that with an adapted book before.
What is your writing process like and how do you put together your first draft?
Riordan: My process, if I’m honest, feels pretty chaotic, though the books seem to get written in the end, so I try not to beat myself up too much about it. I’m actually writing a first draft at the moment and it’s tough going.
I have days when it really flows and I can see the whole shape of how it’s going to be, and then overnight I’ll literally lose the plot and be paralysed for a week. I much prefer it when I’ve got more words under my belt and I’m ready to start honing and polishing and moving sections around. This early stage is just nerve-shredding! It feels like I’m sitting down at my desk simply to further ruin my great idea, haha!
Do you have any unique or quirky writing habits?
Riordan: From speaking to writer friends this is hardly unique, but I mainly write from bed. I have a nice desk and a posh chair in my study, but I hardly ever use them. I get cold really easily and so it’s just more comfortable to be tucked up with my two dogs curled around me. It also seems to stop my neck and shoulders from aching as much as when I’m typing at a desk.
I hear you are a big fan of Daphne Du Maurier. I felt The Heatwave echoed the mood of stories such as Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. Which of her novels would you say had the biggest influence on you?
Riordan: Oh, definitely Rebecca, although My Cousin Rachel is my second favourite. I read Rebecca when I was about ten and was totally enchanted. It wasn’t just the mystery element - though I loved this and it has definitely influenced me as a writer; there are always secrets in my books too - but the setting, too.
Manderley was so vivid to me - a character in its own right that was easily as seductive as Rebecca herself - and I’ve gravitated towards novels with a strong sense of place ever since. It’s become really important for me as a writer to create a setting you can really lose yourself in.
Which other novelists have inspired you over the years? At what age did your love of reading begin?
Riordan: I’ve read since I was tiny, well before school. My teacher mum stayed at home with me until I was five so there was quite a bit of unofficial learning going on at home! I can actually remember the day those black squiggles on the page suddenly made sense and I could suddenly read… When I was six or so, I became quite fearful at night (fire, burglars, ghosts, you name it!), so I would put the light on and read until I fell asleep.
My favourites were classics by Frances Hodgson-Burnett and Noel Streatfield, as well as Enid Blyton and Tintin. But I’d read anything and that’s still the case. I must say, it’s mainly female writers who have inspired me: we’ve discussed Daphne du Maurier, but also Margaret Atwood, Barbara Trapido, Kate Atkinson, Maggie O’Farrell, Tessa Hadley and Sarah Waters to name a few. A more recent obsession is Tana French - she combines meticulous plotting with incredible characterisation and pitch-perfect dialogue.
The book is brilliantly chilling and atmospheric. How did you go about creating such a gripping plot?
Riordan: Thank you. I don’t actually think plotting is one of my strengths. I’m an atmosphere and character girl! And actually, there’s not masses of plot in the book if you pull it apart. I think what drives the reader on (hopefully) is the central mystery of Elodie - not just what happened to her, but who she is. And also, the atmosphere, which is intended to ramp up as you read on, and especially once you’re into part two. Generally, I think if you’ve created an interesting enough premise and characters, then you’re most of the way there in terms of story. You can bung as many twists and turns into a novel as you like, but if the characters aren’t real or interesting, the reader won’t care and won’t read on.
The South of France setting is so immersive in the book. Presumably you have spent some time there in order to have captured it so well?
Riordan: Yes, I’ve spent loads of time in France - and particularly in the south. We tend to treat that bottom part of the country as one, but the Cote d’Azur is completely different to touristy West Provence, which is different again to the slightly less Chi-Chi areas to the east and north.
The Heatwave is set slightly more off-the-beaten-track, because I wanted that insular, rather claustrophobic feel. The younger daughter in the book - Emma - is more or less the age I was in 1993, when the book is mainly set, and I did that on purpose so I could really put myself in her shoes.
One of The Heatwave’s most unforgettable characters is Elodie, an enigmatic and intriguing character. What kind of research did you do in order to develop her complex personality?
Riordan: Without giving too much away, I spoke to a family friend in France who was a child psychologist in the 1970s and 80s, which was hugely helpful to me. I also did quite a bit of reading about children (and adults) with the kind of behavioral difficulties she has. I also loved the idea of her being a product of the time she was born into - which was really the end of the hippy dream. There are lots of music and other cultural references which I hoped would add layers to the general vibe of the book.
Was it challenging to write a dual narrative and allow it to move fluidly between the past and present?
Riordan: All my books (apart from the Sanditon adaptation I did for ITV) have narratives which move back and forth. I actually find it impossible to write a straightforward timeline that goes from A to Z, and believe me I have tried, in a bid to keep things simple for myself. But, in the end, I think everyone is a product of their past and so a character without a backstory is a bit two-dimensional. Of course, you don’t have to actually take the reader back in time - there are ways round that - but I can never resist. It makes editing much harder (you’re constantly having to remember who knows what and when), but I think it’s worth it for a really rich read that keeps the reader guessing.
Did you come across any specific challenges in writing The Heatwave?
Riordan: The only issue my editor and I had heated debates about was Sylvie, the narrator. She is a mother and interestingly neither me nor my editor are, so we probably worried about it a lot more than we would otherwise have done. Again, without giving too much away, Sylvie has a hard time with her older daughter Elodie, and this makes her doubt her fitness as a mother, and even whether she should have had children at all. It was very important to me that Sylvie was painfully honest with the reader but expressing unhappiness as a mother seems to be one of the last taboos. So, while I was determined that she should be able to admit her fears and doubts, my editor wanted to make sure she remained sympathetic and relatable. It was tricky but in the end, I think (I hope!) she’s honest, flawed andlikeable - and all the more complex for being all of those things.
What is your biggest literary pet peeve?
Riordan: Books about relationships and families being viewed as ‘small’ and feminine. There’s always been that supposed split between men out there in the world making shit happen, and women at home worrying about silly trifles. And yet relationships are everything, aren’t they? Give me an Alice Munro or an Elizabeth Strout any day over one of those big, male, state-of-the-nation novels.
What’s your opinion on writer’s block and how do you deal with it?
Riordan: The struggle is real! I don’t have block so much as total avoidance. Like I won’t even open the document. I don’t have any magical techniques, I’m afraid. It’s plain, old-fashioned guilt (and deadlines) that get me there in the end. That said, I have just mock-interviewed myself about my work-in-progress, answering questions in a similar format to this about who the characters are and what their motivations are etc.… That’s been quite helpful so far.
The Heatwave is now your fourth novel. What advice might you give to new or aspiring writers?
Riordan: It’s actually my fifth if you count Sanditon! The first thing you need to do as an inspiring writer is read, read, read. Find out what you like, what you don’t, what works etc. You can learn as much from a bad book as a good one too so don’t think you have to go and buy the Booker list.
Finally, I look forward to reading more of your writing! What can we expect from you next?
Riordan: The next one - and its very early days so perhaps this will change - is going to be set in Italy. I’m not planning to write a different European setting every time but this one just demanded to be there.
Where The Heatwave was about mothers and daughters, this one is about husbands and wives. At the beginning, my couple have sold up in London to buy a guesthouse in Italy. They’ve mainly done this to inject some spark back into the marriage, but the isolation of the Italian countryside is only piling on the pressure for things to improve - something made worse by them running out of money.
Then, just when they think they’re going to have to admit defeat and go back to the UK, a mysterious Californian couple make a booking for a month. And when they arrive, the dynamic completely changes, with lots of drama and jealousy and rivalry ensuing… I think it could be quite good - I just have to write the bloody thing now!
Kate Riordan is a writer and journalist. She is an avid reader of Daphne du Maurier and Agatha Christie, both of whom have influenced her writing. She lives in the Cotswolds, where she writes full-time.
The Heatwave is already receiving fantastic media reviews, is available on e-book now and is due to be released in paperback this September. Go check out this beautiful and intriguing page-turner.
Thank you again to Kate Riordan for taking time to chat with me and email back and forth as we continue to self-isolate at the moment. It turns out we also have a shared love of several bookshops in the Cotswolds so perhaps we’ll bump into each other sometime in the future
The Heatwave is already receiving fantastic media reviews, is available on e-book now and is due to be released in paperback this September. Go check out this beautiful and intriguing page-turner.
Thank you again to Kate Riordan for taking time to chat with me and email back and forth as we continue to self-isolate at the moment. It turns out we also have a shared love of several bookshops in the Cotswolds so perhaps we’ll bump into each other sometime in the future