Beyond delighted to welcome fellow Darley Anderson author Liv Matthews to the blog. I’m in such awe of her. I was lucky enough to read her new book Silent Waters early and absolutely devoured it. The plotting is excellent, she kept me turning page after page. It’s also beautifully written and I felt totally immersed in the setting.

SILENT WATERS is Liv’s third book to be published so I’m really excited to hear about her whole publication journey up to this point.

Tell us all about your new book SILENT WATERS. 

At 5am one summer's morning, police diver Jen Harper wakes to find herself submerged in the silt of a river with no memory of how she got there. Forty-eight hours later, she's called to dive in the same river in search of a missing woman, Claudia Franklin. But for Jen, this is no ordinary job. Her and Claudia's families were entangled for decades – there is unresolved resentment between them, unspoken secrets. Jen hasn't seen Claudia for twelve years now... Or has she?

What led to your offer of representation?

I am definitely an author who has the 'book in the draw' story! The Prank was the second book I submitted to agents after the first went no where (well, back in the draw!) and I had learnt a lot from the process. I had gone scatter gun before, but this time I submitted to my top 8 agents, and did a lot of research in how I wrote the covering letter and pitch. I knew The Prank had a good hook, but still surprised and overwhelmed that all 8 agents wanted to see the full. Some then decided it needed too much work (and it did – structurally it was a mess!) but a couple wanted to meet; one of which was Camilla Bolton from Darley Anderson Agency. I was blown away by her enthusiasm for the book, her notes (SHE WROTE NOTES!!) that she sent before we met. She had vision, strategy, and I knew, from working in the industry, what an amazing reputation she had as being tenacious, and a champion of her clients. She had me at 'hello'.

How was the submission to publisher process for you? 

For any author, the submission process is terrifying and exciting in equal measure. And it doesn't get any easier! With The Prank, we submitted widely but no one wanted it. I was devastated but determined to carry on, because I really did want writing to be my career. I wasn't precious about The Prank – I loved it but knew if it wasn't right, it wasn't right. Months later, I was writing The Twins at that point, and a few weeks before we were about to submit it, Welbeck was created. Cam rung me one day, asking if she could send Jon Elek, the publisher, The Prank, and I said yes, thinking he'd reject it. 3 days later, we had an offer and the rest is history!

What has been your favourite part so far and what has been the hardest? 

The favourite part of the job, for me, is the writing. Hands down. There's nothing better than the actual getting lost in a scene. That's why we do it, it's creative, it's immersive, it's exciting. The hardest part is accepting that, if you're writing for a job, selling your manuscript means it becomes a product and belongs to a publisher. It's not your 'baby' anymore. You can influence it, and help it along, but at the end of the day, its success is down to which slots the publisher can get it into, and the budgets it has with retailers etc. A lot of people – understandably – don't understand this but I think it's worth saying!

How did it feel finding out The Twins had been picked for Richard & Judy’s Book Club for THE TWINS?

I remember the exact moment that my editor told me we'd got R&J with The Twins. I'd laid in bed for weeks thinking about it – by that time I knew it was on a shortlist (which publishers don't usually share with authors but they'd told me because it would mean moving the pub date and therefore a deadline for edits). My husband was downstairs on a work call – I ran down and basically jumped up and down mouthing R&J!!!!!!

Do you feel pressure to keep producing?

Yes. I think especially in the crime/thriller genre, publishers expect a book a year to keep up visibility, and to ensure you keep your 'slot' with retailers. This is hard on authors because being creative isn't something that you can easily switch on. I wrote Silent Waters (coming in July) over 15 months – a first draft! However, I wrote book 4 in 4 months so like anything in this industry, you take the wins, you roll with the punches.

What are you working on at the moment?

I've just delivered book 4 to Camilla! It's a very different book to what I've written before and took a lot of research but I've had a lot of fun with it. I can't say much about it at the moment, but it's a mystery - about loss of control, and about trauma, set against the backdrop of undercover policing.

And just for fun…

Your most anticipated reads of the year?

Go As A River – Shelley Read

Hold My Girl – Charlene Carr

Romantic Comedy – Curtis Sittenfeld

The best book you’ve read recently…

We Begin At The End – Chris Whitaker

Conviction – Jack Jordan

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

There's nothing I like better than walking in the woods :)

Thanks so much for taking the time Liv. Such an interesting read!

You can find Liv on Instagram and order Silent Waters here. Check out all her books here.