Today’s featured author is Kelly Oliver: mystery author, philosophy professor, and president of Sisters in Crime. We’re celebrating her latest release, Murder in Moscow, which is part of her historical Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane mystery series.
In the interview below, Kelly and I chat about the new book, her various series, SinC, and more–including some of her works in progress that I’m particularly excited about.
Connect with Kelly on Instagram, Facebook, BookBub, and her website. Grab a copy of Murder in Moscow from your retailer of choice here.
Hi Kelly, it’s great to have you! Murder in Moscow, book eight in your Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane historical mystery series, follows the sleuth duo to Moscow. What did you love about setting a mystery in 1918 Russia? Were there challenges, either good or bad, with this time period and setting?
In 1918, Russia was in so much turmoil with so many factions, it was challenging to get the lay of the land. After the Russian Revolution a year earlier, Tzar Nicholas II and his family were under house arrest. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, had taken over the government. But there was civil unrest everywhere, with loyal Tzarists fighting against the revolutionaries.
When Murder in Moscow takes place, Russia has just signed a peace-treaty with Germany. Needless to say, the allies, especially England, are not happy. An intriguing piece of history that figures in the novel is called “The Ambassador’s Plot,” which was a plot hatched by “The Ace of Spies,” Sydney Reilly and the British Ambassador to Russia, Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart. Together with the ambassador to the United States and some Russian revolutionaries who were unhappy with the Bolsheviks, they plotted to assassinate Lenin and Trotsky.
The infamous Sydney Reilly was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond character. He was a Russian double agent working for British Intelligence; and yet rumor had it that he may have tipped off the Soviets to the Ambassador Plot, which is why it failed and the British Ambassador was arrested.
Another challenge in writing the novel was my desire to include the royal family. We all know the outcome for the Romanovs—although until recently, no one knew where to find their bodies. Countess Natalia Brasova was the wife of the Tzar’s brother, Michael. She is a fascinating character who escaped prison and eventually smuggled her young son and herself out of Russia to Denmark and then London and Paris. Fiona meets the countess, goes to prison with her, and escapes with her. It’s a lot of fun and based on history.
You have four series that span historical, suspense thriller, and middle grade mystery genres. How does your writing process vary between each genre? Do you have a favorite, and/or what mystery subgenre would you like to tackle next?
The Fiona Figg Mysteries always feature interesting figures from history, especially extraordinary “forgotten” women. For this series, I do a lot of research. And my choice of location and characters is driven by where I find important women who have been relegated to the dustbin of history or otherwise maligned. Women such as Margaretha Gertruida Zelle (a.k.a. Mata Hari), Mileva Einstein (Albert’s first wife who was also his unnamed collaborator), Anna Sacher (the cigar smoking proprietor of the Sacher Hotel), Lizzy Lind (who founded the Animal Defense Society), and many more.
My contemporary suspense series, The Jessica James Mysteries, requires a different type of research. Jessica is a philosophy PhD student studying the connection between Russian art and philosophy—hmmm . . . I see a recurrent theme. So, I have to do research on art. And I can bring in philosophy (from my other life as a philosophy professor), so that’s fun, especially when I can pepper the novels with “inside jokes” for philosophers. Jessica moves back and forth between Montana and Chicago. So that’s a delight. The novels set in Montana have a western flare, which I love.
Like my historical novels, this series focuses on women’s issues; and while they are contemporary women’s issues, unfortunately, some things haven’t changed as much as you’d think.
From a writer’s perspective, one big difference between the Jessica books and the Fiona books is this series is written in third person and features three different points of view. Fiona is first person from Fiona’s point of view. Although, in that regard, readers are in for a surprise with Murder in Moscow! I love writing alternating points of view. As a writer, multiple points of view make it easier to create suspense and dramatic irony. I absolutely love dramatic irony—when the reader knows more than the character.
The kids’ books are tons of fun. The Pet Detective Mysteries feature a lot of animals and facts about animals. The challenge there is to inhabit a twelve-year-old’s perspective. And the books have lots of riddles, which are cool and something I don’t do in the adult books.
Someday, I might like to try my hand at romance . . . or even science-fiction (sci-fi romance?). I really enjoy experimenting and challenging myself. I’m constantly learning new things about writing.
You are also currently serving as the president of Sisters in Crime, a writing organization that supports women crime writers. Can you speak about what you do in your position, and how you hope to grow and enhance SinC? Also, what advantages does SinC offer its members?
Sisters in Crime is a wonderful organization and offers so many resources to both readers and writers, including Reading Like a Writer book club, monthly webinars on the craft and business of writing, an amazing archive of webinars, various scholarships for writers, and plenty more. There’s just so much good stuff on the website. I recently found a research project supported by SinC on diverse cozy mysteries that included a nice list of cozies that lead me to some wonderful new authors, which is a blast.
As President, I work with the National Board to formulate plans for programming and continuing to diversify the organization, whose motto is, “Where Writers Belong.” We try to be as inclusive as possible and continue to challenge ourselves to grow and embrace our differences. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve this stellar organization.
Recently, we had an afternoon virtual retreat where all the volunteers got together and brainstormed how to make SinC better for both existing members and new members. It was such a thrill to throw out ideas with an enthusiastic group of SinC volunteers. The organization is run by volunteers. So, I encourage anyone so inclined to go to the website and volunteer. And don’t forget your local chapter! They need volunteers too. And if you’re not a member yet, you should check it out. It’s the best investment I’ve made in my writing career and a bargain at twice the price!
Lastly, what’s next for you? Do you have any upcoming releases to tease, and/or anything else you’re looking forward to?
The most exciting writing project on my horizon is an historical novel entitled Girls on the Hill based on real people and actual events at Los Alamos during World War II. Think Oppenheimer meets Hidden Figures.
The project was inspired by seeing the film Oppenheimer and asking, “Where are the women?” In the film there are only two developed women characters: Oppenheimer’s hysterical, alcoholic wife, and his depressive suicidal mistress. I came out of the theater determined to find out about the women scientists involved in the Manhattan Project.
There were hundreds, if not thousands, of women involved. I picked out three women and wrote a spy yarn based on their lives intertwined with the actual stories of Soviet spies at Los Alamos. Hmmm . . . there’s that Russian thing again. The book is currently with my agent. Stay tuned, and fingers crossed for its future.
And at present, I’m writing another Fiona Figg Mystery, Poisoned in Piccadilly, which takes Fiona back to London to plan her wedding, among other adventures, of course, including another locked room murder mystery or two.
Finally, I’ve signed another six-book contract with Boldwood Books for a new spin-off series involving members of The Detection Club, a group of mystery writers including Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie who got together regularly for dinner and shenanigans. The club still exists. My series will be set in the Golden Age and feature one recurring character from the Fiona series (not Fiona), along with Sayer and Christie and other prominent mystery writers of the 1930s. It’s going to be a blast!
Thanks so much to Kelly for the interview. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.