Interrogation (Interview) with Crime Fiction Author Heidi Field

Today, the Mystery Review Crew is Interrogating Interviewing Author Heidi Field. Her Debut novel is The Other Boy, published by Tule Publishing, released just a few days ago!  Author Heidi Field writes crime fiction, dark thrillers to be specific, and her first book was published on June 25th, 2025. Heidi Field’s next book, The Other Mother, is set to release in November 2025. 

About British Author Heidi Field

You can find Heidi Field on Social Media: https://heidifield.co.uk/

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Our Interview with Author Heidi Field

Thank you so much for joining us today, Heidi Field.

What inspired you to start writing fiction? Was there a particular moment, book, or character that made you say, “I have to do this”?

Hi. Thank you for having me. 

There was very much a moment in my life when I was inspired to write fiction. I had just given birth to my first child, I had post-natal depression, and my marriage was failing, you can only imagine the concoction of emotions swilling around in my head! I saw Brokeback Mountain at the cinema, and LOVED it, so much so, that I bought the book by Annie Proulx. 

That book was my inspiration. 

I was so moved by the story of Brokeback Mountain, that I sat at my computer, with a newborn who only slept in the daytime, and started writing. I wrote an epic YA fantasy screenplay, sought out some feedback, and after being told my prose was good but my grasp of the screenplay was terrible, I wrote a fantasy Young Adult novel, then some children’s picture books, and then a time-slip romance. 

My son is now nineteen, and I still love writing as much as I did then. It is my escape and my happy place, even though I write dark thrillers!

Did you know the twists in The Other Boy before you started writing, or were they a surprise to you as well? 

I am not a planner; I just start writing and let the characters take me on a journey, unaware of my destination or what surprises I will find along the way. 

It is an exciting way to spend my time, and often a pathway shows itself to me on a dog walk, when I’m lifting weights in the gym, or in the middle of a conversation with someone about a completely unrelated topic. 

During the editing stages, I can lose characters, chapters, scenes, and locations, always finding a new and better way forward when I have decided something doesn’t work.

I know you’ve just had a recent release, but how many books are you planning for this series, or are you going with the flow where inspiration takes you? And, as a Bonus, what is your current project?

There are three books in this series. The Other Mother is with my editor, and The Other Killer is early on in the first draft, although I do have a rough road map of where the story is going. 

I didn’t plan to write a series, but after finishing The Other Boy, I felt compelled to write a continuation of the story from two other points of view, characters deeply affected by the first story, whose journeys were not complete.

Can you share your journey to becoming an author? What inspired you to pursue the writing process as a career?

After my initial drive to write when my first child was in those early years, my life changed dramatically, moving home, starting again as a single parent, finding work in a school, falling in love, finding myself in a blended family with three stepchildren, and having a second child. Life got busy, and writing took a back seat for a while.

When my youngest child started at primary school, I returned to education and took a master’s in creative writing at Winchester University. It was time for me to look ahead at a career goal now that my childcare and home responsibilities were winding down. The part-time Uni life suited me well and I LOVED spending time with people who enjoyed writing and reading as much as I do. 

Initially, I was going to take a course in writing for a children’s book, but at the last minute decided not to limit my options. Thank goodness I made that decision. Every week we read a different genre and wrote a first chapter in that genre. My stories were often dark, people died, characters were unhinged. I had found my calling, and it wasn’t YA fantasy, it was thrillers.

What role does research play in your writing? How do you strike a balance between authenticity and creative freedom?

I love research. It is fundamental for me to be able to write my stories. Not only does research help me to be accurate with settings, it provides invaluable fodder for backstory, details which give my books authenticity, ideas for character quirks, and directions for plot. 

Over the last few years, I have spent hours researching teenage accomplices to serial killers. I know A LOT about who these young men are, their upbringing, motivations, and family history. I have read court case transcripts and watched interviews with detectives, serial killers, and even a few of the accomplices who have been released. There is a lot out there about serial killers, and with television and film being so accessible now, I have not been short of documentaries to watch. 

All my research makes for some fascinating conversations around the dinner table, and the whole family engages enthusiastically in these discussions. We have talked extensively about teenagers, what influences their behavior, and how the choices the accomplices I am reading about have played out. As a writer, everything has the potential to find a way into my book, including the views and emotions expressed by my family. 

There are little story gems everywhere I look, a crooked tree on a dog walk, a runner I pass with psychedelic leggings, a conversation with another mum about a conflict with her teen, the smells of a farmers market, the sky on a grey day, the face of a woman I pass in the street, all stored up in my memory waiting to colour my writing and bring it to life.

My characters and my stories are a smorgasbord of influences from my research, my own experiences, and what I see around me, all mixed together in the cauldron of my imagination. Too much? Haha. I’d edit that line out if it was in my book!

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of being an author, and how do you navigate those challenges?

Time. It is the single most important and challenging aspect of my life. I always want more time to write, more time to exercise, more time with my kids, and more time with my partner. Time is the most precious gift anyone can give me. It is the challenge and the limit on everything. There is never enough time for my parents or my friends. In the back of my mind, constantly, is a need to write, an ache to be back at my computer. I make notes on my phone throughout the day and sometimes at night, and I always know what I am going to sit down and work on well before I get into my office. 

I need longer days and a longer life!

How do you balance between creating stories that resonate with you personally and writing for a broader audience?

This is an interesting question. I have attended many, many writing workshops and masterclasses, and the consistent message is to write what you love, not what you think will sell. Trends change, what is in one year is out the next, and it is impossible to predict what readers will be buying in a year or two. 

I listened to this message, and I write what comes naturally, what motivates me, and what gets me excited to sit at my desk. I have no idea at this point how my books will be received, how successful or not they will be, whether readers will give them one star or five, I just know that I have loved writing them, I still love writing them, and the journey from that first idea to getting my book out in the world is the most fun and rewarding experience I have ever had (other than being a mum!).

Do you prefer coffee or tea? What kinds, or specific ways to enjoy these drinks? 

I am an obsessive green tea drinker. 

I also love exercise and healthy eating. It’s a bit annoying for everyone around me, I think. I run half marathons and go on ultra walks. Our eldest is all in with the fit and healthy lifestyle, as is my footballing teen, and our only girl, a gym lover who is starting distance running with me, so I’ve managed to lure in half the family.

None of them are green tea converts, though.

What was your favorite childhood story/ picture book?

Anne of Green Gables. It came out as a television series a few years ago, and it didn’t disappoint me. I think it was Anne who made me love red hair, which you will see I have included in my book. Marilla and Matthew were a perfect pair, I adored them, and my heart broke when Matthew died. For me, Gilbert is the best romantic partner ever written. The simplicity of the story gives it its magic. An awkward, feisty girl landing in the home of an older couple who wanted a boy, finding her way into the hearts of everyone she met, everyone she clashed with, and everyone she tried to push away. Heartwarming genius.

What is your favorite vacation memory?

Easy. Hugging an elephant in Thailand. If I hadn’t had a family, I would have liked to live and work in an animal sanctuary, with elephants in Thailand, orangutans in Borneo, and chimpanzees in Kenya.

What little bit of advice would you give to aspiring authors who are just starting their writing journey?

Keep going. Write a lot. One book will not make a career. If the first novel doesn’t find a home with an agent or publisher, write the next and the next and the next. 

Get feedback, paid feedback from beta readers. Use Goodreads or Fiver, find people who love books and who read extensively, to tell you what they think. If a reader feels things need to change, take note, make the changes. Don’t be too proud or too attached to your manuscript; listen to the criticism, it’s how you learn and improve, and you will only get better with practice.

I remember finishing that first draft of The Other Boy and thinking, “Yes! I’ve done it!” I hadn’t. Not by a long shot. The book that is being published is a world away from that first draft, swathes of text was removed, a big character was lost, I changed a whole point of view, my dialogue needed improving, my settings needed to be richer, the plot twists required work. I discovered that I enjoyed the editing more than creating the initial draft, but it was hard to let go of so many words and to accept that it wasn’t good enough, yet.

I was given a statistic at University, I can’t remember the numbers now, but most people who start writing a book never finish it. The majority of those who finish a book never write another. The odds that you will still be writing after book two diminish further. 

Keep going. Keep writing. Keep beating the odds.

If your new book were to be adapted into a movie or TV show, who would you cast in the lead roles?

This is such a fun question. I have thought about this so many times, pictured the Netflix six-part series, imagined meeting the two actors I would choose, fantasized about walking along a red carpet to the premiere. 

Blair would be played by Nicole Kidman. I totally fell in love with her when I saw her in Bangkok Hilton, an insane movie that has stayed with me for over thirty years. Utterly heartbreaking and shocking. She is my tortured mother, trying to work out who her son was and what really happened to him.

Scott would be played by Hugh Jackman, and not just because I have a crush! He and Nicole stole my heart in Australia; the connection they had would work perfectly for Scott and Blair. He is my dad, who wants so desperately to see only the best in his boy, and to rescue his wife from her grief.

A Final Thought: 

Thanks so much for taking the time to let us do an Author Interview with you, Heidi! We wish you all the best with your new Dark Thriller, The Other Boy! And we SOO enjoyed getting to “Interrogate” you this month.

About The Other Boy by Heidi Field

On Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookbub.

If you liked our Interrogation Interview with Heidi Field, see our other Author interviews