Hello, and welcome! My name is Claire Ladds, and I am an author of character-driven literary fiction, as well as other darker books and stories with an emotional pull.
I hail from, and live in, the UK. I love writing stories that make you think, feel, and make you want to turn the page. They have twists and turns, and I especially love creating an extra, final twist or a devastatingly unexpected ending whenever I can. In my books and short stories I love getting deep inside my characters’ heads and often explore the grey area between moral guilt and innocence, including those dark thoughts that even seemingly harmless people harbour in their minds.
I tend to write about characters with all-consuming obsessions, from the emotionally-charged and introspective work to the sinister and deadly books (and sometimes a combination of all these). Maybe it’s because I have a not-so-secret obsession myself: I’m an Agatha Christie fanatic, and have been since my dad bought me The ABC Murders when I was ten.
As well as individual literary fiction novels and short story collections, I also write the Darker Minds Crime and Suspense series, where dark minds are at work and sometimes it takes a darker one to stop them. Each book is a standalone story, based on this theme. I’m hoping you’ll love reading the books as much as I am doing writing them. Expect some nasty villains and flawed characters in these, as well as some dark gothic- and noir-inspired twists.
I’ve been a writer since 2006, when the very first short story I wrote in what I hoped would turn out to be a professional capacity was published as a competition winner. But I had wanted to be a writer much earlier than that: when I was seven, I made a book from old blank pages, sewing them together with red wool. Inside, I wrote, ‘I want to be an author.’ Over the years, I’ve written fiction for literary and commercial magazines worldwide, as well as articles and reviews, and then my very first short story collection, The Reason for Everything, which houses several of my prizewinning stories together with previously unpublished ones. Other books followed this one, and I have every intention of doing this wonderful work forever. Writing and reading are my life’s passions.
When I’m not writing you’ll find me with a cuppa, curled up with a book of some kind, immersed in another author’s literary world. Oh, and chocolate. Very important!
There are loads of ways you can hear more from me and about my books, and get some sneak peeks at what’s happening ‘behind the scenes’. If you’d like exclusive content just for members, all my news and writing updates, be notified of any deals on my books, as well as published, serialised and new fiction and non-fiction, keep a close eye on my JOIN page over the next few weeks (Substack Readers’ Club coming soon). You’ll also be able to receive a very special Reader’s Club EXCLUSIVE free e-book when you sign up and a thank you, once this is in place. I am also updating this website to include a monthly Readers’ Club news section which is availble to anyone.
It’s easy to keep up-to-date with my new releases in other ways, too. If you get your books on Amazon, you can go to my Amazon Author page, then just click the yellow ‘follow’ button. That way you’ll always be in the know about my new books and special deals. Follow me on BookBub (you have a red ‘follow’ button to click this time!) to get notified of new releases. Or, if you love Goodreads, you can find me there, too.
You can also connect with me on social media. I love talking about books on there. You’ll find me on most social media channels as @claireladdsauthor on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest.
Short author bio:
Claire Ladds is a UK-based author of psychological fiction, crime, suspense and mystery, as well as other dark-edged fiction with an emotional pull. Her books are ones full of secrets, lies and betrayal where the past won’t stay buried, and the motives are always personal.
Standard author bio:
Claire Ladds is a UK-based author of books where the past won’t stay buried, and the motives are always personal. She writes psychological fiction, crime, suspense and mystery, as well as dark-edged fiction with an emotional pull. She revels in writing about people with all-consuming, sometimes ominous, obsessions and explores the morally grey areas between innocence and, the murky depths of the psyche and the dark and dangerous thoughts that even seemingly harmless people can harbour in the dark recesses of their minds and hearts. Her books are full of twists and turns that make the characters confront their own realities (and nightmares) and let the reader question where good ends and something more disturbing takes over…
A writer since 2006, Claire’s short fiction has also been published in literary and commercial magazines, and in anthologies. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her curled up with a book and cup of tea.
