Spotlight
Justine John “I worked for eighteen months writing it, and then another year editing, and I eventually produced it – it was like finally giving birth to a longed for child.”
Can You Tell Me a Bit About Your Writing?
In 2016 I wrote ‘Gilding The Lily’, which had been burning slowly within me for a good few years. I took some bizarre things that happened to me and mixed them all up in a pot with some fiction ideas and out came the book. I worked for eighteen months writing it, and then another year editing, and I eventually produced it – it was like finally giving birth to a longed for child. I’ve yearned to begin another since. The need for a ‘real’ job to earn a wage restricts the time I have to do this though, so it’s a challenge. But at the end of last year, through a writer’s group I run, I serendipitously found an agent. She had so much faith in Gilding The Lily, that suddenly the idea for the second book exploded in my head and I wrote the synopsis for Beneath the Ceiba Tree within hours, twists and all.
Excerpts of Work
Some Notable Works
Gilding the Lily
by Justine John
It was thrilling what had happened. And justifiable. She wondered if she could do it again. But the need would never arise, of course. She now understood how others could do it. This criminal act.―
Justine John, Gilding the Lily
About
A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies. An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics. Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her… When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits’ end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…
About the Author
Justine John became a full time writer in her late forties, after a successfully running various businesses in London. Her first novel, Gilding The Lily, is a domestic noir suspense story. Animal lover Justine lives in the beautiful Surrey Hills with her husband, rides her two horses and walks her Dalmatians daily.
Where to Find Them
Follow her on Twitter @justinecjohn.
