Vicky Ball
What made you decide to become a writer?
I have always loved writing ever since I was small but I only started to take it more seriously when I was an adult. Writing helps me to relax and gives me satisfaction when I see what I have achieved. I find writing very therapeutic when I’m stressed.
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters?
The plot often comes first for me. I have an idea and I write the story based on that to see where it takes me. The character develops as I write.
How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite?
I have written 3 books, 2 published and 1 just finished. I love my debut novel, Powerless, because it is the first one I got published. I also think it has a good hook that makes people want to read it. The idea of a missing girl returning has always fascinated me and this book allowed me to explore that.
Tell me more about your favourite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense…
Powerless is a young adult thriller set in contemporary UK. The story explores two sisters when the eldest returns having been missing for seven years. The younger sister has so many questions about where her sister has been but no one will tell her what is going on. The story is mainly told in two POVs, the two sisters, in first person but there is also this mystery POV in the middle which you find out more about as the story progresses.
What is your favourite genre to write in? Tell me why.
I love writing thrillers because that is mostly what I read. So far I have written three YA thrillers. Through the books I delve into important hard-hitting issues that affect families. I think it’s good to raise awareness of these struggles.
Would you travel to the area where your book is set?
I have never travelled to an area to write about it but I have set my books in places I have been. For example in Powerless, part of it is set in the Lake District where I went on holiday a few years ago. The remote setting was perfect for the thriller story.
Would you write any genre or do you stick to one?
At the moment I am continuing in the young adult genre but I am definitely open to writing other genres. I would like to write a thriller for adults and possibly something in the historical fiction genre.
Have you ever interviewed someone in relation to your book, in order to make your story more realistic?
In my second book Abandoned, one of the characters has an accident where she loses both of her legs. To make her character authentic I talked to a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair. She was more than happy to share her experiences and struggles of navigating life in a wheelchair. She was also a beta reader for the book and gave me invaluable advice.
Does your family read your work? If not, would you like them to? Are you books their thing? Would it bother you if they weren’t interested in reading any of them?
My family are all very supportive. They have all read my books. My husband is very helpful in advising me on some scenes and my daughters are good at helping me with the teenage language. My mum and dad are very proud. They tell everyone I’m an author and try to sell my book to anyone who will listen. I have two great aunts in their 80s and 90s who are big fans of my books.
My dad was a beta reader for my second book Abandoned and has recently helped me with proofreading my third yet to be published book. He is very good at spotting those typos that you can easily miss.
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
I mainly only write properly at weekends due to working full time but I do write down things in notebooks during the week. I enjoy my job and seeing my colleagues but I would like to develop writing into more of a career and maybe work part time.
How do you market your books?
I am on pretty much all social media platforms now but am most active on X, Instragram and Threads. I find that posting snippets about my life helps build a following as well as interacting with other people on social media. I love spending time building those relationships. I think that if people like you and feel like they know you they are more likely to give your book a chance. I have also recently done a number of book events locally with mixed results. I generally don’t sell many or any books at these events but find that posting about them on social media sells me more books.
Going viral after a book event in December caused a massive increase in book sales. After posting I’d only sold 2 books, I was not expecting to sell anymore. I genuinely happy that I had sold any. The result was that the post on X was seen by more than 25 million people which is astounding. It shows that you never know what can happen. Sometimes you can spend ages making a poster for your book and get hardly any views but a single innocent comment can blow up completely. I am so grateful for everyone who is continuing to support me and buy my books.
How do you react to reviews? Would you prefer just good ones or are you okay to receive a bad one occasionally? How does this make you feel?
I’m a little bit obsessive when it comes to reviews. I check them far too often. I am very fortunate that the majority of reviews I have had have been positive. I love reading them. It means so much to me to know that someone has enjoyed one of my books. I try not to take the bad ones personally as I know book tastes are so subjective. I just focus on all the good ones I have received.
