Male strippers, disabled kids, and naughty schoolgirls: an interview with Ann Bloxwich

Kia ora and haere mai, welcome to the 237th instalment of author interview series, 9mm, which has been resurrected this year after largely going into hibernation and only occasionally emerging in 2021-2023, for a variety of personal reasons.

Thanks for reading and sharing the 9mm series, and Crime Watch in general (and my work elsewhere) over the years. I've had a lot of fun talking to some amazing crime writers and bringing their thoughts and stories to you.

You can check out the full list of of past 9mm interviewees here. What a line-up! With lots more fun to come. Thanks everyone. 

If you've got a favourite crime or thriller writer who hasn't yet been part of the 9mm series, please let me know, and now I'm back on deck more fully, I'll look to make that happen for you. We've got several interviews with cool crime and thriller writers from several different countries 'already in the can' that will be published soon, so lots to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.

Today I'm very pleased to welcome to 9mm someone who's a regular attendee at crime festivals in the UK, and I've seen grow during my years here from keen reader supporting others to an aspiring then published crime writer in her own right: the fabulous Ann Bloxwich! As Ann describes herself on her CWA page, she's: "a short, tattooed crime writer, with a profound love of books, cats, rock music, tea, and cardigans" (she blames Starsky and Hutch for that!). She's previously worked as an Oompa Loompa in a chocolate factory, a night care officer in a residential home, and had her own promotions company which involved male strippers and drag queens, but she gave it all up and moved to Scotland to concentrate on her writing.

I really enjoyed Ann's debut novel, What Goes Around, which introduced a series sleuth that played against common tropes. DI Alex Peachey is a happily married detective, and has a son with Cerebral Palsy and Asperger’s Syndrome, and Ann (who has a disabled child herself) takes readers into the unseen aspects of that life, along with the adult entertainment world, while delivering a gritty crime tale where Peachey is called back from leave to investigate the murder of a woman at a local ladies night.

I'm looking forward to reading the second DI Peachey tale, Goodnight, God Bless, where the detective deals is hunting someone killing paedophiles, whilst also dealing with some serious personal issues. But for now, Ann becomes the latest crime writer to stare down the barrel of 9mm. 

9MM: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANN BLOXWICH

Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

Crikey, there are a few I love - DI Kim Stone by Angela Marsons, Lincoln Rhyme by Jeffery Deaver, Eddie Flynn by Steve Cavanagh, Carter Blake by Mason Cross, Ali Sinclair by LJ Morris, and Matilda Darke by Michael Wood. They are all flawed in their own way, but do their best to overcome their own demons in order to do the right thing. I also love Victor the assassin from Tom Wood’s books, because he’s a bad guy doing bad things for the right reasons. Bob Hoon is another anti-hero, but an absolute legend in his own right. 

What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

I was an Enid Blyton fan when I was young, and I loved The Naughtiest Girl in the School series. I thought boarding school seemed very glamourous, and the meals sounded delicious. Enid Blyton’s books are probably the reason I love food so much!

Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

I’d written a couple of short stories which were published in the Crime & Publishment anthologies ‘Happily Never After’ and ‘Wish You Weren’t Here’. When I was working as a promoter and general dogsbody for a group of male strippers, I told one of them I should write a book about some of the exploits they got up to backstage, and he agreed. I didn’t think of it again until I started keeping a journal about my son’s behaviour and how it was affecting me. I thought if I didn’t write it down I might retaliate when he was in one of his rages, and it scared me. I decided to turn my son into a fictional character, and the idea for the book was born.

Outside of writing and writing-related activities (book events, publicity), what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

I love playing computer games, usually hidden-object mysteries, card games and jigsaw puzzles. I’m not into Fallout, Skyrim or anything like that, but my husband does. I read a lot, and I’m trying to get fitter as I’ve had some health issues recently. Twenty years ago, I was a regular gym bunny, could bench press 160kg and was asked to consider joining the local women’s weightlifting team. Now, I struggle to climb the stairs without needing a lie-down, so I need to get my backside into gear and do something about it.

What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?

We have a great theatre which supports a lot of local talent, a local arts centre and some wonderful woods and forests to walk in. Dumfries is known for Robert Burns and JM Barrie, so there are lots of links to them. The river Nith runs through the town, and it’s great to just sit and watch the various wildlife, including a family of otters, who came back and built a home there during the pandemic. 

If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

According to my daughter, Miriam Margolyes is perfect, because she’s short, round and outspoken. In an ideal world, I’d choose Liv Tyler, because she’s stunning. 

Of your writings, which is your favourite or a bit special to you for some particular reason, and why?

I love the relationship between Alex Peachey and his wife, and how they deal with the darker issues of caring for a disabled child. My own son is in a wheelchair, and although he is loving and friendly, he can also be incredibly violent and destructive. The problems come when you call for help. I’ve had police officers refuse to arrest him, saying things like ‘But he’s in a wheelchair’, or ‘I can’t arrest him, he’s disabled.’ My son used to taunt me with that whenever I threatened to call them. 

What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?

When I got that first email, I sat and stared at it for half an hour, terrified that if I closed it, it would disappear. When my husband came home from work, I burst into tears before I showed him the email. This was in January 2021, so distancing laws were still in place. One of my friends and fellow writers came round with a bottle of champagne and a cake, but had to leave them by the front door and wave her congratulations at me. It was a bit surreal, but lovely. I’ve never had my books available in shops, but have just become a self-published author and re-released my books, so hopefully now they'll be available more widely.

What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?

The book came out in July 2021 just before the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, so although I hadn’t got any physical copies, I did have a t-shirt and a bag with a picture of the book on. A lady stopped me and asked if I wrote it. I was pretty nervous, I thought she was going to tell me it was rubbish. She said she wanted to thank me, because her aunt had a disabled son who regularly hit her and, thanks to my book, she now knew she wasn’t alone which made her feel better. It made my day but made me sad at the same time, because so many unpaid carers deal with similar situations but it’s one of those things that people don’t talk about.  

Kia ora, Ann, we appreciate you having a chat with Crime Watch. 

Have you read Ann's DI Peachey novels? Do you like how crime novels can explore real-life issues through the prism of page-turning fictional tales? What are some of your favourites that do that?