Michael Robotham Q&A | Author of the Month

We LOVE the Cyrus Haven series – can you tell us briefly about Cyrus and the reckoning he faces in Lying Beside You?

MR: Cyrus is a forensic psychologist with a tragic back story. He was thirteen when his parents and twin sisters were killed by his schizophrenic older brother, Elias, who heard voices in his head. Now, after twenty years in a secure psychiatric hospital, Elias is asking to be released and Cyrus must decide if he can forgive the brother who ruined his childhood. Can he separate the person from the act, to hate the sin but forgive the sinner?

Evie Cormac’s special gift is that she can tell when people are lying. Can you? Would you want to?

MR: It’s not a gift, it’s a curse. Each of us lies between ten and two hundred times a day, for the best possible reasons. We tell people we love what they want to hear. You haven’t aged a bit. I bought it on special. I only had the one beer. I’m five minutes away. I love your hair/dress/boyfriend, etc. Lying is part of the glue that holds families and relationships together. I would hate to be like Evie Cormac because three little words like ‘I love you’ have enormous power if you know it’s a lie.

Can you tell us a bit about the setting of Lying Beside You - how much does it inform the story?

MR: Lying Beside You is set in Nottingham, in England, which is a place that conjures up memories of legends like Robin Hood and the Maid Marion. I like the idea that people recognise the setting, but ultimately, the story revolves around the characters. Cyrus and Evie are both damaged and vulnerable, but together they might save each other.

The Secrets She Keeps  and The Suspect  have been recent TV series – how involved are you in that process?

MR: There is a second series coming for The Secrets She Keeps, which I helped to plot out and storyboard with some very talented TV writers. I’ve also dabbled in a writing a script, which was challenging because it involved a whole new skill. The Suspect has been filmed in the UK by World Productions who made Line of Duty and The Bodyguard and will air in Australia later in the year. Due to Covid restrictions, I couldn’t make it on set, but I’m hoping to be there for the second series, which is being written now.

You are our Dymocks Author of the Month for August and you have long been one of our favourite novelists. What is your favourite Dymocks memory?

MR: I have many wonderful Dymocks memories because I’ve visited Dymocks in every state and territory for signings and events. I’ll never forget my first Dymocks Literary Lunch in Sydney, when I was convinced that nobody would show up because I wasn’t a big international author. More than 100 people packed the ballroom at a big Sydney hotel and I felt like a literary rock star.