Sharon Bolton

I learned the hard way that people are quick to judge, will jump at the chance of a cheap ego boost at another's expense.

judge ego chance people

On the advice of my U.K. publishers, I chose a sexless anonymity and published my first five books under the semi-pseudonym, S. J. Bolton. I was happy. I could hide behind a genderless, classless persona and let my creepy, psychological murder-mysteries speak for themselves.

hide behind speak happy

Crime writers adore islands. We love the sense of being trapped within a community apart, where normal codes of behavior, if not ignored, can be allowed to slip.

crime community behavior love

On an island, anything can happen. In a crime novel, it usually does.

happen island anything crime

'The Magus,' usually described as a book for the young, is about learning that the world is a mysterious and limitless place, beyond our control, and all the more exciting - and daunting - because of it.

place learning book world

My first novel, 'Sacrifice,' was set on the Shetland Islands.

set first sacrifice novel

Our names are an integral part of the faces we show to the world. If we're judged first on outward appearances, we're assessed next on our names.

show first next world

I've never once corrected someone who got my name wrong.

wrong name someone never

Whenever I find myself in an exceptionally beautiful environment, I can't help asking myself - what lies beneath? I'm fascinated by the idea of a perfect surface concealing a rotten core.

help myself perfect beautiful