1--What is the title of your latest release?
SWIPED
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Everyone she dates, dies! It’s the story of newly single Gwen Turner, who hits the dating apps hard after a messy break-up. But when she matches with a serial killer, her dates start turning up dead, she finds herself the chief suspect in a murder investigation. Can she figure out who the real killer is they reach her ex?
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The novel is set in the seaside town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England in the middle of January. An off-season seaside resort is always atmospheric and a bit creepy, because no tourists about, and the locals are extra grumpy!
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes! Gwen is super-fun, even when she’s running away from serial killers! Although, like Detective Lyons in the book, she might prove too much of a handful for me eventually.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Impulsive, sarcastic, kind
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
It’s strange, but I think it’s only when you finish writing a book that you realize it reveals quite a lot about you. You have to lay yourself emotionally bare, so you end up learning quite a lot about yourself. So if you want to know all my secrets, read the book!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I am constantly going back to page one and editing, tweaking, and polishing. I’m changing small details right up to the last minute, (much to the annoyance of my editors). I find the editing more fun than the writing, to be honest. I love going back and sprinkling in all the red herrings.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
There’s a place near me in London that does those meter-long pizzas. I may have been known to order one of those to myself (with extra pepperoni and onions) in the middle of a rainy Sunday afternoon.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Haha well, sometimes my “office” is the sofa, sometimes it’s the bed, and sometimes it’s even in the bath! I do have an office room at home with a lovely desk and all my books, but there’s currently an eight-week-old kitten in there, who seems to think my laptop is a dancefloor.
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are loads! Kurt Vonnegut for his ability to see the absurdity in the world, Dan Brown and Lee Child for their page-turning prowess, and Agatha Christie, of course, for everything.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
During a rainy family camping trip in the 90s, I found a copy of Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, left behind by a careless camper. It poured the whole week, but I barely noticed. I sat in my dad’s car with the heater on, absorbed by the terrifying horror that I was far too young to be reading. Maybe that inspired me to write about serial killers as an adult, although mine are a little less gruesome than Hannibal Lecter.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was actually just about to leave the house to go to the cinema when my agent called to tell me. The movie was about to start so the phone call only lasted a few minutes. I then had to sit through the film, barely taking any of it in, and just wanting to call everyone and tell them the news instead. I can’t even remember what film it was now, but I do remember I ate a lot of popcorn.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Thrillers! I do love trying to guess ‘whodunit’ and I live and breathe for a good cliffhanger.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I’m a sucker for those 80s classics like Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Ghostbusters 2. But my favorite movie is probably The Paper, starring Michael Keaton and Glen Close, which inspired me to become a journalist.
15--What is your favorite season?
Autumn (or Fall). I’m a cinnamon boy at heart. When it’s still warm, but you’re allowed to snuggle up with a hot chocolate. Plus, Halloween is my favorite of all the holidays – it’s better than Christmas!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Famously I do not like birthdays very much! I don’t like being the center of attention. I always try to keep it a secret and have a normal working day (but my lovely girlfriend always takes me out for a delicious meal in the evening)
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
My favorite podcast is a BBC show called Desert Island Discs where notable people chose the eight songs that they would take to a desert island, if they were stranded there. It’s a really clever way of getting interviewees to reveal a lot about themselves and their lives. Plus, it is my lifetime ambition to be invited on one day!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’m going to say Italian, because that means pizza. (Although the best pizza I ever had was in Chicago, deep dish all the way, baby!)
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I like to explore haunted places in the UK. So far, I have completely failed to see a ghost. My girlfriend and I recently went to visit ‘The Haunted Leg’ in Norfolk, UK, which is a mysterious tree that grew from the grave of a witch! I am also trying to learn the banjo.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
It’s another fun, twisty murder mystery! If Swiped was “Bridget Jones in a Scream movie” them this next one is “Friends meets I Know What You Did Last Summer”!
A Novel
The mystifying world of online dating gets a terrifying, clever, and darkly hilarious twist in this unputdownable thriller.
Gwen Turner has made a bloody mess of her life. She recently broke up with the best man she’s ever known for reasons even she can’t admit to herself and quit a lucrative job to open her own coffee shop. To top it all off, her best friend is getting married and leaving her behind in singlehood.
Along with too much cheap wine and bad reality TV, Gwen turns to a dating app to help fill the void in her life. Swiping through the few eligible bachelors left in town, she spends her evenings out on one disastrous date after another. But when a string of murders suddenly occurs in her small coastal English city, she’s shocked by the connection between each of the victims—they’ve all been on a date with her.
Before she knows what’s happening, Gwen finds herself the main suspect in a serial killer’s murderous spree, and the only way she can clear her name is to track down her former dates (even those that have ghosted her) and unmask a killer before it’s too late.
Romance Comedy [Gallery Books, On Sale: May 21, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668045701 / eISBN: 9781668045725]
L.M. Chilton is a journalist with fifteen years of experience working on a variety of television shows, such as This Morning, Loose Women, and more. Her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Metro (London), and The Mirror (London). A former self-proclaimed dateoholic, L.M. Chilton has been on over a hundred dates over the last few years.
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