FAQ

Please have a look at these answers to common questions to see if they contain what you’d like to know!

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Events, signed copies, interviews and more

I’d like a signed copy of one of your books.

You can bring your books to any of my events, and I’ll sign them for you afterwards! I can’t ever send physical copies of books to fans – and it’s best not to send me your copies to get signed either, because it may take up to a year for me to be able to send them back.

Will you come visit my school?

At the moment I’m not doing a lot of school visits, but I am doing some! The best thing to do is email my publicity support Catherine, at hello@catherinealportpr.co.uk. She’s making a list of interested schools, which she’ll use every time I do have school visit slots.

When will you be touring again?

I’ll be back on the road in June 2024 for the 10th anniversary of Murder Most Unladylike! We’re planning lots of events, so keep checking my website calendar – as soon as an event is confirmed I put it up there. I also have links to upcoming events on my social media accounts.

I want to hold my own Murder Most Unladylike party and dress up like Daisy and Hazel. What do I do?

We’ve got you covered! If you’d like to practice your detective skills, download the official Murder Most Unladylike party pack, Murder at Rivets and Gripps. If you want to dress like the Detective Society and their friends, use these handy costume suggestions. If you want to create the perfect bunbreak, make this easy tiffin, these squashed fly biscuits … or just go to the shops and buy some iced buns! Daisy and Hazel might also eat old-fashioned sweets like bullseyes, sherbet lemons or liquorice allsorts, and their favourite drink is ginger beer.

Can I interview you?

I don’t have much time for interviews at the moment, I’m afraid, although it’s always worth asking. I’d advise you looking up past interviews I’ve given that are available online – I’ve answered a lot of your common questions there!

Books

When will your books be available in my language?

If you’d like to find out which of my books are available in your language, the best place to look is my website, robin-stevens.co.uk. At the moment, Murder Most Unladylike is available in 19 languages, and more are always being added. I don’t have control about which countries publish my books, but I’m always so delighted when Hazel and Daisy’s adventures appear in a new language!

I live in the US or Canada. When will your full series be available there?

If you’re in North America and you’re hoping to be able to buy my full series, I have good news. At the moment, my American publishers Simon and Schuster are working hard to publish the rest of the series. Death Sets Sail published in November, and the two companion books will publish this year. And then you’ll have the full set!

Can me and my friend be in one of your books?

I get a lot of requests like this, and although I’d love to say yes to everyone, I just can’t. But I make a note of the people who ask me, and sometimes I do use names of people I’ve met or spoken to. So although I can’t guarantee it, you never know …

How do you come up with your characters? Are you like any of them?

I come up with characters in lots of different ways. I use bits of people I’ve met, people I see on TV, people I read about – both real people and made-up ones! I think I’m a perfect mix of Daisy and Hazel …

Writing advice

Where do you get your inspiration?

I think I was inspired to write my books because of how much I love to read. When I pick up a book I get swept up in its world and characters, and I wanted to do that for readers of my own! I love telling stories, and I’d do it even if I wasn’t published.

I get my inspiration from places I’ve been, people I’ve met, mystery stories I’ve read and … pretty much everything that happens to me! Inspiration is a strange thing, it can come from anywhere and often the original idea I have isn’t very similar to what ends up in the book!

Do you have tips for an aspiring writer?

I’m really glad to hear that you want to be an author as well! My advice for all aspiring writers is not to wait – start writing now, anything you enjoy and are interested in. You don’t need to finish the story, and it doesn’t need to be perfect, but every time you write you’ll get better and better. Make sure you’re reading a lot as well, as many different types of story as possible, to work out how other authors write, and to see what kind of story you’d prefer to tell. And that’s really all I can say! Every author writes so differently – embrace your difference and be proud of writing stories only you can tell!

I’ve had an idea for a new Murder Most Unladylike book! Can I send it to you, and will you use it?

I LOVE reading your ideas. They are fantastic – often a lot better than mine! You are always welcome to send them to me, and I love reading them. But I try hard not to use them in my own books. I think it’s important that I don’t borrow other people’s stories – they are yours, and you are the person who should write them down! I am very happy for you to write your own Murder Most Unladylike stories, as long as you do it for fun and don’t charge anyone to read them. This is called writing fanfiction, and it’s something I used to do! In fact, it’s one of the best things to do if you want to grow up to become a published author.

I’m trying to write a mystery story. How do I do it?

If you’d like to write a detective novel, the first thing I want to say is congratulations on choosing such a great type of story to tell! They really are my favourites to read, which is why I love writing them so much. Make sure you’re reading a lot of detective novels, to get you in the right mindset and to see how other authors create their plots. Then, once you have a good idea, make a really clear plan of the crime. Write down who did it, why, where, how, when, who else was there and exactly what happened. This is so important to make sure you never get confused – that means you can confuse your readers! Make sure not to have too many suspects, and don’t put in too many twists. Readers are tricked much more easily than you might expect! But most of all remember to have fun with it. If you enjoy the story you’re telling, your readers will too!

I want to be a published author one day. What should I do?

Good news: there are only two things you need to do to help yourself get better at writing. The first is read a lot of books, so you can learn how other authors structure their plots and create their characters. And the other is write a lot of stories! Don’t worry if you don’t finish them, or you don’t think they’re very good. You will get better at writing with every story you make up, and better at pushing yourself to keep going as well. If you write all the way through your childhood and your teenage years, you’ll be a truly excellent writer by the time you become an adult – good enough to get published!

And how do I get published?

There are lots of routes you can take to getting published. If you’d like to be traditionally published (which means published by a company like Puffin or Bloomsbury) you’ll need to get an agent. Have a look at this website: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/ – it’s got lots of resources for authors, and you can find lists of reputable agents that you could contact with samples of your work. I started doing this when I was 16, and I spent many years being rejected. It’s a long, tough process, and it’s important to say that the road to being published in this way is really long. I didn’t get published until I was 26, and before then I had a lot of rejections and heartbreak. Every author gets rejected – it’s just part of putting yourself out there – so it’s important to take your time, and if things are feeling too hard, to pause until you’re in a better emotional place. Be writing all the time, but only submit when you feel ready. There’s no timeline – everyone is published at their own pace and in their own way!

You can also self-publish, on places like Amazon, and you can also put up your work on sites like Wattpad. You don’t have to wait for this, so if it’s important for you to get your work out there quickly this might be the best route for you. But please do remember that if you start going down the self-publishing route, a lot of people will be looking for your money (you often have to pay to get self-published, unlike traditional publishing where they pay you!) – be very wary about who you pay, and always check whether it’s worth it. It’s a good idea to have an adult you trust helping you out with this – don’t go it alone, is my advice!

I hope this is a bit helpful – basically, getting published is tough and time-consuming and stressful. But it can also be wonderful to have your words in the hands of readers, so I absolutely understand why you want to do it. It was always my ambition, and today I am so glad I was able to achieve it. I wish you the very best of luck – just keep writing, whatever happens, and don’t give up!

TV and film

Will there be a TV show or film of your books?

I really hope that there will be a film or a TV show of Murder Most Unladylike some day. I am doing all I can to make sure that it happens, and happens in the best way possible. I know I have a lot of fans like you who really care that it’s done right, so I’m taking the time to find the right people to make my vision a reality!

If it does happen, I would also hope that fans would get the chance to audition to play Daisy, Hazel and their friends – though I can’t control casting. But keep on watching and hoping – I think there will be an adaptation some day soon!

Can I make the film?

I’m not able to partner with anyone apart from an approved production company, people who would be able to spend the alarming sums of money it seems to take to get a TV show made (we’re talking millions, far more than I’ve ever had access to!). But I am always thrilled to give the unofficial nod to fans who want to make their own just-for-fun versions. As long as you don’t ever make any money on the finished product, and as long as everyone involved is doing it for fun rather than for a salary, you are more than welcome to film a movie and show it to friends and family. It makes me very proud to know that you want to take this time to create something out of my books – thank you so much!

If you do happen to be an adult representative of an approved production company, and you would like to inquire about rights, please contact redbreastedbird@gmail.com.

Fan mail

I’ve written you a letter! Where do I send it?

Thank you so much! Please send letters to

Robin Stevens c/o Puffin Publicity, Puffin Books

One Embassy Gardens, Eight Viaduct Gardens, London SW11 7BW

Please send emails to redbreastedbird@gmail.com

I’ve written you a letter! Why haven’t you written back to me?

I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to reply to your letter yet! I’m always working to about a three to six month backlog. I respond to letters when I can, but writing my books always has to come first!

Any other questions

I have a complaint.

I’m very sorry to hear this. Please email me at my author email address. Please be patient, and I’ll reply as soon as I can.

Are you the creator of Rosie and Jim?

In a word, no! There are two authors called Robin Stevens, and I am not the one who created Rosie and Jim. Unfortunately I don’t know how to contact him, and I have never met him.

How do I start my own detective society?

I’m delighted that you’re such a big fan of my books, and you’ve been inspired to create your own detective society. My best tips for starting one are in the book Cream Buns and Crime. Basically, you need to find some like-minded friends, put together a detective kit and start hunting for cases! They really don’t have to be big ones – it’s always best to start small, and help out friends and family with their mysteries!

Is that Daisy or Hazel on the covers of your books?

On the covers of my MMU series, Daisy has the curly hair and Hazel has the plait (apart from on Spoonful of Murder‘s cover where she has a bun). I absolutely love the way that my illustrator Nina Tara draws Daisy and Hazel, but it’s true that they look a little different from the way they do in my books!

Will Daisy and Hazel return in future books?

Daisy and Hazel both feature in Once Upon a Crime, my newest book of short stories. Two of the stories you may have read before, but four are totally new, and two take place after Death Sets Sail! They also appear as adult characters in The Ministry of Unladylike Activity and The Body in the Blitz. They help May and her friends rather than acting as the detectives, but you get to see how they’ve grown up! I’m looking forward to writing more books featuring them in future.