Anna Maloney

Anna Maloney grew up in London, part of a large Irish family. She has written for television (one BAFTA win), film, and radio; taught screenwriting; and works as a script consultant. She has worked in reality television, journalism, and public relations and is a qualified children's playleader, and sometime usherette. She lives in southeast London and can often be found swimming at her local outdoor pool while working on a plot problem. A synopsis and sample of her new novel, The 10:12, won the UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award.

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The 10:12 suggests a train and I wanted people to know the story would involve something that happens on a train. I was influenced by the writers who have set stories on trains such as Agatha Christie and Patricia Highsmith. It is a very specific location. People effectively trapped in a moving tube. And I wanted that to be the invitation to the story. Titles can be difficult, though. For my first teleplay I produced 22 alternatives after a new producer rejected the original. (And yes, I was beginning to get facetious.)

What’s in a name?

I’m not fond of awkward character names that sound implausible – unless there’s a reason for them. In Claire’s case, I wanted something straightforward and no-nonsense, rather like Claire presents herself. I also thought of her parents and the kind of names they would have chosen. Fitzroy, a name that’s Norman in origin, does have a bit of a dash about it, though. And I suppose that was another clue about Claire.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage self was reading Chandler – as well as Zola, Austen and Dostoyevsky. But the thought that a girl from my background would become a published novelist wasn’t even a daydream. Although I was good at English, writing was never suggested as a career. Perhaps it would have been thought of as flippant. The convent I attended until I was sixteen had the motto ‘serviam’ – I will serve. Not the best motto for a writer. I also didn’t read many books where the hero was female because there weren’t many. They were typically the victim, the cause of the crime or the assistant. The gender of my hero would probably be the biggest surprise to my teenage self not because she is a she, but because she exists in a published novel. Times have changed.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings tend to come quickly but may be changed later and by the time I get to the end I’m usually sure where I’m going. However, with The 10:12 I knew I wanted to start en route to a train station and that stayed much the same. The ending did change because I had introduced another thread into the story within the story, which I wanted to tie up.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Perhaps many of my characters have bits of me in them, and I’m not always aware of it when I write them! Sometimes it might be aspirational – I’m not as kick-ass as my protagonist, although I hope I’m less grumpy. There are aspects of my personality and those of people I’ve come across in my characters as I want the people I’m writing about to feel real to readers. However, some characters are just completely imaginary.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Film has always been important. When I write, I watch the conversations taking place. As a sometimes screenwriter, I occasionally need to remind myself when novel writing to describe where we are and how people might be feeling. Old and recent Noir and the classic American conspiracy films of the 70s would be influential in terms of layered story telling. And the news: what’s happening in the world now is always important whether it’s what’s going on in my neighbourhood or internationally.

Learn more about The 10:12, and follow Anna Maloney on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

--Marshal Zeringue