Friday Five: Bestselling Crime Author Katerina Diamond

Answering the #FridayFive this week is author of the acclaimed Exeter series, Katerina Diamond. Katerina’s most recent novel, Woman in the Water, was published in January 2020 by Avon, and is a Sunday Times bestseller.

Tell us a bit about your job?

I am a crime thriller writer. I’m currently working on my seventh novel which is my first standalone novel.

What are the key ingredients for success?

Working every day, being self motivated, not making excuses and just putting in the hours.

Describe a normal day?

I get up and do my social media, then, I try to work in one hour bursts until I get my word count for the day done – then I catch up on watching ongoing drama series that I study for story structure and general storytelling rhythms, plot breakdowns and see what I think works and what doesn’t. Then I might do some reading until the kids get back from school.

For those trying to break into the industry, could you explain how you got to where you are today?

Sounds corny but just believe in yourself and keep working. Never stop learning how to improve. Just keep going and make sure you accept help if you need it. Also keep looking for opportunities to put yourself forward for.

What are you reading, watching and listening to now?

I’m currently reading a non-fiction book on police practices. I’m watching a few things – Goliath – a legal drama on Amazon Prime and The Witcher – a fantasy drama on Netflix and a few other things. In terms of music, I find it hard to break away from the stuff I used to listen to when I was younger, so I am still stuck listening to Grunge and heavy rock music. I do like to listen to instrumental movies scores when I am writing.