After months of blogging about own my writing journey I thought it would be interesting to gain an insight from other writers about their paths to publication, inviting them to take part in an ‘Interview with a Writer’ feature. Today, I’m delighted to welcome prolific and talented writer Rachel Sargeant to my blog and I hope you enjoy reading about her journey as much as I did. Rachel has been a supportive online writing friend and reading her answers below really cements the importance of surrounding yourself with an encouraging community.

Read on to find out more about Rachel and her fabulous books (I’m reading The Roommates just now and it’s a page-turner!).

Rachel Sargeant is the author of The Perfect Neighbours; The Good Teacher; The Roommates; Her Deadly Friend; and Her Charming Man. After many years in Germany, she now lives in Gloucestershire. Her hobbies are visiting country houses and coffeeshops, watching amateur theatre and travelling with her husband to visit their grown-up children in various places around the world. She also likes chatting about books with readers and writers on her blog.

Thank you, Victoria, for inviting me to take part in an interview. I look forward to reading your interviews with the other authors taking part.

When did you first start writing?

Writing was my favourite activity at primary school. In my own time at home, I wrote a comedy sketch, a musical and… a bodice-ripper. I think the idea for that came from a story I read in a magazine in the dentist’s waiting room. When I got to secondary school, homework took up time, so I forgot about writing.

Years later, I moved to Germany and became a mum. On a rare night out, I went to a summer ball. A palm reader was present as part of the entertainment. She read my palm and was insistent I should write, so I did. That was 26 years ago, and I haven’t stopped since.

What do you write?

Crime, suspense and psychological thrillers

What was your first published piece of work?

A few months after the palm reader in Germany told me to write, I went to a writing workshop in Shrewsbury. The tutor was crime writer David Armstrong, the father of a (at the time) young, hopeful screenwriter by the name of Jesse Armstong, much later of Succession fame. David set a five-minute exercise about a crime scene. Feedback from him and the other students on my effort was really encouraging.

On the way home I bought a copy of Writing Magazine and saw an advert for their Crime Short Story competition. Buoyed up by the positive comments from the workshop, I expanded my hundred-word exercise into a sixteen-hundred-word story and, in a stroke of beginner’s luck, won the competition. That story became my first published piece of work when it appeared in the magazine’s competition supplement.

Why do you write?

I love getting ideas for plots, characters and settings from my head onto a piece of paper. I don’t really know why, but I feel as enthusiastic about writing now as I did as the eleven-year-old producing risqué historical fiction.

What, or who, has helped you on your writing journey?

My husband provides the means and opportunity for me to write and is my biggest cheerleader. As a press officer by profession, he comes up with innovative ways to promote my books.

Lots of other people have helped and continue to help. The greatest influence on my writing has been the students I met on my distance learning Creative Writing MA in 2013. When we were allocated to syndicates to exchange work, the four students in my syndicate transformed my writing life. They gave constructive but encouraging feedback, and I read their submissions in genres and styles I hadn’t encountered before.

Ten years on from the end of the course, I still exchange work with three of them. They’ve read the early drafts of all my novels and my PhD thesis. They are Fergus Smith, Peter Garrett and Jessie Payne, all excellent writers.

Share a writing low with us.

I worked on my MA portfolio for two years, but six weeks before it was due to be handed in, my tutor told me to rewrite it.

What did you learn from this?

What kept me going was the balanced perspective and support of my syndicate. They read vast sections of the re-write. The fourth member of the syndicate, Jenny, said to me. “I admire your resilience.” I’d never thought of myself as resilient, but at that moment realised I was. I keep that in mind whenever I have a writing setback.

The experience also taught me flexibility. There is a need to frame writing for specific audiences. I was tasked with rewriting my project to give it its best chance in front of the MA examiners. After the course, with more feedback from my writing buddies, I rewrote the portfolio again as a commercial thriller and secured an agent. The book was published by HarperCollins and became a bestseller.

Share a writing high?

I’m enjoying a writing high at the moment. The novel I spent four years writing as part of my PhD has found a home. The publisher, Hera Books, made the announcement this week. An Ordinary House will be published in 2026 under my new penname Rae Starling. Readers and authors have been leaving comments to congratulate me. It’s lovely to feel part of the book world.

Share some of your favourite lines from reviews, or comments you have received about your work, which boosted your confidence (tell us what piece of work it relates to)

I was touched when the late Nicki Richards, a lovely blogger and sadly missed, named The Roommates as one of her favourite reads of 2019.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the kind comments about my Gloucestershire Crime Series from readers I’ve met in person. I sometimes do book signings close to my home in Gloucestershire. Although I’ve lived here 15 years, I’m not from the county and I’ve taken liberties with Gloucestershire landmarks, renaming some, moving others around and completely inventing a few. I’m always nervous how my authorial reshuffle will go down with local people, but they’ve told me they enjoy working out what places inspired the settings.

Any tips for new writers?

Read, read, read and write, write, write.

The best way to get a feel for a genre is to immerse yourself in reading recent titles in that genre. You’ll absorb the rhythm, tone, characterisation, structure and descriptive style.  

And keep having a go yourself. In my experience, first drafts are hard; editing is easier, but you can’t edit a blank page.

And for all writers; any tips for keeping motivated?

Join writers’ groups. Perhaps take a formal course and meet fellow writing students. Engage with writers and readers on social media. Review other people’s books. Big up their new publications. Being part of a lovely tribe is a great way to feel motivated.

And how do you find time to write?

I’ve been writing full-time since October 2018. Before that, I wrote in the evenings after work. Before that I snatched an hour when my children were at after-school clubs.

Do you have a regular writing routine, or do you write in frantic bursts?

I usually deal with social media and read emails before I get out of bed, then sit at my desk from 9.30am. Apart from stopping to go to the shop or deal with chores, I’ll work through until 6pm. If I have a deadline, I might work in the evening too. I usually take weekends off.

Where do you write? (A dedicated space, or on-the-go)

A spare bedroom is my study. If the weather’s nice, I write or edit in the garden. Sometimes I’ll take a change of scene with a coffeeshop visit or simply sit in a different room in the house.

Any stand-out books you have read recently?

My standout read of the year so far is Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke – clever angle, clever plot.

Other humdingers include:

The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt

The Surfacing by Claire Ackroyd

Unknown by Heather Critchlow

I could go on. My Best Books of the Year post in December is going to be long.

Where can we find your books and find out more about you?

Link to buy Rachel’s books: https://t.co/89T86a9pon

Website: https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/

Twitter: @RachelSargeant3

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelsargeantauthor/

Bluesky: @drrachelsargeant.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelsargeant3/

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BookBub: @rachelsargeant3