The first Cluesletter featured author of 2022 is USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett, who has four mystery series, three nonfiction books for writers, and a podcast under her belt. (You may also remember her mystery reader’s journal and planner, The Bookish Sleuth, which was featured in my 2021 Holiday Catalogue.)
Murder at the Mansions, the seventh installment in her High Society Lady Detective historical mystery series, hit shelves January 11, 2022. Learn more and find a retailer here. You can catch up with Sara on Instagram, Pinterest, BookBub, BingeBooks, and her website, sararosett.com.
Hi, Sara! Thanks for joining me. First, congratulations on the publication of Murder at the Mansions, which is out today! Book seven in your High Society Lady Detective series, it is set in 1920s London and features aristocrat-turned-detective Olive Belgrave. In your opinion, what makes a great literary sleuth? Did you draw on any specific inspiration when crafting Olive’s character?
Hi, Manon! I’m so happy to be here. Books and writing are two of my favorite topics, so this will be fun! Love this question. I think a good literary sleuth is someone you can identify with. You root for them to find the clues and figure out the puzzle. I enjoy sleuths who are smart and have interesting jobs or live in places I’d like to visit.
I’m fascinated by the 1920s and as I read Golden Age novels and learned about the Bright Young People, the character of Olive emerged. I wondered what it would be like to be part of an aristocratic circle, but struggle to make ends. I thought the contrast of high society life and financial strains would be an interesting mix and make for some good plots!
Between your blog and website, social media, and Amazon page, you have a very active online presence. What advice do you have for authors looking to build their online platform?
I try to always write first—and if I’m not writing, I’m usually thinking about what comes next in the book. I don’t have a posting schedule for social media. I just try to share things that I think my readers would like—books I’ve read or an image that catches my attention. I don’t think you need to be everywhere on social media. I used to try and do that, but it wore me out! Now I focus on my newsletter, a seasonal reader-focused podcast called Mystery Books Podcast, and Instagram.
In addition to your High Society Lady Detective series, you also write contemporary cozy and travel mysteries. How does writing your historical mysteries compare to your other series? Do you have different approaches to writing historical versus contemporary stories?
Yes, I do approach the books differently. With the historicals, I do a lot more research into the time period, learning details about language and social customs, and clothes. I often go down research rabbit trails to discover facts like how many homes had telephones in the early 1920s or when medicine cabinets became a standard feature in bathrooms.
For my contemporary cozies, settings inspire me. I often get a book idea based on a location—that’s how the Murder on Location series came about. I was interested in the historic homes where Jane Austen movie adaptions were set. I thought what fun it would be to write a series with a location scout for a Jane Austen movie as a sleuth. Of course that meant I had to research country mansions, Jane Austen, and location scouts—it was an interesting mix!
The writing process is basically the same for both the cozies and the historicals: I get a germ of an idea, read up on related things (1920s or location scouting or whatever it is) then create a rough outline with major plot points. Then the hard work of writing begins. I’ve never had a book flow easily from beginning to end. It often feels more like wrestling a bear! Once I have a draft, I revise it many times and I really enjoy that part.
The writing style of the historicals is more formal, but I get to use lots of 1920s slang, which is fun. I have yet to work in “bee’s knees,” but I hope to get that phrase into one of my books in the future!
How has your experience been with producing audiobook versions of your books? Do you have any tips for new authors looking to release audiobooks?
If you decide to produce your own audiobook, I think the best thing you can do is find a narrator who “gets” the characters. Once I know that the narrator shares my vision of the characters and the story, then I back off and let them do their thing. Audio is a new interpretation of the story, a performance, and I’m happy to hand that off to an expert in that field. I use Findaway Voices [for distribution] to reach as many readers/listeners as possible, including library sites like Hoopla. I have so many people who tell me they found me because my audiobook was in their library. It’s opened up a new readership for me.
Lastly, just for fun, if you were to embark on another historical mystery series, what era would you choose to write in?
Oh, that’s a tough one. Perhaps something in the Victorian era—although I’m not really sure. I’d probably stay close to the 1920s with either a new character in that time period or maybe move slightly along the timeline to the 1930s. I’ve had some readers ask if there will be Olive books set during the 1930s and that’s a possibility, but still a long way off. I’m seven books in and just now made it to 1924! 🙂
Thanks so much to Sara 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.