Anni Taylor writes thrillers for readers who love deep, twisty plots that surprise.

She lives by the beach north of Sydney, Australia, with her partner and sons and little fluffy (sometimes scruffy) dog – where she concocts her stories.

Her most recent gig before becoming a full-time author in 2016 was as a Features’ Writer & Community Manager for Fairfax Media, Australia.

Anni’s six rules for crafting a story:

1. Panic (Who are these vague ghosts of characters walking through my head and what do they want? What story do they want told?)

2. Collect beetle legs (I’ve got some legs of a story forming, but no body, no head, no eyes. Just like in the Beetle board game. I have no idea what’s going to happen next. It’s all a spin of the game wheel.)

3. Remember the reader (I’m starting to jump out of my own head for long enough to recall that actual people might read this. Readers are smart – they can see through plots, so I can’t “panic plot”. I have to trust the process and allow the story to breathe and happen organically.

4. Feed, walk & water (When I’m deep into writing a story, I tend to forget I need to exercise, drink more water and eat nutritious food. That all slips away…)

5. The weird little hate party (This is the dim, dark party that happens well before release. I’ve written and rewritten so many times that I don’t want to see it anymore. This is when I hand it off to “first readers/beta readers” and ask them to rip it apart – yes, in those words. With their charmingly snarky feedback in mind, I go back and fine-tune the whole story.

6. The release party (It’s out there in the world. Go out to dinner. Go on a little holiday. Read some good books. Gain mental space and inspiration for a new book and start all over again…)