Interview with TG Reid, Author of The DCI Bone Collection

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The DCI Bone Collection?

This collection includes the first three books in the bestselling DCI Bone British detective mystery series. My central character, DCI Duncan Bone was inspired by a dream I had about a police officer being blown up by a suspect and then being haunted by the PTSD-invoked ghost of his attacker. As you can see, I read and watch a lot of crime and it feeds my dreams!

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The DCI Bone Collection, what would they be?

DCI Bone is a massive fan of Billie Holiday so I think his main theme song might be something like her song, All of You which, ironically, recounts the complete possession of one person over another, as Bone’s hallucinatory ghostly visitor tries to do to him in books 1 and 2. He’s also partial to some cheesy seventies songs, mainly to annoy his second, DI Rhona Walker.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

When I’m writing (which is most of the time) I find I have to avoid reading crime fiction as it can over-influence my style, plotting, and so on. But I love watching TV and film crime dramas and also true crime shows. They help to maintain my visual eye, which is so important when writing crime fiction. I try to make my books as visual and visceral as possible and run like a TV drama.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

In between writing I’m reading crime books by Rhys Dylan. But he writes so fast I’m always falling behind.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

I love writing the irreverent interactions between detective Mullens and his father. They make me laugh out loud. However, there is one scene in book 3 involving a portable toilet and a cleaning pump that I’m particularly proud of. If pride is the right word considering what happens! I won’t say any more. You’ll just have to read to find out.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I seem to write better and faster when my trusty PA, lily my cat, accompanies me in my writing shed. I say accompany but mostly lies asleep on the comfy chair, until hunger or boredom gets the better of her and she lies across my keyboard.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

My motto is – don’t live by mottos.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I just want readers to enjoy my stories, engage with my characters as much as possible, and want to read the next, and the next.

TG Reid is the author of the new book The DCI Bone Collection: A Scottish Crime Detective Series (DCI Bone Collected Editions Books 1 – 3)

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