On the first page, a headmaster is shot then moved out of harm’s way by two pupils. But this is not the fast-moving story of an American school siege. No. This is set in rural Somerset and the school is isolated. The junior school is close to the sea, the infants are in the pottery studio in the middle of a wood, there are teenagers rehearsing Macbeth in the theatre. Everything plays out in slow motion in the silent snow-covered school, as parents wait to hear news of their loved ones....

There is something very satisfying to type “The End”, but I know it is just the beginning of the next process: editing. Over the lockdown I have completed draft 1, left it for a few weeks, read it through for glitches in the story line, for expression, style, for punctuation and expression again. The latest draft (number five) is now ready for my beta readers, including an expert who works for the police. The publication date for “Killer Lines” is 31st August in case...

I am currently on “furlough” – an interesting American English word originally applied to leave given to soldiers on full pay. The English equivalent might be “gardening leave”, although that seems to have negative connotations; technically it means you can’t work so all there is to do is sit at home or work in the garden – usually applied to senior staff who perhaps are past their most productive. My own garden has certainly received a huge amount...

I hope you are all keeping well and not finding social distancing too challenging. As everyone keeps saying, writers are used to working on their own at home – but we are always in contact with others by social media and never more so than now. Although I’m not getting out as much as usual, I am very lucky to be able to walk with my husband and dog in the empty fields and lanes of Swaledale, while fully appreciating that many are living in urban areas where exercise options are...

It may be because I had a career in academia, and even now spend half my week as a director of an innovation company, that my writing includes a significant amount of research. In fact it is the most interesting part, in my view. Previously my books have involved archaeological topics that have required me to consult not only books but also experts in their fields. For example, I had a valuable discussion with one such expert on chariot burials who assured me I wouldn’t discover one in...