CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2023 – Interview with Ava Glass

As we head towards the announcement of the winner of the 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, we’ve been talking to some of the shortlisted authors and find out more about their thrilling novels. Today we’re starting with Ava Glass and The Chase.

How does it feel to be on the shortlist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger?

I’m honestly astonished to find myself included on this list with so many of my hero writers. It feels like a dream.

How would you summarise The Chase and what inspired you to tell this story?

The Chase is about one spy trying to save one man on one night in London, with an assassination team on her heels. The book was inspired by the attempted murder of Yuri Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury by Russian operatives. That attack gave us a fleeting glimpse at the battle of spies that is constantly being waged just out of our sight. I wanted to write about that secret war.

What is your writing process?

God, I wish I had one. I spend months planning a novel and then ignore my plans. I try to write in the morning but only really get anything done after 3pm. It’s a nightmare. But somehow the books get written.

What advice would you give to aspiring thriller writers?

Don’t try and write the same book everyone else is writing. Write the story you can’t stop thinking about. The ‘what if?’ that keeps coming back to you when you’re trying to sleep. And after you’ve finished – cut 10,000 words from it.

What is your favourite thriller and why?

I tend to be drawn to the mystery side of the thriller world. I think Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is one of the greatest novels in any genre. And I adore the Robert Galbraith Cormoran Strike novels. I’ve always believed it’s nearly impossible to write a good, long crime novel, but Troubled Blood proved me wrong.