J.S. Monroe questioned

Last year there was Find me with good reviews. Also at Thrillerlezers. Our Lilian gave the book four crows. We had the opportunity to ask the man some questions


*Would you like to introduce yourself to the Dutch readers, using five characteristics? 

British; anti-Brexit; former journalist; thriller writer; family man.

Why did you write 'Find me' under a pseudonym?

I have written five spy thrillers under my own name, Jon Stock. Find Me is a different genre – a psychological thriller – so I decided to use a different name as I didn’t want to confuse readers of my spy novels.



*What was it, that made you come up with this pseudonym.

JS stands for Jon Stock and Monroe, well, that’s my mother-in-law’s maiden name. Always good to keep on good terms with your mother-in-law.

*Find me is an absolute psychological thriller. How dit you come up with the plot?

A woman I used to go out with at Cambridge University died a few years after we had left college. We weren’t together any more but I was still devastated. Five years after her death, I was on Paddington train station in London when I thought I saw her. I looked again and realised it wasn’t/couldn’t be her, but it got me thinking…

*What character in the book has most of you in it?

Jar is a frustrated author writing ‘clickbait’ articles for an entertainments website. I worked in newspapers for many years, writing clickbait copy towards the end, when what I really wanted to do was write thrillers. I don’t drink as much Irish whiskey as Jar, though…

*What kind of books do you like to read yourself?

When I am writing a book, I read less, or read books in very different genres. I like reading literary fiction – most recently, I read and much enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders and A Girl is a Half Formed Thing by Eimear McBride. In terms of thrillers, I admired Clare Macintosh’s I Let You Go.

*Can you name 3 of your favourite books of all time, and tell me why they are your favourite?

My favourite books are constantly changing. The spy thriller I most wish I’d written is The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, by John le Carre. It has a bewilderingly complex plot and has been assembled like a Swiss watch – very precise and finely crafted. A book that had a profound effect on me when I was a student and travelling around Europe was The Magus by John Fowles. Money by Martin Amis also showed what could be done with language.

*Do you have a writing-routine or any writing rituals, and if so, what are they?

I try to approach writing like a normal job. My target is 1,000 words a day. I’ll edit what I’ve written the previous day, deleting about 250 words, and then I’ll write a fresh 1,000 words. I try to write a book in a year – the first three months are planning and thinking (I do a lot of my best thinking in the bath), then it’s writing, and the final few months are editing/polishing.

*What can distract you from writing?

I am a master of displacement activities. Recently, I’ve been swimming a lot. Running distracts me too. I also work at home, so there are plenty of ‘essential’ things that need attention before I begin writing (like chopping logs, emptying the dishwasher etc).

*When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?

I always knew I wanted to earn my living from words and writing and at first I thought that would be through journalism. I didn’t write my first book, The Riot Act, until I was 31. It’s hard earning a living as a writer. Film deals help. In 2009, Warner Bros optioned my thriller, Dead Spy Running. Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) was hired to write the script; McG (Terminator 4, Charlie’s Angels) was the director. Nine years later, it’s still in development.

 *What do yóu think is the basis of a good story?

Any story that makes the reader want to turn the page. I always pay special attention to the last sentence of each chapter. I try to imagine my typical reader, late at night, wondering whether to start the next chapter or go to sleep. My goal is to make them keep reading.

*What are your future plans? Are you planning on writing a sequel for 'Find me' ?

I hope to write a sequel one day, but not immediately. Right now, I’m finishing the next JS Monroe book, another standalone psychological thriller. It begins with a stressed, over-worked woman returning home after a tricky business conference abroad. When she gets to her front door she hears voices inside. Looking through the window, she sees a couple in her house, preparing dinner. She rings the bell and a stranger answers the door…

Some more questions:

*What is your guilty pleasure in music?

My eldest son is a DJ and currently studying at Abbey Road Studios. He’s into Berlin techno and I sometimes listen in to whatever he’s into. And then I use the music for my morning exercises, which he finds very funny.

Berlin Techno example






*If you had to stay on a deserted island for a year, what 3 things would you take with you?
Laptop (OK, a typewriter); my swimming goggles (they’ve changed my life - they have prescription lenses in them); A solar-powered drone.

*If you have someone over for the first time, what do you cook for them?
Persian cuisine – my wife and I both love Middle Eastern cooking.

*What is the most beautiful place in England?

Cornwall, in the South West, where a lot of my books are set.

*What makes you very happy? 

My family. My wife and I have three teenage children who keep us young and on our toes.