Where did your main character Michaela ‘Mike’ Kingdom come from?

In 1999 I created a minor male character called Mike Kingdom but when I came to write the first scene, it was a young American woman’s voice in my ear. It was patently obvious to me that she could only be the main character, and she has never left my side where she routinely refuses to follow the plot outline. Mike is a London-based CIA analyst who, for reasons often outside her control, tends to end up in the field. The relationship with Leonard, her head of station, is a joy to write.

Where do the settings come from?

I am lucky having worked and travelled abroad all of my life visiting seventy countries. My work took me to the remote, sometimes less attractive, parts well away from the tourist spots. It also allowed me to meet the local people whether these were at the bottom or top of society. I did the same for almost all of the counties of the UK. Capturing the essence of a place in a few words is my aim whether this is the fizzing of the electricity wires during a tropical downpour in Jamaica or the smell of a tourist’s clothes as she gets back on the coach having fallen into a sluice at a fish market in Morocco.

Where do your plot ideas come from?

I have a restless imagination so that every day something in the news sets me off thinking How would someone sabotage that? or, What would happen if?

The truly wonderful Antarctic Treaty, which has prevented any commercial or military use of 11% of the earth’s land surface for sixty-five years, gave me the idea for The Tip of the Iceberg. The fact that twenty percent of the EU’s natural gas comes from Algeria led me to This Is Not a Pipe. Iran’s control of the Straits of Hormuz, Bitcoin mining, undersea internet cables and the next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government provided the starting point for the next three in the series.

How difficult is it to blend wit and humour into a tense thriller?

I would say that this is the hardest juggling act. They must be used sparingly and must flow naturally in conversations or actions. Shoe-horning jokes into a scene or getting someone to act out of character is doomed from the start. I want my stories to be thought-provoking and tense but not heavy; it can be done.

In your chosen genre, which authors do you admire?

There are dozens but I will pick Graham Greene for plot, John le Carré for characterisation, Carl Hiaasen for ability to include humour and Kyril Bonfiglioli for his mastery of the English language.

Are your novels plot- or character-led?

With the main geopolitical issue as the background, I devise a plot outline but after that it is wherever Mike Kingdom wants to go.

Do you have an agent?

My wonderful agent, Gerald Pollinger, sadly died but not before he had given me his thoughts on the first chapters of The Tip of the Iceberg. I have incorporated all of them. He liked Mike Kingdom.

Who is your publisher?

Hobeck Books. Adrian and Rebecca are an excellent team.

Who does your covers?

I went to art college therefore have strong opinions about the covers and would love to do them myself. However, one needs not just artistic input but commercial input as well. I also absolutely do not want to follow the latest trends. In Jem Butcher I have found a designer who understands this and is enjoying the freedom, I think. For example, the cover for The Green Feathers is red and doesn’t have any feathers on it.

When will you know that the series is complete?

When Mike Kingdom tells me.