Christine Jordan: 'Always leave the reader wanting more at the end of each chapter'
BY Katie Smart
30th Aug 2022
Author Christine Jordan studied on our six-week online Writing a Psychological Thriller course in 2020. She joined the course to learn more about the genre after previously writing historical fiction. Her first thriller novel MisPer is out now from Bloodhound books, published under the pen name CJ Claxton.
We found out more about her time studying with us and what inspired her to start writing thrillers…
You took our six-week online Writing a Psychological Thriller course. How did your time studying online with us impact your writing?
I already had the idea for MisPer and had written about 27,000 words. I normally write historical fiction, so this was a departure for me. I was unsure about writing a psychological thriller so when the CBC course popped up it was a no brainer, particularly as the course tutor was Erin Kelly.
It inspired me to keep writing and by the end of the course I had finished the first draft. I wrote MisPer in about six months compared to my debut historical fiction which took me 5 years. Lol!
The course was tailored specifically at writing psychological fiction and wasn’t the bog standard, plot, character etc. I learned invaluable writing skills.
Many of our students find lifelong writing friends on our courses. Are you still in touch with anyone you met during the course?
I keep in touch with fellow writers through a Facebook group. Quite a few of my fellow course members went on to get book deals after the CBC course which is great and a testament to the teaching skills of Erin Kelly. It was definitely worth taking the course.
Your debut thriller MisPer is out now from Bloodhound Books. Can you tell us a bit more about your novel and the inspiration behind it?
I was trawling Twitter one evening when a tweet caught my attention and gave me an idea for a novel. I don’t usually plot my novels but on this occasion, I wrote down a full plot in about half an hour. I am morbidly fascinated by missing person cases. MisPer by the way is police speak for Missing Person. I find it difficult to get my head around the fact that people can disappear into thin air and are never found. There is so much heartache around that subject and for the people left behind there is no closure.
What are your top tips for building suspense in fiction?
Always leave the reader wanting more at the end of each chapter, always keep them guessing, introduce new possibilities for solving the puzzle then introduce more by turning it on its head!!
Who is your favourite fictional character of all time?
Wow! That’s a hard one! There have been so many! From Aliena in Pillars of the Earth who I like because she is a strong female character to Eleanor Oliphant who is such a flawed character and all in between!
What does a typical day of writing look like for you?
I’m a morning person so I wake early – about 6am - make a cup of strong coffee, switch on my laptop and start writing. I write until about 11ish then start to feel hungry so make breakfast, have a cup of tea, shower and then go back to writing. I write till about 4 or 5 when I get brain fog through tiredness and that’s me finished until the next morning.
Finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
Bloodhound are going to publish my medieval Jewish trilogy which I began writing some years ago. My writing journey has been to finish a book, send it out to agents, get some interest then receive a rejection then put that novel aside and start another one. I had already written the first two books of the trilogy. Bloodhound loved it so they are publishing the first book on 6 January 2023 and the second book on 2 May 2023. I just have to write book three!
Get your hands on a copy of MisPer.
If you want to learn more about writing suspense fiction, join us for our six-week online Writing a Psychological Thriller course. Or, for more in-depth guidance and feedback join of three-week Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course, beginning 3 Oct. Apply by 4 Sept.