This week on The Write Club, Mary and Beth chat with Simon Mason, a writer whose career has spanned every corner of the book world - from Managing Director at David Fickling Books to Fellow of Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University.
We explore his latest Ryan and Ray Wilkins thriller, The Dangerous Stranger, and discover how a ‘trailer park boy’ and a privately educated detective became one of crime fiction’s most effective, friction-filled duos. Simon shares how the personal conflict between his protagonists mirrors the stark social contrasts of Oxford itself.
In this episode, we discuss:
The Wilkins friction: Why Ray and Ryan shouldn’t work on paper, and why that makes them so compelling on the page.
Messy play vs. composition: Simon’s unique take on the creative process and how to balance raw imagination with structured storytelling.
The rhythm of crime: How a lifelong obsession with the poetry of Dylan Thomas influences the dialogue and linguistic energy of Simon’s prose.
Fixing boring drafts: Simon shares his go-to tricks for injecting life back into a scene when the energy starts to lag.
The publisher’s perspective: Whether a career working with other authors in major publishing houses actually improves your own writing.
Get a copy of Simon Mason’s latest mystery, The Dangerous Stranger, now.
