Author Q&A With Gemma Denham
Gemma is a UK crime fiction writer. She lives in the Midlands with her husband and two boys, and when she’s not writing, she enjoys baking, hiking through the countryside, filling her sketchbook, and a good bit of DIY as she and her husband slowly renovate their home. Meet Gemma:
You are an author, but is it your day job? If not, what fills your days? No, I work as an office manager for a property development firm by day, but I am very lucky that my hours allow me plenty of time to write. From 3 pm onwards, I am free to write every day, and I have Fridays off – my full writing day.
Did you always want to be an author? No, that came later, but I have always been creative. I started my career in illustration. I worked in an art studio for many years, illustrating children’s picture books. That job eventually led me to write them and then challenge myself to write a novel.
What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?
My debut, The Storm, was published last year (June 2025). I’m a big Agatha Christie fan, and so a locked room murder mystery seemed like the perfect place to start. My upcoming novel, The Inheritance (due for publication this June), came from that scaring yourself feeling you get when you’re home alone or have just finished watching a tense movie. The shadows and noises that morph into something sinister, and the what-if questions – what if I truly believed they were real? And what if nobody else believed me?
How do you hope your book will uplift readers? I hope my books provide nail-biting entertainment and a moment of escapism for my readers.
What are you most excited about with this book? The Storm is my dream book. The one I was always too busy and too scared to write. Every day, I am excited that it is out there in the world and people are reading it.
How did writing a book help your career take off? Writing The Storm launched me as a writer and opened a whole new world to me. This is the book that taught me the craft and took me to so many wonderful places. I’ve been to some amazing events and met some fabulous people through writing.
What advice would you give someone wanting to succeed in your professional industry? Publishing takes a lot of time, patience, and resilience – don’t give up! If you want it, then work at it, and don’t take rejections to heart.
How do you handle setbacks and criticism? I celebrate the wins, no matter how small, and try to ignore the negatives. When I was querying (sending out my manuscript to agents and publishers), for every rejection I received, I sent out a new query, turning the negative into a possible positive again.
Being an author today is like running a business. How do you manage your publicity and social media and maintain engagement with readers? I think marketing is probably the part most authors find the hardest. Selling yourself is incredibly difficult and often has little impact. Constantly pushing your books feels spammy, so I try to keep my social media real and authentic, sharing updates and the process rather than constant adverts. Events and meeting people are a lot more fun.
How do you hold yourself accountable and achieve the goals that you set forth? I think setting realistic or even lenient goals is key. If I aim to achieve slightly less than I think I’m able to, then I avoid putting too much pressure on myself. I don’t want writing to ever feel like a chore.
How do you structure your day and make time for writing? My day job is 9 am – 3 pm, which allows me afternoons to write. It’s a good balance that works well without me having to pull late nights.
What do you find most fulfilling in the career that you’ve chosen? Seeing your finished book and holding it in your hands is a feeling like no other! That is the most fulfilling part for me.
Anything else you’d like to share with your readers? Just a big thank you. For reading my books and your incredible support. I love you all!
Get to know Gemma and all her books through her website.
