Lancashire author Christie Newport debuts first crime thriller novel set in Preston

Her debut, ‘The Raven’s Mark’, features various locations such as the Preston Docklands, the city centre as well as nearby Ribble Valley and St Annes. Christie , 41, who was born and raised on New Hall Lane and has received multiple awards after overcoming years of both physical and psychological distress to achieve her dream career.

Early Life for the Preston Author

Christie was first diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease at the age of seven which started with a cold sore and inflammation of her lips. For a long time her condition baffled doctors and she struggled with bullying and self-esteem issues. She previously told the Post: “I was seven-years-old when I developed a cold sore on my mouth. My lips began to swell, they cracked in the corners and split down the centre. My parents took me to the GP, repeatedly, until I was sent to Royal Preston Hospital. My school years were ruined by bullying. I had a lot of time off for failed surgeries. The surgeons cut away parts of my mouth, stitching it up. The swelling pulling and stretching the stitches.”

As a child Christie used storytelling as an escape from the verbal abuse she endured, surviving by hanging on to her big dreams to become a writer. She said: “I have always wanted to be an author. I was a storyteller from being young, I was severely bullied as a child so I think it gave me an escape from being able to hide in another world."

The author attended Archbishop Temple C of E High School, which she says has been very supportive since the release of her book. Then she went on to study media studies at Preston College and attended Edge Hill University to study journalism. Christie also had multiple jobs in Preston such as working at HomeServe on the phones and as a barmaid at the Hesketh pub. Christie was also a receptionist at JTF.

But she never lost sight of her childhood dream to become an author. She said: “I always thought being an author was inaccessible to me. I was naive as the first person in my family to go to university, I didn’t think writing books was on the cards for me. But meeting other authors I can see they are regular, normal people who just love telling stories.”

Writing The Raven’s Mark

Christie said: “I’d always had two dreams as a child, to be an author or a detective. So writing The Raven’s Mark I got to explore that further as my main character, DCI Fellows is a detective. I did a lot of reading online and courses on interview techniques, forensics, crime scene analysis, and crime investigation. I watched a lot of true crime too, like a lot of people! I wanted to give myself a base knowledge of what it would take to handle an investigation as a lead detective.”

Describing her writing style, Christie says she is a ‘Pantser’, she said: “I write by the seat of my pants rather than plan. With this I wanted it to be very organic and I wrote the first draft within three weeks. That was really strange it was like writing magic. For me, Preston was always going to be where I set my work because it’s what I know it’s where I grew up. Also because there’s very little in crime fiction or fiction median that’s set in Preston and I know that the people of Preston love having something to relate to. I think that everyone should see themselves reflected in books or TV or movies, it’s how we understand ourselves. wanted to pay homage to Preston. It was always going to be set here.”

What locations can we expect to see in The Raven’s Mark?

Christie said: “Where the police station is in my book, the police station itself is fictional but it is set by the River Ribble, if you go over the bridge on London road there’s a place where you can skim stones into the river. There was a bench there where I used to sit with my nephew and tell him stories I had made up, about mermaids living in the river and all sorts of crazy things. The Docklands is in it too, and some St Annes features too. There are also scenes as you drive through Longridge. There are streets and houses that I have given fictional names but based on places in Preston, as I didn’t want to set a murder up in someone’s actual home! So there are places you’ll read that are recognisable in other areas and the typical architecture will sound familiar."

A message to aspiring writers

Christie wanted to give a message to any aspiring authors from Preston as part of this piece. She said: “Even though you may think it's not a door that is open to you. It very much is if you put the work in. Go out meet people, learn your craft, and always know that no matter what you learn there’s always more to learn. That’s not a bad thing, no one is saying you aren’t good enough yet, it’s saying you can always be better. Everything you write in the future you want to be better than before so just keep working and aspiring and making your dreams come true. And help put Preston on the map!”

Christie is being interviewed by Samantha Brownley of the UK Crime Book Club about her debut, The Raven's Mark, at Waterstones in Preston on 12th February at 1pm. There will also be the opportunity to purchase copies of the book and get them signed.