Vaseem Khan, author of ’Quantum of Menace’ - CWA Award Winner discusses bringing to life a caricature, having the energy to keep going, and editing on the go

Vaseem Khan tried to be an author for a long time. He wrote widely, in all genres, even analytically studied the greats to learn from how they did it, but kept gettiing rejected. Finally, after many turned down pitches, he landed a deal for 'The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra'. It tells the story of a retiring police officer, who is given an elephant to adopt. It was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels between 2015-20.

He still writes widely. Vaseem published the 'Malabar House' novels set in 1950s India, which focus on the country's first female police officer. His most recent novel, 'The Edge of Darkness' is in that series. He also won the CWA Crime Dagger award in 2021 for his book, 'Midnight at Malabar House'. He's given psychological thriller a go with 'The Girl in Cell A', set in the United States which sold very well, and has more recently turned his hand to something like cosy crime, with his novel, 'Quantum of Menace'. It tells the story of Q from the world of James Bond. Recently fired and pottering about at home, he must solve the mystery of a friends murder. You can hear about the process of being approached by the Ian Fleming estate, and the deal-breaker that he insisted on for the character.

We talk about why everything needs to be spot on as he goes through the novel, also how he brought life to a caricature, and how he managed to keep going through the rejections. There's also a lot of editing and workplace tips to inspire your own day.

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