| Sarah Rayne began writing in her teens, and after a Convent education, which included writing plays for the Lower Third to perform, embarked on a variety of jobs. Her first novel was published in 1982, and for several years she juggled writing books with working in property – pounding an elderly typewriter into the small hours in order to meet deadlines, and listening to Mozart while she worked. But after nearly 20 years of writing contemporary horror and gothic fantasies under various pseudonyms, Sarah decided that there were “only a limited number of ancient curses that could be vanquished, and that the supply of demons to reincarnate as sexily sinister anti-heroes was dwindling”. In 2002 she switched to writing psychological thrillers, and her work in this genre has met with considerable acclaim, including the nomination to the long-list for the prestigious Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year 2005 for Tower of Silence, (originally published in 2003). To date she has written more than 20 books, and is also published in America, Russia, Germany and Holland. The typewriter has long since been replaced, but Mozart is still her constant companion while she works. The daughter of an Irish comedy actor, Sarah Rayne was for many years active in amateur theatre, and lists among her hobbies, theatre, history, music, and old houses. Much of her inspiration comes from the histories and atmospheres of old buildings, a fact that is strongly apparent in many of her settings – Mortmain House in A Dark Dividing, Twygrist Mill in Spider Light, and Calvary Gaol in The Death Chamber. View The Books >  Sarah Rayne at CrimeFest 2009, discussing forgotten authors of the Golden Age of crime, with fellow panellists Martin Edwards, Barry Forshaw, Declan Hughes, and Mary Andrea Clarke |
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