19/06/2026
Itโs time for our Meet the Author feature! Today we say hello to Ennes Bastin, author of โThe Red Fox Diariesโ, darkly funny crime novel about later life frustrations and what happens when a sixty-nine year-old woman refuses to accept what the world at large expects of her. Here, Ennes talks more about the book and his writing process:
๐ How long did it take you to go from idea to finished manuscript?
Around four to five months or so. Typically planning and the first chapter (they shuttle back and forth) take about half of this with bulk-body writing and editing the rest. If I could type with more than two fingers it could possibly be shorter.
๐ Which part of this book did you most enjoy writing, and why?
I always enjoy writing at the extremes of the psycho-emotional spectrum which I would consider as humour/comedy at one end and exploration of the darkest recesses of the human psyche at the other. That said I never cease to get a great kick when the characters take over and the dialogue writes itself leaving me to simply listen in and write it down.
๐ What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing this book?
Balance. It nearly always is. In this case keeping it just the right side of real whilst allowing the faint absurdity of it all to flourish and the flashes of humour to shine through.
๐ When did you first realise you wanted to be an author?
Just about forever as I remember. Little stories as a child then bigger later. I always knew I was missing out on something when scribing utterly dreary technical presentations and briefing at work. The final push though was my artist wife who got so fed up with me wafting around as she tried to work that she shouted at me that I needed to find a ****ing hobby. I replied (in a sulky teenager sort of voice) that I was going to write a book. And that was it. The first of seventeen with two more already on the go.
๐ Do you write full time or do you have a 'day jobโ?
I started writing when I was in full time employment using my need for little sleep as the space to write. It's much the same now with family and animals to look after and the itch to travel still in my feet. So it remains mostly late into the night and early in the morning. That said I am constantly writing inside my head throughout the day. Scenes, characters and snippets of dialogue all forming like building rain clouds getting ready to pour down.
๐ Where is your writing space and how does it affect your creativity?
My study. My place. Often invaded by people and a dastardly keyboard-sitting cat but it's still where I write. That said, as noted in the previous question, I write inside my head wherever I am - especially on long journeys.
๐ Which writers or books have influenced your style the most?
Robert Goddard. For me he will always be the master. And for witty observations injected into an otherwise gritty landscape it has to be Raymond Chandler.
๐ What do you hope readers take away from your book?
First and foremost an escape and maybe a laugh. Beyond that an appreciation of what women of a certain age feel about how they are treated by our society both unconsciously and consciously.
๐ Do you see yourself continuing in the same genre, or exploring something new?
I tend to alternate my books between light and dark. It's the only way to keep me sane. So with the last one being heavy I'm due for a whimsical one next. Maybe.
๐ Do you already have ideas for your next writing project?
Two more have been written since The Red Fox Diaries and two more are on the way. However, after such a positive experience of self-publishing with SilverWood I am thinking seriously about dusting off an old unpublished manuscript and giving that one a go.
๐ If you could collaborate with another author, who would it be and why?
Katie Price (joke). No, seriously, I am a lousy collaborator. I have always known that but still (apparently) need to be frequently told.
๐ Finally, where do you see yourself as an author five years from now?
Probably in a care home with any number of self-published book lined up on my window sill.
๐ Thank you, Ennes, and best of luck with โThe Red Fox Diariesโ!!
๐ Find out more here: https://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk/red-fox-diaries
