S11E3 The Summer Guests: Tess Gerritsen’s town full of spies

“ That's why I write books. I want to see those characters tear their way out of the page and just come to life.” ~Tess Gerritsen

The town of ‘Purity’ may be fiction, but its secrets are very much based on real life. It may be hard to believe, but in the American state of Maine, there’s a town where former spies go to retire.

It’s this strange reality that sets the stage for Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club book series. Following on from her incredibly popular ‘The Spy Coast’, Tess has released another tantalising entry in the series titled ‘The Summer Guests’. The new novel focuses on an uneasy partnership formed between young police chief Jo Thibodeau and a group of former CIA spies, as they attempt to solve a deadly mystery.

During this conversation, Tess explains what it was like first discovering the town she had moved to was full of retired spies. She offers sage advice from a lifetime of writing - taking us back to her early days. And she discusses the exciting news that the series could be coming to your TV soon.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why writing advice is not all created equal
• The importance of championing older people in your writing
• Why you should consider telling the story of your life through fiction

Find out more about Tess here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

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You can buy copies of our anthology series here. 

You can view the full transcript here.

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