Author Q&A With J.M. Simpson
J.M. Simpson was born in Essex and raised in the West Country, and now lives in the Kent countryside with her family and Merlin, her rescue border collie. She is the author of the Castleby series, her debut collection of novels set in a fictional coastal community in South Wales, where gripping drama and nail-biting suspense keep readers hooked until the final page. Her latest novel, Mine to Keep, was published on 8th May 2026. Meet JM:
You are an author, but is it your day job? Unfortunately, writing isn’t my day job, although I’d love it to be! I’m a researcher by trade, specializing in property and development research. So, some of my time is spent standing in the middle of a field, or other times I can be found on site, looking at new build homes. Interestingly, when I first started querying my debut novel, I received a rejection that said my background “wasn’t sexy enough!”
Did you always want to be an author? No. It was never on my radar as something to do. It never even crossed my mind. It was only when I had an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone that I actually thought about doing something about it, and that led to my debut novel.
What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?
My most recent book is called Mine to Keep. I was at a conference for social housing (I was on the board of a housing association for 8 years), and I went to a seminar that was talking about social housing providers and their approach to domestic abuse. I sat in this seminar and listened to a range of men and women talk about their experiences of being abused in their homes. I realized that as a society, we tend to assume women are always the victims; when a significant number of Men are too, it’s just not reported as much. It was this that inspired me to write this story and really put my poor main character through the wringer.
How do you hope your book will uplift readers? I hope it raises awareness of those in difficult home situations or makes people more aware of something their friends or family perhaps might be experiencing. I hope it uplifts people who know they have a friendship like the one between Jed and Hazel portrayed in the book. I hope it inspires people to be more aware of their friends, family, or colleagues and what they might be going through.
What are you most excited about with this book? I’ve not written a psychological thriller before, and I was excited when this got picked up. I am excited about the tough subject matter getting out there to people. I hope it might help raise awareness!
How did writing a book help your career take off? It’s been a very gradual process. Building a fan base has taken time, given the series of other books I have. Everyone always told me it was a slow burn, and they are absolutely right! But slow and steady is a good approach, I think, rather than a one-off flash in the pan.
What advice would you give someone wanting to succeed in your professional industry? Absorb everything you can about it. Listen to podcasts, talk to other writers. Be under no illusions that it is incredibly tough. A lot of people think it’s easy, but it is, in fact, incredibly difficult to get out there, build a fan base, get an agent if you are lucky, and if you are even luckier, get a publishing deal. It takes hard work and an incredible amount of resilience.
How do you handle setbacks and criticism? Setbacks are part of the process, unless you are the luckiest person alive. It is part of the struggle of getting out there – getting your voice heard. You must pick yourself up, dust off, and try again. With criticism, I think you have to accept that not everybody is going to like what you write. Or the subject matter you chose. It’s personal preference. Some people choose to be vocal about that in some ways, and others don’t. If I can learn from the criticism, then I will.
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 you have to become very good at spinning lots of plates! It’s really hard doing all of that, as well as writing and having a busy day job. Sometimes writing gets complete priority over marketing and publicity, and sometimes you have to carve out time to get some publicity done. So, it’s just a matter of being good at juggling!
How do you hold yourself accountable and achieve the goals that you set forth? I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t like wasting time. I can’t waste time. Pretty much every spare moment I have, I’m busy doing something, and it’s usually writing. But sometimes this mindset makes it hard to relax and switch off. I do set myself goals and tasks, but if they get derailed, I reassess and adjust the goalposts. Nobody’s perfect, and life is always throwing curveballs. It’s just a matter of catching or dodging them.
How do you structure your day and make time for writing? It depends entirely on my workload. Sometimes I treat writing like it’s a job – work on it from around 9 am – 6 pm, other times it’s a few hours grabbed here and there. It depends entirely on what work I have on and other commitments. Sometimes, if I’m awake early, I’ll write from around 5 am until I must start something else.
What do you find most fulfilling in the career that you’ve chosen? If I think about my writing, I find it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding when readers are genuinely excited about a new book or when they become deeply invested in characters or storylines. I love it when something I’ve written resonates with people, and they are kind enough to tell me. I’ve had emails from readers who have found storylines particularly helpful or moving, and they’ve thanked me for raising awareness of these issues. It makes it all so worthwhile when you know your writing has really connected with someone. Equally, I have had emails from people telling me that my books have made them want to read again, which is truly wonderful to hear.
What book uplifts you? I had to think about this! I love anything coastal, which feeds my ocean obsession. But! I love the book One Summer by David Baldacci – it’s a story of heartbreak and recovery, with a bit of a miracle thrown in, and the coast sets it. It’s a story of hope, and that always makes me feel uplifted.
Anything else you’d like to share with your readers? In addition to Mine to Keep, a psychological thriller, I have two crime thriller series. One is the Castley series – a set of six books set in Pembrokeshire, following a lifeboat crew. Sea State, Sea Change, Sea Shaken, Sea Haven, Sea Rift, and Christmas in Castleby. The other is The Whistlers Peak series – two books so far, set in the Scottish Highlands, set against a backdrop of a small community and mountain rescue: The Ophelia Murders and The Magdalene Stone Murders.
