Bestselling thriller author inspired by coastline

Lucy Clarke's books are so-called "destination thriller" novels

Lucy Clarke has had eight novels published, two of which have been adapted into big-budget TV series.

But it wasn't until her mid-20s she decided to become an author.

"I'd been away travelling for six months and I'd kept a travel journal while I was away," says Lucy, 42, from Bournemouth.

"When I got back to the UK I just knew I didn't want to go back to the career that I was in, which was advertising."

Sheridan Smith leads the cast for the TV adaptation of The Castaways

What followed was - in Lucy's words - "a lot of knock backs" - but five years later she landed her first publishing deal.

A Sunday Times bestseller, Lucy's books are so-called "destination thriller" novels.

And it isn't a coincidence they're all set in coastal locations, as they've all been written at her local beach.

"You've just got an empty horizon and it feels like your ideas are sort of set free by that," she says.

In the last year, Lucy's work has found an even bigger audience.

Two of her novels have become TV drama series, most recently The Castaways on Paramount+, starring Sheridan Smith.

She describes Smith as a "phenomenal actress" and Lucy was able to bring her children on to set to watch some of the filming.

"I just felt really humbled to hear her saying lines that I'd written, quite a few years ago, bringing them to life so vividly," she says.

Lucy believes her ideas are "set free" by writing by the sea

Writing intricately-plotted stories requires a clear head and Lucy says having sight of the sea is a real cure for writer's block.

"Whenever I hit a wall or a plot problem I always get outside," she says.

"I love living by the coast and it's the place I feel most inspired when I'm writing and it feels really natural that that's where I set my novels."

With her ninth book in the works and two more optioned for TV, Lucy has plenty in the pipeline.

Her stories tend to be set overseas, with Greece, Fiji, Norway and the Philippines among the locations she's so far chosen.

But is she tempted to set a novel or series in her hometown of Bournemouth?

"I think it would work so well, like a Broadchurch in the beach huts," says Lucy.

"There's just something always evocative, endlessly timeless about seaside living and that kind of mystery element."

She smiles. "Who knows? Watch this space".