A Melksham author who is a former nurse, is preparing to launch her 23rd book entitled The Nurse, a crime and psychological thriller.
Valerie Dickenson, also known by her pen name Valerie Keogh, has lived in Melksham for 17 years and was a nurse in a care home in Holt before leaving in 2018 after landing her first book deal.
“It was unbelievably exciting when I got my first book deal; it’s what every writer wants,” said Valerie, who had been a nurse for 15 years. Up until then I had seven books that were self-published. I only write psychological thrillers because they’re fun to write and there is a big appetite among people to read these stories. I think that’s because people like the twists and the puzzle of trying to work the plot out.”
Her latest book, The Nurse, follows the life of Lissa McColl, who learns at an early age to do very bad things. As a nurse, she is respected and valued for the first time in her life but Lissa hates her job and the selfish, rude and inconsiderate people she has to deal with. But being underestimated in this job had its advantages. Lissa can get close to people, find out their secrets… sometimes with deadly results…
“I would write for escapism alongside being a nurse,” added Valerie. “I could create worlds where I could control what the people did and that is empowering.”
As a Melksham resident, Valerie often draws inspiration from the town to feature in her stories. “I love to walk around Melksham, along the canals, down the little laneways, gathering ideas as I go,” she said. “People are very friendly, and I love to stop for a chat – little do these people know, they might end up in my next book.”
A scenario Valerie witnessed from her window did end up in one of her stories. She said, “I wrote one book entitled The Couple in the Photograph and inspiration for this came from me looking out of my window one day and seeing council workers working on a listed wall opposite and I thought ‘shouldn’t they be wearing masks’ and when I researched it, I found that you can actually get a disease called silicosis from the dust in the wall and this features in that book.”
Giving words of advice for Melksham’s residents who may be inspired to write, Valerie said, “Just write. Lots of people get caught in the initial stages in the grammar, the layout but my advice is to just write it all out then go back and review it after. That’s what I do. I write a complete first draft and then I go back and review it. Ever since doing that, I haven’t stopped writing.”
Valerie’s books can be found in Melksham Library, a facility in the town she fully supports. Valerie said, “I remember a time when we would go into the library and we wouldn’t be allowed to talk but now you can. Our library in Melksham is lovely, it’s laid out well and is such a great facility. Libraries are a great place to connect people to writers and writers to people. It’s a shame it’s underused.”
Valerie is hoping to hold a talk about her new book, The Nurse, in the Melksham Library soon.
The Nurse is published with Boldwood Books and will be in book shops and online from 21st July. It will also available in large print and as an audio book.
Photo by Lily Morris.
