Murder in Mind by Malcolm Rose

Malcolm Rose cooks up a plot

I like to murder people.  Lots of people.  In fact, I’m very good at it.  I must be because I’m not writing this from a police cell or prison.  The police have never questioned me, never even got close.

Really, I haven’t been arrested because it happens only in my mind.  That’s the beauty of being a fiction writer.  A novelist can do anything, be anyone, and go anywhere.  In my imagination, I am a devious murderer, the world’s leading detective, a very bright alien girl, a great musician, the best footballer in the land, and many other characters.  I used to be told off at school for daydreaming.  Now, I make my living from it.  I have the best job in the known universe because I am a professional daydreamer.

I do most of my murdering in my quirky ‘Traces’ series.  My favourite character is the forensic robot called Malc (Mobile Aid to Law and Crime).  He’s fantastic at analysing clues but hopeless with communication.  He thinks a red herring is a type of fish.  He may be beyond modern technology but all the forensic science he does is possible today – and he has a lovely way with dead bodies.

Us humans are weird, aren’t we?  We are entertained by the worst possible thing that one human can do to another.  When we read/write crime stories, we feel uncomfortable and entertained at the same time.  We are working the fear of crime and anger out of our systems and it’s great as long as we are safe while we are doing it.

Malcolm used to be a Lecturer in Chemistry but now writes crime stories and thrillers for young people.  Both scientists and authors have to be creative and keen to write up their work.   Chemists add chemicals together, brew them up a bit and investigate what happens.  Malcolm mixes fictional characters, stirs in a bit of conflict and investigates what happens.  Both can be colourful or explosive.  Because science is always advancing, it provides an endless source of new ideas for a novelist.  Malcolm is happiest when his crime stories are dripping in gruesome forensic science and his bad guys are using terrible poisons.