9 Questions for Tim Jeffreys
We caught up with Tim, author of “The Treachery of the Heart,” the atmospheric and creepy first story in our puzzle anthology, Through the Briar Patch.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Tim: One-time art student, sometime creative, father of two teenagers with a day-job in the health service. Otherwise, a solitary-type, best not disturbed, with his head in a book or hunched over a writing desk.
2. How do you find time to write?
Tim: I dedicate one day a week to writing, and on that day I aim to get at least 1000 words down. I will be at my desk, doggedly trying to avoid all other distractions, on this day even if I get no writing done. I think it’s important to have a routine and a dedicated time to be at your desk, even if it’s only for an hour or two. That slow drip of words will add up surprisingly quickly.
3. What does your writing space look like?
Tim: I’m lucky enough to have a dedicated writing space, with a desk walled-in by shelves of books, records, and CDs (basically, all my shit in one room of the house). My desk contains a drawing board and my laptop surrounded by disorderly piles of notebooks. I like buying notebooks and will write in the first one that comes to hand – a bad habit as it means stories and novels are planned across various notebooks. Now which one did I write that character description in…
4. Tell us about your favorite story that you’ve written.
Tim: My favourite stories tend to end up being the ones that get the best reactions from readers. I’ve become very fond of a story I wrote called ‘Here Comes Mr. Herribone!’ for that reason. It’s about a comedy double act that introduce a new character into their show, which involves one of them donning a sack cloth head they find lying around in an old theatre. I had no idea at the time that I was writing one of my best stories, and I’ve since worked this up into a novella. I’m also quite proud of a little flash fiction story called ‘Myerscough and Skelton’. I had the title for years, and when I finally came to write the story it took me two weeks to write 900 words. But it’s a story where every word counts. It also feels very ‘me’ for reasons I can’t fully explain. It was narrated wonderfully on an episode of Tales to Terrify.
5. What are you working on right now?
Tim: I managed to write an entire novel last year (woo-hoo!), so I got it into my head that I could do that every year. It hasn’t worked out so well in 2025. I’ve started four or five novels this year. The one that seems to be going the distance is called ‘Hollow Back’ and it’s based on one of my short stories, although as it’s set in winter it was hard to write during the summertime. I also keep getting called back to writing short stories – irresistible as it means actually getting something finished. I also like to have a bank of stories to send out to submission calls.
6. Do you read much? If so, what are you currently reading and what’s at the top of your TBR pile?
Tim: Yes! The past few years, I’ve been going through Tim Winton and Kevin Barry’s novels. I also dip in and out of lots of books of short stories. Top of my TBR pile…I’ve never read Frankenstein so I’d like to give that a bash.
7. What’s the most challenging thing about being a writer, and how do you manage it?
Tim: The most challenging thing is definitely self-promotion. I’ve tried all kinds of things with very little success. My (probably extremely naive) hope is that readers will discover my work for themselves.
8. What do you do when you’re not writing?
Tim: Since my day job also involves staring at a screen, I like to give my eyes a break and get away from the laptop as much as possible when not writing. I’m a big music fan and will spend a lot of time listening to music and endlessly making playlists.
9. Where can readers find you?
Tim: The best place to find me is probably at Tim Jeffreys Writer. Either that or follow the trail of chocolate wrappers. I’ll be at the end of it, looking regretful.