... joins me today. Hi, Denise, and thanks for making time in your busy schedule to be here. So, tell me all about your new book?
DB My current release is a set of
four stories called The Ladies of Whitechapel.
It is my take on the ‘Jack the ripper’ murders. I love writing about women and how they are
challenged with life regardless of their race, class or age.
AW What first got you into writing
and why?
DB I have written from a young age,
when television wasn’t available twenty-four hours a day. I would write short plays, that my friends
and brother would perform. I was always
too busy during my career so when I retired it was an opportunity that I
couldn’t miss. I met Kate Rose who
facilitated creative writing classes and I was hooked.
AW You write historical
fiction. Is it all imagination or do
you do research?
DB I did a fair amount of research
for this book. Although it is
fictional, the women in the stories are actual women who were murdered in
1888. You need to paint a picture for
your reader so they can use their imagination to bring it to life. I do like research however, I can be
distracted by it also.
AW And what about other types of
writing? Have you dabbled with other
genres?
DB I do write in other genres and
have a few books on the boil. I have a
supernatural one based in current day and 1940’s Vichy France. There is also a detective novel that runs
parallel to The Ladies of Whitechapel.
AW Famous authors such as Roald Dahl
and Dylan Thomas had a special space for writing. Do you have a writing shed of your own?
DB A writing shed is on my husband’s
to do list. I don’t have a special
space to write, I can write anywhere.
On the plane, in the doctor’s surgery, at any social event. I have a notebook in my handbag and use it
constantly.
AW And finally, if you had a whole
afternoon to yourself and could choose to spend it with any one individual,
living or dead, or a character from a book, who would it be and what would you
discuss?
DB My character from a book would be
Hannibal Lecter. Unfortunately, I may
not last the afternoon. His character
is fascinating. I studied criminal
psychology within my degree and have an unhealthy curiosity about psychopaths
and how their minds work. I would ask
him if he did have any feelings for Starling, or why he didn’t kill her. Gruesome I know but exciting.
AW You're telling me!! Pretty scary too, I would expect.
In 1888, five victims of Jack the Ripper became
famous for their horrific fate. That
same year, police ignored many other women’s murders because of their class, or
in an attempt to dispel the idea of a serial killer loose in Whitechapel.
Discover the forgotten women of Whitechapel: from
heiress to whore, from wife to murderer.
Four woven tales of women struggling to survive the terror of Jack the
Ripper’s reign.
…about the author Denise Bloom is a retired Women’s services manager. She started work with Bradford Social Services and Bradford Housing. The final years of her career was managing hostels, refuges and outreach domestic violence services across Humberside and Lincolnshire. She now writes full time along with inspiring others in creative writing classes. Through her love of Victorian England and Ripperology a book was a natural step, using her knowledge of women’s struggles in gruelling situations. This enables her to breathe life into her characters and allows the reader to experience the brutal life that women had to bear in the harsh streets of London Whitechapel 1888.
You can get the book from Amazon and you can follow Denise on her Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest and Instagram
Thank you Angela I feel privileged to be on your blog
ReplyDeleteGreat interview Angela. I know Denise, having written her website. She is a lovely lady and I've read her previous book, The Invisible Woman - can't wait to read The Ladies of Whitechapel..sounds brilliant.
ReplyDeleteHi, Cindy, thanks for visiting. Glad you enjoyed the post and, like you, I'm also looking forward to reading Denise's book.
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