Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Alice Fitzpatrick

Book Title:  A Dark Death

Released:  06/01/25

Genre:  Adult Mystery

Interview by Heather L. Barksdale

What inspired you to write “A Dark Death”?

Fitzpatrick: I grew up reading Agatha Christie novels, not only for the challenge of identifying the killer, but since most British traditional mysteries take place in small villages, they reminded me of the land and the people my family left behind when we emigrated from the UK. A Dark Death, the second book in my Meredith Island Mysteries, is set on a Welsh island, reminiscent of Tenby, the Welsh coastal town where I spent my summers as a child.

A huge fan of the British TV show Time Team, I promised myself I’d feature an archaeological dig in one of my books, and so A Dark Death opens with a group of archeology students making an astounding discovery. For a time, I was fascinated by TV shows featuring dodgy psychic investigators, so I included one of these as well. Of course, along the way someone dies.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters? 

Fitzpatrick:  I collect unusual names. I think part of the attraction comes from my summers spent in a town dating back to the Iron Age. It has curious streets like Merlins Court, Upper and Lower Frog Street, Tudor Way, Crackwell Street, and Paragon. This fascination led me to bestow upon my islanders similarly unconventional names such as Basil and Peregrine Tully, Old Alred, Drucilla Cragwell, and Feebles, Gooley, and Smee. My protagonist, Kate, shares her name with my Welsh cousin.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Fitzpatrick: While on the surface this book may seem like a simple whodunit, it also examines how past decisions made by three characters affect their current lives. Although they believe they’ve successfully dealt with their feelings about their choices, each must take the time to examine their past in order to go forward unencumbered by guilt and regret—emotions that are excellent motives for murder.

If “A Dark Death” were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?

Fitzpatrick: Because my characters are British, I have selected British actors.

a. Kate Galway is a middle-aged historical writer and academic, and so a good match would be Samantha Bond from The Marlow Murder Club.

b. Siobhan Fitzgerald is a delicate balance of innocence and hedonism. Described as having flawless white skin and long, red, wavy hair, she is reminiscent of a Pre-Raphaelite

painting. I based my description of her on my cousin (yes, there are gingers in my family) and a younger version of Nicole Kidman with red wavy hair. The closest actor I can find is Rosamund Pike if we put her in a red wig.

c. David Sutherland is an older, debonair artist who would be expertly played by Jeremy Irons.

When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?

Fitzpatrick: My writing gets stalled when I don’t know what the characters will do next. That’s usually because I’ve started writing before fully understanding who they are and what motivates them. At that point, I have to stop and flesh out their backstory.

If that doesn’t work, I brainstorm “what if?” What if a character does such and such? How will the other characters react? Where will this take the plot?

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Fitzpatrick: My favorite piece of writing advice comes from Darcy Pattison: “The first draft of a story is to tell you what the story is. The next drafts are a search for the best way to tell this story.” As a perfectionist—and what writer isn’t or doesn’t aspire to be—I get hung up on getting the first draft as good as I can. In the past, this would often stop me in my tracks as I edited and re-edited what I’d already written, afraid to continue in case I got it wrong. Darcy’s advice gives me permission to let go of expectations of immediate perfection. Wandering off the path is a valuable part of the process.

What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?

Fitzpatrick: It will come as no surprise that I love traditional British mysteries, and so I tend to read mostly British crime writers. Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, and Welsh-Canadian Cathy Ace are my favorites. I also watch a lot of British television mysteries such as Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, Grantchester, and Sister Boniface Mysteries.

What are you working on next?

Fitzpatrick: The third book in the series, A Killing Cold, is being edited for a summer release, and I’m writing the 5th book in the series, The Secret House of Death.

I’m also searching for a publisher for a stand-alone private investigator/police procedural/suspense novel called That Which Was Lost which was inspired by a horrific car accident that killed eight teenagers in my hometown fifty years ago.

And if someone would like to make a series or film from the Meredith Island books, I wouldn’t say no.

Interested in checking out the book for yourself?

Find it for purchase here

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