Best-selling crime author and Leeds Trinity Creative Writing PhD student, Liz Mistry, is releasing a new series of crime novels this month.
Last Request is the first in the series, to be released on Wednesday 16 October, which follows DS Nikki Parekh in Bradford; a new main character introduced by Liz in this series, as she hunts down a killer whose first victim has a direct link to her.
It will be the author's seventh novel after she published six crime thrillers featuring DI Gus McGuire, also based in Bradford, in the last past three years. The most recent DI McGuire book, Unseen Evil, was released in August.
Liz said: "Living and writing about Bradford has influenced my writing enormously as I always attempt to represent the rich diversity the city is so proud of.
"DS Nikki Parekh is a character I've been thinking about for a long time. Being in a dual heritage marriage, with children of my own who are of dual heritage, it was almost inevitable that I'd explore that theme in my writing at some point.
"Nikki's mum is a Gujarati Indian and her Dad is English, but she represents more than that. She's a working-class, single parent, living in inner-city Bradford and working hard to make the community she lives in better. My editor describes her as 'bold, brave and really quite ferocious' and I think that sums her up perfectly."
Liz's desire to represent diversity in her novels comes from her personal life in Bradford, as well as her PhD study in Creative Writing at Leeds Trinity. In the last two years, since starting her PhD, Liz has considered the representation of the teen voice in adult crime fiction, but her research expanded to consider how other marginalised groups were represented too.
Indeed, her first main character DI Gus McGuire is of dual heritage (Afro-Caribbean/Scottish) and she prides herself on including a diverse cast in her writing.
In July 2019, Liz received £500 from the University's Inspiring Futures Programme (IFP) Enterprise Fund to develop hernew website and blog which she launched this month.
She said: "My website looks so sleek, is easy to navigate and links to a subscription list for readers so I keep in contact with them via a regular newsletter. The biggest asset is the active blog which allows me to interact with readers regularly and find out what type of articles appeal to my readers. I'll be writing blogs about my writing process and the creation of different characters or plot lines, as well as updates on my PhD."
Phil Williams, Start-up Business Adviser at Leeds Trinity University, said: "Being an author is about running a business as much as it is writing books, so we're delighted to be able to support Liz through the Inspiring Futures Enterprise Fund. Her website looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her blogs as she continues to update the site."
The Inspiring Futures Enterprise Fund is open to all graduates who have been running their business or freelance career for more than 12 months. The next deadline for applications is Monday 11 November 2019. Find out more aboutInspiring Futures.