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Cat began writing after chronic illness robbed her of being able to work a full-time job. Returning to reading after years of ‘not having enough time’ brought enjoyment, but also disappointment at the books she found. “I could do better than this,” she thought.
So she did.
After an initial false start, thinking she should write romance (in her own words, “she shouldn’t”), Cat embraced the crime fiction she loved and the character of Homicide Detective Charlie Cooper was born.
That first book (Dark Heart) took five years to write. The second took less than half that time. And, almost before she knew it, two books had become nine and had even launched a spin-off series, featuring Detective Bonnie Hunter.
Bill had dreamed of being a writer since high school and, occasionally he’d try to do something about those dreams and crank out some starting chapters to a story. But it would never stick, the daily minutiae of life proving too much of a distraction.
It was during recovery from depression and a breakdown that Bill listened to the voice in his head saying that this was his one chance and, if he let it slip, he might never get another.
Six months (and a lot of caffeine) from that moment, he’d completed first drafts of two novels. One of of those was a new addition to a series about a Dallas P.I. named Rafferty (originally started by his father in the eighties).
Little did he know exactly how much taking that chance was about to change his life.
In April 2018, we met at an indie writers group in Sydney.
Bill says, “Cat introduced herself to everyone and seemed to be so much further down the track; I was intimidated straight away. But when she said that she wrote crime, I thought, ‘Oh, hello.’”
And when Bill asked if she would read his upcoming book (False Gods), Cat gave it to him straight, “I’ll give you my honest reaction, not what you want to hear. If you think you can handle that, then I’ll read it.”
By the time she started reading that MS, we had actually started dating. This led to a few awkward moments when Cat wondered if she could stay true to her word if the book turned out to be crap and, if so, whether that would be the end of things between us.
Good news: It wasn’t. In both cases.
Since that time, we’ve barely been apart. We’ve travelled. We’ve housesat. We’ve lived in a campervan for 12 months during COVID. We’ve moved three times, the latest to a house we now share with Cat’s parents, so we can be there for them as they age.
And through all of it, the two things that brought life and joy back to our lives remain central: each other and writing.
But we have changed the way we work.
Instead of being two writers who also happen to live together, we’re now co-writing and creating new characters, books, and series together.
It’s more fun than we ever dreamed. And it reminds us every day of how far we’ve come, and of why we’re still here.
Because our two newest heroines, Eden Cross and Bonnie Hunter, all the characters they help, and the entertainment they bring to our readers, would not exist if crime writing hadn’t saved us both first.
We’ll never forget it.
Bill & Cat
© 2024 Bill Duncan & Catherine Lee
Author photography by the incomparable Neil Thompson Rees. Instagram @monocaptus