First encounters

In conversation with FRANCES O'ROURKE

MELISSA HILL

a bestselling author has written 10 books in the past decade, including The Charm Bracelet, which has just been published. She is co-author of two thrillers Taboo and Torn, with her husband Kevin. Originally from Tipperary, she lives in Dublin with Kevin and their daughter Carrie

‘LIVERPOOL WON THE night we clicked. I was in UCD, studying English and history. Kevin turned up at a pub where I was with a group of friends. There was football on. I’m a Manchester City fan, Kevin was Liverpool. I was a rarity, being a female fan and supporting Manchester City. We realised we were part of the same group, got chatting and that was the start. We were both 18, now we’re 37.

“I didn’t finish my course, probably because too much time was taken up socialising. I worked in a bank, then moved to Ashford to work in the admin side of Kevin’s family business, the year before we got married, in 2000.

“I didn’t have to commute, and had more time, I’d always wondered if I could write. I started in 2002, got a Writers’ Artists’ Yearbook, sent my book to publishers and agents and heard back from Poolbeg. They published my first books. Now they’re published in the UK and the US – in 23 countries in all.

“I write chick lit, I’ve no problem calling it that. I adored Patricia Scanlan, and now we’re friends. My selling point is that they have a thriller-like twist in the tail. I’ve written 10 books in 10 years: I treat it like a nine-to-five job. Something from Tiffany’s has been my most successful. In Italy, where they’re not big on chick lit, it sold over 250,000 copies.

“Storytelling is key: I have a start, middle and end before I start writing and in the thrillers Kevin and I are writing, the stories are vocalised before we start to write – we need literally to be on the same page. I’d started Taboo [the first Casey Hill thriller] but I’d parked it because I was getting busier and busier. Kevin knew how to finish it – he knew who the serial killer was!

“The name Casey comes from the initials of our daughter Carrie, who’s nearly two. Carrie was just four weeks old when our agent sent it out. That was 2010 and Torn, our second Casey Hill thriller, was published in spring.

“When we’re writing, we work completely independently. We might disagree on small details, but for successful collaboration there needs to be no ego, it’s a bit like marriage. Now we’re committed to writing two books a year – one for me and one for Casey – for the foreseeable future.

“Kevin has a great knack of being able to keep calm and collected when we are faced with a tricky situation, whether it’s of a personal or professional nature. We’ve had a working relationship since before we started writing together so it has been an easy transition; the hardest part is really switching off from work – even a nice romantic meal can end up in a conversation about some fictional character or other.”

KEVIN HILL

trained as a fitter and worked in the property business before starting to co-author thrillers with his wife, Melissa. Torn, the second in their series featuring Reilly Steel, an American forensic investigator in Dublin, was published recently

‘I WAS LIVING in Inchicore, doing an apprenticeship as a fitter in Irish Rail. We had mutual friends and clicked when we met in the pub – we enjoyed each other’s sense of fun. At 18, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Eventually I went to work for my family’s construction business, and later sold overseas property as a sub-agent.

“We got married in 2000. Melissa started writing in 2002. I’d always been very involved in the whole plotting of the books, in totally imaginary scenarios; it was a very natural conversation around the dinner table.

“I had an idea for the first Casey Hill book, Taboo, published last year. Melissa was very busy, wrote 50 pages, but had no time to finish it. I tried my hand at picking up writing where Melissa had stopped. We exchanged drafts back and forth and it took on a life of its own.

“Eventually we sent it to Melissa’s agent: Carrie was four weeks old and we were so entrenched in the whole new baby thing we nearly forgot about it. Sheila said it would probably be a few weeks before we heard anything. Within 24 hours, she came back – there was a bidding war. We knew by now how hard it was to get published, so that was fantastic.

“One publisher – Simon Schuster – came back with a two-book contract. It meant we were crazy busy right away. I’m a bit surprised at becoming a writer, but I love it: my teachers always said I had a vivid imagination. We never really switch off. You can get ideas when you’re doing the washing up, or out running. Carrie has been a tremendously good baby which makes it extremely easy for us.

“Book three in the Reilly Steel series is on its way. We both like the idea of an American forensic investigator in Dublin, it gives you more artistic licence. We created a Garda forensic unit, concentrated on character and plot. I quite enjoy researching the forensic, the procedural side.

“We never write together, and don’t work in the same room: we work completely independently, email drafts to each other. And we don’t sit around waiting for the muse to strike.

“Melissa is the ultimate multi-tasker. Life has become busier and busier over the past few years and she has the ability to keep on top of so much, even when there seems to be an unachievable amount to do. She is ultra professional and will not only get the job done but it will be done to her own very high standards. Her weak point is her inability to switch off from work . . . or may be it’s my weakness that I can! The thing that has changed most is the difficulty in getting ‘us’ time – there is always something to thrash out and discuss.