Daisy Pearce, Psychological Thrillers, Horror, and Supernatural Author
Daisy Pearce has released two books this year: The Silence and The Missing, both standalone novels.
Let’s Place Daisy Under the Spotlight!
Tell us a little about yourself and your books, including the genre(s) you write in.
Hi! I’m a writer of psychological thrillers with elements of contemporary horror and the supernatural. I write dread, in other words.
What project are you working on now?
I’ve just completed a third novel set during an oppressive heatwave in Cornwall during the ‘80s.
A young woman is investigating a case of apparent possession in a teenage girl but what she discovers is instead much darker.
It has a similar feel to my previous works in that it holds you just a little too tightly to be comfortable.
How do you choose the genre(s) you write in?
I’m a fan of domestic horror – whether that’s a twisted family dynamic or a long held secret or a failing marriage – I’m always interested in flawed characters and the uncanny and I try to marry the two.
I used to be a bit of a Goth and was a real fan of ghost stories growing up and that reflects in my work. I’m actually quite a chirpy person despite everything I’ve just written to the contrary!
Is there any particular author or book that’s influenced you, either growing up or as an adult?
Oh man, people are going to be so sick of hearing me saying this but Stephen King has carved out such a place in my heart – I read Cujo at eight years old and it was so brutal – so nasty – that I immediately knew I would read more and more and more.
His early books – Christine, Carrie, The Dead Zone, Tommyknockers – were like meteorites striking one after another. I know how effusive that sounds but I honestly can’t explain it any better.
See also Shirley Jackson, James Herbert and more recently Ira Levin.
Is anything in your books based on real life experiences?
Ha! That’s a great question. I’m prone to awful anxiety and panic attacks and I think that certainly surfaces in my stories – that undercurrent of fear in seemingly innocuous situations.
I tend to use fictional locations but real geography so I can root the story in a certain place – so Tyrlaze in The Silence is a fictional town but the places it is near – Carn Brea and St Agnes – are both real.
How do you come up with your titles?
Both of my books had the titles changed by the publisher – so my first novel had gone through a cycle of four titles before it became The Silence.
The Missing was originally called Rattlesnake which I loved but didn’t really suit it in the end.
One thing I’d like to see one day is one of my books with that really old eighties gilded horror font. I love that look.
Do you have any hidden talents?
God no, if I had any talents you’d best believe I’d be showing them off to everyone twenty four hours a day.
I’m quite mercurial in that I get quickly bored of learning something before it can become embedded as a “talent” ie. playing instruments, roller skating, gardening – nothing sticks.
Amazed I’ve got those books done to be honest with you.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party, which four authors would you invite (alive or dead)?
Edgar Allan Poe – there is so much mystery attached to his death and I’d quite like to get the truth about it.
Shirley Jackson, Gillian Flynn and Stephen King.
I’d write the place settings like tarot cards and float around in a mad vintage gown making everyone feel uncomfortable.
What are five words that describe your writing process?
Close That Browser Window, Dickhead.
Which would you rather do: Never write another story or never read another book?
I’d have to say never read again.
Writing is an itch and I think it would drive me mad if I wasn’t able to do it. Do audio books count? Is that a loophole?
I love the idea of the old Victorian ghost stories told by the fireplace on Christmas Eve. I’d probably get right into that if I couldn’t read a book again.
What is the funniest typo or error you’ve ever written?
I changed the name of my character in The Missing – mainly because originally they were Carrie and Samantha (Sex And The City, right?)
I thought I was being clever by using Find and Replace to change “Carrie” to “Nina” but my editor pointed out that the word “carried” had become “Nina’d” so a character had “Nina’d” around her memories of her missing daughter for years while someone else had “Nina’d” a cup of tea upstairs.
Good work, me.
How do you come up with names for your characters?
I try not to overthink it but I do notice that sometimes a lot of characters have names that start with the same letter so I’ll change that, or too many names that end with -y or whatever.
I try to differentiate as much as possible but I don’t have attachments to them at all.
Who is the most supportive person in your life when it comes to your writing?
I’m lucky in that I have a lot of support from my family and friends and my daughter is extremely tolerant of me burying myself in my work sometimes – especially when I’m sweating over a deadline.
My friend, Anne Booty, has always had my back, right from the start and her advice is invaluable. She’s a writer too and although our styles are very different I will always go to her before anyone else. She keeps me very grounded.
What is your most favourite word and why?
Oubliette. I first heard it in the film Labyrinth featuring David Bowie’s generously proportioned Goblin King and it stuck with me ever since.
It’s really satisfying to say, spell and hear. A proper all rounder.
What is your least favourite word and why?
Egg. Stay away from me with that.
You can find Daisy Pearce in the following places:
Twitter: Daisy Pearce Twitter
Instagram: Daisy Pearce Instagram
Website/Blog: http://www.daisypearce.com