“I always feel inspired when I can walk along a deserted beach and hear the waves and smell the sea air.”

CRIME AUTHORS SPILL THEIR GUTS ABOUT WRITING. Every Thursday top-notch authors of psychological thrillers and crime fiction share their writing secrets – and the secrets to their success – with you and me.

This week: ALISON BAILLIE

Tell us about yourself…

Hi, I’m thrilled to appear on Blood Type, where I’ve learnt a lot of interesting things about other writers.

I still haven’t got used to thinking of myself as a real writer, because I didn’t write Sewing the Shadows Together until I stopped working full-time, although the idea had been in my head for over thirty years.

Before that I was a teacher for many years. I was brought up in England, mainly in Ilkley in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, but my parents were both from Scotland and I always felt Scottish. I…