“One person told me he got to a point where he didn't actually care whether he lived or died. He felt so ill that he had hallucinations. So it's a risk. It's a risk.”

For the people who’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, making it to the summit is more than a battle of fitness or of money. It’s a challenging test of one’s mental fortitude unlike no other. Throw into the mix a little deception, trickery and deceit - and that climb can become deadly.

In Karen Hamilton’s latest book ‘The Contest’, she introduces a new layer of jeopardy into the mix. In this mountaintop locked-room thriller, two teams are pitted against each other in a race to the top. But with traps, tricks and backstabbing abound - trust is nowhere to be found.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to write about a place you’ve not visited yourself.
• How to deepen the mystery of your villain’s actions.
• Why you should have faith in your editors.

Find out more about Karen here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can buy copies of our anthology series here. 

You can view the full transcript here.

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