C. L. Jennison: 'I absolutely love the feeling of being fully immersed in a story'
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
15th Feb 2024
C. L. Jennison studied on our Edit & Pitch Your Novel course in 2021. Since then, she has published three crime novels, The Desperate Wife, What’s Mine Is Yours and her latest book Sunday's Child (published by Bloodhound Books in January).
We spoke to C. L. about her time studying with us, securing a three-book deal with Bloodhound Books and her writing routine.
You studied on our Edit & Pitch Your Novel course in 2021. How did your time studying with us impact your writing journey?
It impacted it so positively! I had already written very rough first drafts of two novels – The Desperate Wife and What’s Mine Is Yours – but I knew they needed a lot of sculpting into shape. I happened upon the Edit & Pitch Your Novel course online in July 2021, and I knew from the first line of its description – ‘Great novels are made in the rewrite’ – that it was exactly what I needed. Closely following the course guidance, I set to work completely overhauling both novels until I finally felt that they were as tightly plotted and as cleanly written as I could make them myself.
Then, in August 2022, I saw that Bloodhound Books were running a #PitchHound contest asking for 100-word pitches of books. So, on a whim, I sent in my newly written pitch for The Desperate Wife. Within a week they asked for the full manuscript! Just over 3 weeks later they offered me a publishing deal. The Edit & Pitch Your Novel course helped me to do exactly that – edit my novel to a high enough standard that I felt confident enough about it to pitch it to a publisher. And that pitch led to becoming a published author with Bloodhound Books!
Your latest book Sunday's Child was published by Bloodhound Books in January. The story revolves around thirteen-year-old Kaleb who has gone missing… but Laney Atkinson and her sister are keeping a secret: their kids were the last to see Kaleb alive. Can you tell us a bit more about the book and the inspiration behind it?
Pearson Park in my home city of Hull inspired the location for the story. I often walk my cocker spaniel Wylie around the park and knew I wanted to set a story in a similar setting. The houses surrounding the park are quite grand and it’s easy to imagine their occupants living aspirational lives. However, even the grandest facades can mask less than ideal lives within. And that thought was my starting point: what tragedy could befall families living in a seemingly safe and idyllic setting? From there the story just grew, as did the setting along with it as my fictional ‘Wold Park’ expanded to include woods and a clearing beyond.
I have also read several ‘missing child’ books over the years, and I knew that if I was going to write one myself, I wanted to put a different spin on it. Rather than focusing on Kaleb’s parents, I chose to tell the story from Laney and Meryn’s points of view, who are Kaleb’s neighbours, and reveal how his disappearance impacted their lives and the immediate community, including some unwelcome visitors camped on the fictional clearing. I felt that gave me more creative freedom and scope for unexpected twists in Sunday’s Child!
You secured a three-book deal with leading independent fiction publisher Bloodhound Books. How did it feel to receive the news that you were going to be a published author of not one but three (!) books?
I didn’t see the email straightaway as it went to my junk folder initially! Thankfully, I do check my junk folder quite regularly, so I saw it that evening, a few hours after it had been sent. I remember scanning it in disbelief then shouting my husband. He thought something was wrong! I felt so emotional reading out to him that Bloodhound Books wanted to offer me a publishing contract for The Desperate Wife. They also asked if I had any other books to submit so I sent them What’s Mine Is Yours, and they offered me a contract for that too, plus an additional, as yet unwritten, title. That third book ended up being Sunday’s Child.
What is your writing routine and where do you like to write?
Although I have a dedicated home office, I tend to work on my laptop on the settee with my dog and cat curled up beside me. Not only is it adorable but when I’m hemmed in by them, I have no choice but to just get on and write!
Even when I’m not on a publishing deadline, I’m quite disciplined with regards a writing routine. I always outline the story first – I’m a planner through and through, which I think is embedded in me from my English Language and Literature teaching days! Once I’m happy with my detailed and structured outline, I aim to write 1,500-2,000 words per day, 6 or 7 days a week, which means I can finish the first draft of a new book in about 6 weeks. I absolutely love the feeling of being fully immersed in a story. It’s thanks to investing in great writing and editing courses over the past few years – such as Edit & Pitch Your Novel – that I now know how to plan and write books much more effectively and efficiently. It definitely seems to be working out okay so far!
Finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
We are due to move house very soon, so the past few months have been dominated by the house selling and buying processes. However, as soon as we’re in our new home, I will be writing my next novel alongside continuing to run C. L. Jennison Editorial – my editing and ghostwriting business. The new book is already outlined, chapter by chapter, so I just need to bring it to life on the page now. I can exclusively reveal that it is another psychological thriller titled The Silent Sister.
Sunday's Child is out now!