Bournville-based writer Emma Long has swapped cookbooks for fiction to pen her recently launched debut novel The Bad Apple, a crime thriller set in Birmingham.
Bournville features throughout the novel along with familiar locations such as Selly Oak and Edgbaston. The book centres on the malevolent employee of a local business, who hatches a plot to destroy the owners as an act of revenge.
Experienced cook and caterer Emma, 42, is already used to the book world, having previously written and published two recipe books. But she was prompted to make the switch to fiction after reading one too many disappointing novels.
“I finished one book and just thought that I could have written the story much better. As I like to push the boundaries of what I can achieve and really challenge myself, I decided to give it a go – they do say there’s a novel in everyone,” she said.
Emma had no hesitation in making Birmingham the setting for her book: “I’ve lived and worked in the city for pretty much all my life and I thought it would be more realistic to write about a place I know.”
Emma has plans to write another thriller and is keen to see her work adapted for film and television. But in the meantime she will be working to build up a readership for her first book.
“I enjoy reading books by authors such as Lesley Pearse, Dan Brown, Nicholas Sparks, and Ian Rankin, so my aim was to try write a book that is as interesting and exciting as theirs.”
The Bad Apple is published by Silverwood Books and is available via Amazon