Interviews

Today’s featured author is Rob Osler, whose latest release, Cirque du Slay is—surprise!—a circus-themed mystery starring an unlikely group of friends. In the interview to follow, Rob and I talk about his LGBTQ+ ensemble cast, writing humor, his Edgar-award nominated short story, “Miss Direction,” and more.

Connect with Rob on Facebook, X, and his website. Grab a copy of Cirque du Slay from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Rob, it’s great to have you! Cirque du Slay is the second installment in your Hayden & Friends Mysteries series, which features four LGBTQ+ amateur sleuths. In this book, the four unlikely heroes solve a circus-themed murder mystery to clear their frenemy’s name. What do you love about these sleuths? What are the joys and challenges of having multiple sleuths solve a murder mystery?

Although the series’ top billing goes to pint-sized, twenty-five-year-old Hayden McCall, it is very much an ensemble cast. The “Cast Approach” allows for each character to bring their talents forward to solve the mystery. None of them alone could solve the crime. Hollister, Hayden’s bestie, a butch lesbian, is confident and bold and drives the action. Without Hollister, Hayden would be perfectly happy sitting on the sidelines. Burley, whose sexual identity is never clearly defined, delivers the over-the-top comedic humor. Jess, who is introduced in book two, Cirque du Slay, is a trans man and lawyer. Jess is calm in the storm. There is also a straight member of the oddball crime-fighting troop: ninety-one-year-old Jerry. His role in the romp is to serve as the brains of the operation and give Hayden some mature advice and quieter moments to unravel the crime.

Any series requires a recurring cast of characters for whom readers—hopefully!—create attachments. This also gives me more characters to create future plot lines around.

I love the fun and quirky themes of this series. How do you balance humor and mystery into your works? And/or, why do you think it’s important to include fun and eccentric themes in a murder mystery?

Ha! Thanks. I think it’s a stylistic choice for each author. For me, I wrote the series with a humorous bent and with offbeat characters because I enjoy that type of book (along with other flavors of mysteries and thrillers).

I was very intentional that the series’ queer characters be neither victims nor villains.  From Will & Grace to Schitt’s Creek, I love comedic characters who are dialed in and over the top without becoming baffoons. I tried to push them—especially Burley—as far as I could without her becoming ridiculous. I think of Hayden & Friends as humorous fiction as much as mysteries.

Congratulations on your recent nomination for Mystery Writers of America 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award! Your short story, “Miss Direction,” is up for Best Short Story. What inspired this story? What do you love about short-form mysteries versus full-length novels? (Note: “Miss Direction” is kindly available to read for free via Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.)

Decades ago, American writer John Kennedy Toole wrote A Confederacy of Dunces. The novel went on to become a cult classic and mainstream success and earned Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The story’s main character was like no other I’d read—he was, in a word, bananas. I’ve always wanted to write a character in that vein who was at once quirky (and then some) but also strangely likable. I hope I succeeded in doing that with Miss Direction’s main sleuth, Perry Winkle.

Short stories are a distinct challenge in that, presuming they’re a whodunit as mine are, you have to present the crime and suspects and solve it all within about five thousand words. I enjoy the challenge of compressing all the essentials of a traditional mystery within that constraint. And you might guess, it’s less work than a novel! You reach “THE END” much sooner, which can be satisfying.

Your upcoming series, Harriet Morrow Investigates, set in 19th-century Chicago, introduces an intrepid new detective. Can you share a little bit about this upcoming release, slated for release early next year?

I actually got an update from Kensington, the series’s publisher,  that the pub date for book one in the Harriet Morrow Investigates series, The Case of the Missing Maid, is Christmas Eve 2024! The series is set in 1898 Chicago. Harriet Morrow is hired on a trial basis as the first female operative at the Prescott Detective Agency. Wearing men’s shoes and a bowler hat and conducting her investigation by bicycle, Harriet is in many ways an unconventional young woman—not the least of which is being attracted to women. Determined to prove herself and carve a path for women who might follow, Harriet sets out to solve her first case: a maid has disappeared from a south-side mansion!

Lastly, what else is on the horizon for you? Can you share any projects you’re currently working on, updates on future books, and/or what you’re looking forward to next?

I’m working on book two in the Harriet Morrow Investigates series, tentatively titled The Case of the Murdered Muckraker. I have also just received word that my second short story featuring loveable but bonkers sleuth Perry Winkle, titled “Not the Usual Boy,” will appear in an upcoming edition of—again—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

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Thanks so much to Rob 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.

I am so pleased to welcome Katie Tietjen as today’s featured author. Her debut novel, Death in the Details, is a historical mystery inspired by the mother of forensic science: Frances Glessner Lee’s dollhouse-sized dioramas of true crime scenes helped train homicide investigators in the 1940s.

In today’s interview, Katie and I talk about this inspiration, plus historical research, writing mysteries, and more. (As a note, I’m in the middle of the book, and I’m really, really enjoying it. Cozy, clever, heartfelt, and unique—I think a lot of Cluesletter subscribers will enjoy it.)

Connect with Katie on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Grab a copy of Death in the Details from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Katie, it’s great to have you! The heroine of your story, Maple Bishop, is a dollhouse maker who has to sell her work after the death of her husband—but Maple’s first customer is found dead, and she uses her skills to recreate the crime scene to help solve the case. What do you love about Maple’s character? What qualities make her a great fictional sleuth?

Thanks so much!

One thing I love about Maple is her unswerving commitment to justice. After the sheriff brushes off her concerns that details at the scene of her customer’s death point to foul play, she refuses to be deterred. Her decision to put her dollhouse-making skills to use in a creative new way really shows her moral compass; initially, her goal is to use her “nutshell” to persuade the sheriff to continue his investigation, but when he refuses, she decides to investigate herself. She’s going to do what she knows is right, even if it causes her to ruffle people’s feathers and even make some enemies along the way.

Death in the Details is inspired by the real-life mother of forensic science, Frances Glessner Lee, who created highly detailed miniature models of crime scenes to help homicide investigations. What prompted you to take inspiration from Lee’s life and work?

I am a Frances Glessner Lee superfan! I think one thing that really grabbed me about her story was her fascinating mashup of the traditionally feminine art of miniature-making with the male-dominated field of forensics. I was lucky enough to get to go see her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death when they were on rare public display at the Smithsonian and I marveled at her craftsmanship and attention to detail. She’s using these scenes to simultaneously tell stories and pose questions; as a viewer, you’re drawn into this tiny world where something has gone terribly wrong, and I think it’s human nature to be curious about that and to want to restore order to the chaos caused by unexpected death.

I immediately had the idea of using the Nutshells to frame a series in which each book centers on a different one of Lee’s miniature scenes. Death in the Details is based on the one called “Barn.”

The book is also a historical mystery, set just after the end of World War Two. Can you tell me a little bit about the historical setting? What kind of research did you do while writing the book?

I decided to set the story in a (fictional) small New England town. I knew I wanted my protagonist to be a person who makes and sells dollhouses, and it seemed like it made sense to put her there rather than, say, in a big city. Also, I live in a small New England town myself, so it was easy for me to imagine Maple in one.

In terms of research, I was lucky enough to get to travel not only to Washington, DC, to see the Nutshells, but also to both of Lee’s former homes that are available to the public: Glessner House Museum in Chicago and to the Rocks estate in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. I’ve read a lot of WWII-era historical fiction, which helped prepare me to write a story set in this era.

As I was drafting, I also did a lot of Googling. One fun thing for me was when I accidentally discovered interesting tidbits that I wasn’t necessarily setting out to learn. Often, these details worked themselves into the book. For example, when I was researching war rationing, I found out that Kraft macaroni and cheese was a popular item during this time; I decided to make Maple a mac ’n cheese aficionado, and she even names her cat after this boxed dinner! In a story with a lot of dark themes, I felt I needed some lighthearted elements like this.

Since this is your debut novel, can I ask what you’ve learned during the writing and publishing process? What advice do you have for new writers, and/or what would you tell your past self when preparing to publish?

I’ve learned so much! One thing that stands out to me is how many kind, generous people gave me feedback, advice, and encouragement along the way. I was lucky to find various communities of writers both online and in person, including Society of Children’s Book Writers and Editors, Sisters in Crime, Pitch Wars, and the 5th Semester. For me, it was important to have people who were more experienced in the writing and publishing world give me guidance both about the craft of writing and about the business/marketing side of the industry.

I think it’s also important to be patient and open to feedback. I treated the whole experience of drafting, revising, and trying to get published as a learning experience, tweaking my approach and strategy when needed. It took me nine months of querying before I signed with my agent, and she didn’t sign me immediately; her first reaction to my query was a rejection with a suggestion to “revise and resubmit.” She gave me a really thoughtful edit letter with her ideas to improve the manuscript, and she was 100 percent correct; I’m extremely glad I put in some extra work and ultimately signed with her.

Lastly, what else are you looking forward to? Do you have any other books, events, and/or other projects on your horizon that you’d like to share?

I’m really excited to have multiple events lined up at public libraries and bookstores in the coming months! You can see a list of them on the events page of my website. Also, I’m working on two manuscripts right now. One is another Maple Bishop book based around a different one of Frances Glessner Lee’s nutshells and the other is a contemporary mystery featuring three librarians as amateur sleuth protagonists.

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Thanks so much to Katie 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.

Today’s featured author is Emmeline Duncan, whose Ground Rules mysteries blend coffee and murder. I thoroughly enjoyed her latest release, Death Unfiltered, for the cozy Portland setting and coffee themes (plus its cute pink cover!).

In the interview below, we chat about the new book, her writing process, and her upcoming Halloween-themed cozy. Also included are Emmeline’s tips for supporting local bookstores. 😊📚

Connect with Emmeline on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and her website. Grab a copy of Death Unfiltered from your retailer of choice here (or nab a signed copy from Annie Bloom’s Books).

Hi Emmeline, thanks so much for joining! Death Unfiltered is the fourth installment in your Ground Rules Mystery series. In this book, barista-slash-sleuth Sage Caplin opens a new permanent coffee shop in addition to her existing coffee carts. What do you love about using a coffee theme for these books? And/or, how have you enjoyed seeing the series and its characters grow over four books?

Portland has a robust coffee scene, with different micro-roasters and small shops in every neighborhood. So it felt like the “right” sort of business to use as a starting point since the city’s infatuated—maybe oversaturated—with coffee. 

And as big as coffee is in Portland, it’s an international product mostly grown in the “Bean Belt” (a.k.a. the band around Earth that basically falls between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer), which doesn’t include Oregon, as the state is too far north. But as I like to joke, anything can wash up in Portland, including world-class coffee. It also symbolizes how interconnected we are, even if we don’t always realize it, just like how crimes ripple through our lives and communities, even if we’re not fully conscious of it (which is something I play with in Death Unfiltered). 

I’ve enjoyed watching Sage’s life evolve over the series, from nurturing her fledgling business to running a small but hopefully growing empire. Sage and [her business partner] Harley are unapologetically competitive and only partially joking when they say they’re aiming for world coffee domination. But they’re compassionate and care about their employees, have good relationships with fellow coffee roasters, and care about their impact on the world, which are fundamental parts of Sage’s worldview. It’s always fun to throw in a murder to make Sage need to adapt on the fly, just when she’s starting to feel like she has everything in control.

The Ground Rules books are set in Portland, Oregon, and the setting adds its own character to the books. With so many cozies set in (often fictional) small towns, what makes a city like Portland a fun setting for mysteries?

Portland is a wonderful, frequently quirky place, and it feels like a natural setting for a cozy mystery. One of my goals is to show the Portland I know and love on the page.

When I first thought of writing a mystery here, I realized a coffee cart was perfect. The city and surrounding suburbs have multiple food cart pods, which started out as a way to turn an empty lot into something useful. However, some of the original pods have since been developed into new buildings, and some of the new pods are now custom-built and de facto community centers. But all of these food cart pods are essentially small communities. Which creates the sort of community one finds in a cozy mystery, even if it’s against the backdrop of a larger city. 

One added bonus of using a coffee cart as the center of a mystery is that it’s mobile. In the second book, it allowed me to take Sage, my main character, and Ground Rules on the road to an eco-music festival set in the outskirts of Portland; we then returned to the heart of the city for books three and four. Like many food cart owners, Sage dreams of opening a brick-and-mortar shop. In book four, she makes the jump, and, of course, death follows. 

With the action of each mystery centered in a larger city (versus a small town), I can mix up the cast of suspects when each mystery focuses on a different subgroup that Sage comes across. This gives me a broad mix of potential suspects, victims, and villains while keeping the community-driven feel that is so wonderful in cozy mysteries.

What does your writing process look like, particularly for mystery? Are you an outliner, or do you like to write and see how the mystery unfolds?

I’m halfway between a pantser (discovery writer) and a plotter (outliner). I know who committed the crime and why, although I don’t know all the small details in the middle of the story. Over time, I’ve fallen closer to the plotter side since I need to submit an outline to my publisher in advance.

One thing I like to mention when I talk about writing is that there’s no right or wrong way to write a novel. The only thing that matters is the end result: the final manuscript. If that works, you can take whatever twisty road you need while writing it.

You have another book coming out this year: Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop kicks off a brand-new Halloween themed cozy series. Can you share a little bit about this upcoming release? What inspired the theme, and/or what are you most looking forward to in these books?

I’m so excited for Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop to be released. The world of Elyan Hollow and the Lazy Bones Bookshop was a fun place to visit, and I’m so happy I get to write more mysteries set in that world!

As far as inspiration, several Oregon towns were used as the filming sites for beloved movies. Their involvement on the big screen has crept into their identity (or, at least, their tourist board’s marketing plans). The biggest example is Astoria, which is known for The Goonies (although additional movies have been filmed there) and has an annual Goonies Day festival.  

But Astoria isn’t the only town known for its fictional self. A small town less than twenty miles from Portland, St Helens, was the filming site for the Halloweentown movies, plus a few scenes in Twilight (like Bella’s house, which is now an Airbnb). The town has a well-attended annual Spirit of Halloweentown Festival each year that runs from late September through October. 

I’ve always wanted to play with the idea of a town being known as a filming site and running with it to create something unique. So Elyan Hollow was born, a highly fictionalized version of St Helens that rebranded itself into a year-round Halloween destination. The town is far enough away from Portland to still feel like a small town but close enough to the city to draw crowds to its annual Halloween festival.

My main character, Bailey, has taken over her family’s bookshop, Lazy Bones Books, and she’s determined to succeed. She decides to hold a Spooky Season Literary Festival during the Halloween Festival. She manages to book three amazing authors, including a horror author who is also a hometown hero returning to Elyan Hollow for the first time. And since this is a cozy mystery, death is a surprise festival visitor. Luckily, Bailey has her librarian BFF, Colby, and her Great Pyrenees sidekick, Jack, to help her investigate the crime.

Lastly, what else are you looking forward to? Do you have any other books, events, and/or other projects on your horizon that you’d like to share?

One event I’m really looking forward to is the Ashland Mystery Festival from October 17th to 20th. The festival is highly reader-focused, with a mix of free events, like panels at the local library and author pop-ups around town, plus ticketed events like Mystery Dinners, plays, and more. There’s a mystery for attendees to solve that will take them around Ashland. (If you’ve never been to Ashland, it’s a charming town in Southern Oregon known for its annual Shakespeare festival which runs from late March into mid-October.) There will be fourteen different authors at the festival, including me!

I do my best to keep my website up to date with my events, so readers can check here to find out more information about my Books & Bites talk in July in McMinnville, Oregon. Or my mid-May trip to Yakima, Washington, for the Ground Opening of the Traveling Book Bus in Yakima, Washington, which will include Edgar Award-winning author Tamara Berry (who also writes as Lucy Gilmore), Katee Roberts, and additional amazing authors.

Bonus! Signed copies and bookstore recs from Emmeline:

My local indie bookstore, Annie Bloom’s Books, has a page for readers to purchase signed books. I also partner with Annie Bloom’s for pre-order campaigns that include swag. Click here to order. 

Beach Books in Seaside, Oregon is also a great online book option. I drop by their store regularly to sign books, although I can’t commit to fulfilling signed books requests through them. But one great reason to buy from them is, in addition to supporting a fantastic small shop, they include free ARCs in their online orders. Click here to visit their website.

And for anyone without access to a local bookshop, I always recommend Bookshop.org to readers, since they support independent bookstores while also being an excellent online choice. Click here to shop. (But if you have a local bookstore, please support them.)

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Thanks so much to Emmeline 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.

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!

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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.

Today’s featured author is Paula Charles, who has not one but two cozy mysteries hitting shelves this year! Out now is her debut, Hammers and Homicide, which is set at a hardware store and features a spunky older sleuth.

In our interview, Paula chats about the new release, plus the first book in her upcoming Zen Goat mystery series (written as Janna Rollins), and what she’s learned about publishing so far. Thanks to Paula for the great interview—you’re such a joy to work with!

Connect with Paula on Instagram and Facebook, and her website. Grab a copy of Hammers and Homicide from your retailer of choice here.

​​Hi Paula, thanks so much for joining! Hammers and Homicide kicks off your Hometown Hardware mystery series, which features a small town hardware store. What do you love about this as a cozy mystery theme? What inspired you to set a mystery series around a hardware store?

Hi Manon! Thanks so much for inviting me here. I’ve followed you for several years and have to admit I’m a little bit fangirling over here! [😭❤️—M]

For me, the idea of setting a cozy mystery in a small-town hardware store seemed like a natural fit. I grew up in a town similar to my fictional Pine Bluff, Oregon, where my grandmother owned and operated the hardware store. Along with my siblings, I spent many hours in that store, dusting shelves and counting nails. When I thought about trying my hand at writing a cozy mystery, my grandmother and the hardware store immediately came to mind. It seemed like everybody in town was in and out of that store on a regular basis, so what better place for the heroine to keep her finger on the pulse of the town and gather information? Plus, there’s a whole lot of potential murder weapons lying around!

Your sleuth in Hammers and Homicide, Dawna Carpenter, is a recent sexagenarian widow who finds herself in charge of her own hardware store after the death of her husband. What do you love about Dawna’s character? What qualities, in your opinion, make for a unique and effective cozy mystery heroine?

Dawna is such a fun character to write. She’s spunky and feisty, but at the same time a truly nice person. She’s a capable businesswoman, confident in who she is and in her own abilities. At the same time, she’s the first to laugh at herself when things go awry. She’s loyal to the people she loves, and while she won’t think twice about voicing her opinion, she’ll also still have their backs, even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with their actions.

Dawna has learned over the years to stand up for herself, which might make her seem nosy and pushy at times, but it also makes her a good amateur sleuth. She’s friendly and polite, most of the time, and that really helps in her investigations when people aren’t afraid to open up to her.

You also have another release coming up this year! An Escape Goat, book one in the Zen Goat mystery series written as Janna Rollins, is scheduled for March 2024. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired this series? Did your writing process differ for the two books?

Yes, I’m excited about this series! This series was inspired by the goats in my own farmyard. Bugsy is the star of the show in An Escape Goat and is based off of our own Bugsy, who has sadly passed now. He was a complete ham and really loved his people. Anytime he’d hear the house door open, he’d scream to make sure we didn’t forget to bring him a carrot and scratch behind his ears. I’m so happy I get to keep his memory alive between the pages of a book!

Even though there isn’t a goat yoga studio on our little farm, there is in the Zen Goat Mysteries. The series is set on a farm in New Hampshire with goat yoga and newfound family. I was able to combine my love of goats, New England, red barns, and family stories to create this series.

My writing process did differ between Hammers and Homicide and An Escape Goat somewhat. With Hammers, I had never written a full-length book before. I started out with a general idea and just sat down and wrote by the seat of my pants. Because of that, it was missing some key elements but I wasn’t sure what. I had the idea for An Escape Goat, so decided to take Ellie Alexander’s Mystery Series Masterclass. It was game changing! I’m still not an outliner, but now I know some key elements of my story before I begin writing and it goes so much smoother! Plus, taking that course opened my eyes to what was missing in Hammers. I went back and rewrote it, and here we are!

After coming into a writing career later in life, what have you learned so far about the writing and publishing journey? And/or, what are you most excited about in your future career?

On the writing side of things, I’ve learned that it’s never too late. If you have a dream or a desire to do something, jump in and give it a try. Never stop learning and improving your craft. Keep going! As far as the publishing side of things, I knew less than nothing. I think my biggest surprise has been the sheer amount of time everything takes in the traditional publishing world.

One of my greatest joys in this new endeavor has been how absolutely supportive and welcoming the mystery writing (and reading!) community is. You think of writing as a solitary career and I did not expect the camaraderie and amazing friends that I’ve already made on this journey. It’s true that a rising tide raises all boats.

Lastly, what’s on your horizon? Do you have any future releases to tease, and/or anything else you’re looking forward to?

Fingers crossed, more of the same! Book two of the Hometown Hardware Mysteries is written and I’m just waiting, impatiently, to hear from my publisher with contract news. I’m contracted for three books in the Zen Goat Mysteries, so look for An Escape Goat in March with more to follow!

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Thanks so much to Paula 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.

Today’s interviewee is the inimitable Janice Hallett, whose bestselling whodunits play with structure and format to become an immersive experience. Her latest, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, is a headfirst dive into cults, old secrets, and good old fashioned professional rivalry. In the interview below, Janice and I chat about the new book, plus her writing process and what to expect next from her.

And, as I’ve said many times, I’m a huge fan of Janice’s novels and highly recommend them, including this latest release. If you haven’t tried her books yet, perhaps this will inspire you to give them a go—truly, you can’t go wrong with any of them, but if you need my input, I have a TikTok for that.

Connect with Janice on Instagram and Twitter/X. Grab a copy of The Mysterious Case of The Alperton Angels from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Janice, thanks so much for joining! The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels follows two rival journalists as they work to unravel the decades-old mystery of the infamous Alperton Angels cult.  What drew you to true crime, and cults specifically, as the focal points of this story?

I’m fascinated by the extremes of human behaviour, so I’ve loved the true crime genre for as long as I can remember—since reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote thirty years ago. There’s something about real crimes and mysteries that fiction just can’t compete with. Having said that, the fact that this genre makes entertainment from other people’s worst experiences plays on my mind. It was from that inner conflict The Mysterious Case of The Alperton Angels was born. 

Cults are a very particular type of criminal situation, because the victims appear willing and even fight to stay in that place of exploitation. As a society we are only just beginning to understand the nature and power of coercive control. Cults operate on the basis of predator and prey, the same as any crime. A cult leader will target people who are at their most vulnerable – for example, people who are recently bereaved, at difficult times in their lives, or simply very young and insecure. They find out what someone is looking for and then fill that gap in their life. This is a ploy to manipulate that victim into a situation of dependence and powerlessness. It doesn’t have to be a big organization with many members either. You can have a cult of two people: leader and follower. It’s the same core dynamics of coercive control.

Cult theory fascinates me because it’s not true to say that a particular type of person is susceptible to joining a cult. It’s truer to say we are all vulnerable to coercive control at various points in our lives. The more aware you are of how, why and when you might be vulnerable, the better placed you are to protect yourself from controlling individuals and organizations.

Like The Appeal, this is an epistolary novel: the mystery unfolds through letters, emails, text messages, interview transcriptions, and other correspondence. How do you plot these kinds of novels? Do you write certain types of correspondence at a time, or write in chronological order? What is most challenging (and, perhaps, most rewarding) about this format?

I don’t do a lot of plotting in advance. I prefer to let my imagination run riot and allow the characters to steer the narrative, especially as I create that first draft. I’ll write chronologically in terms of the book, but not in terms of time.

For instance, in The Appeal we read a certain amount of correspondence and form an opinion on what might or might not have happened, then we’re given another batch of letters from the same time period—and they shed new light on what was also happening at the time. Those emails were written in the order they appear in the book. This format is a great way to see a story from multiple perspectives—because an epistolary novel is very much a sequence of first-person narratives. The limitations are generally around the setting. Characters have to cheekily reveal where they are and when they’re writing, which can be a challenge!

What strikes me as especially unique about your writing is your ability to craft vivid characters through their correspondence. How do you find each character’s “voice,” and/or what do you do to ensure they and their messages feel realistic?

I imagine my process is similar to that of an actor, who will work to get under the skin of a character, so they can project them with conviction and authenticity. I’ll imagine myself as a character in order to write from their point of view. I hope that means the reader feels the same way, and that with each letter, text or email they see the world from that character’s perspective.

It’s an aim of both reading and writing crime novels that we gain some understanding of why people commit crimes—if we can understand that, then we can better protect ourselves from danger in the future. It’s that fear, and that desire to shield ourselves from danger, that underpins the entire crime genre—both crime fiction and true crime. Getting beneath the skin of all the characters involved is key.

How has your background in editing, journalism, and government communication informed and influenced your fiction writing? Are there any interesting overlaps between your careers?

My former lives working as different sorts of writer have given me a healthy respect for deadlines and the ability to write when I don’t feel in the mood for writing. Now I have a lot more deadlines, that is a very useful skill indeed! I think confidence is a large part of novel writing and my previous careers helped there too. It takes confidence to start writing a book, to stick at it during the tricky first draft stage, and then rewrite it to other people’s feedback.

The format of my novels—as correspondence between characters—has a direct link to my former life as a script writer for stage and screen. My novels can feel as if you’re eavesdropping on people who don’t realise their conversations can be heard. Scriptwriting, where you deliver character through dialogue has been very informative there.

Lastly, what’s on the horizon for you? Do you have any upcoming releases or other projects you’d like to share?

I’m editing my next novel The Examiner, to be published in September this year. It’s another unconventional narrative where we are reading the coursework and essays for a small-group Masters Degree: the examiner thinks one of the students died on the course and the others covered it up, but is he correct?Meanwhile I’m writing my sixth novel—scheduled for publication in 2025—while also working on pilot scripts for The Twyford Code and The Alperton Angels. Scriptwriting is a fantastic foil to novel writing because it’s so collaborative. With a novel, it’s just you and the text for months on end. While scriptwriting, you’re surrounded by other people: producers, the director, executives, and script editors who are available to bounce ideas off. The structure of a script means it’s written much faster too, and the process is less intense. My ideal day is to work on a novel in the morning and a script in the afternoon.

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Thanks so much to Janice 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.

Today’s featured author is Vicki Delany, whose latest release, The Sign of Four Spirits, is book nine in her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series.

In the interview to follow, Vicki and I chat about her Holmsian knowledge, how she approaches writing different series, and her advice for authors earlier in their careers. As you’ll learn, Vicki is a busy author, writing multiple series and celebrating three more releases this year—so, four new books total in 2024!

Connect with Vicki on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Grab a copy of The Sign of Four Spirits from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Vicki, thanks so much for joining! The Sign of Four Spirits is book nine in your Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series, starring sleuth Gemma Doyle and her inherited mystery bookstore. What do you love about blending this classic detective with a contemporary cozy series? Are there any fun Sherlockian facts or details that you’ve especially enjoyed including in the books?

Gemma Doyle is my version of Sherlock Holmes recreated as a modern young woman, and I thought she could comfortably fit into the cozy genre as an amateur sleuth who owns a bookshop. I know quite a lot about Sherlock Holmes, but I am by no means an expert, and I’m not writing for experts. But I enjoy throwing in the occasional “Easter egg” to amuse those who do know the finer points of the canon.

For example, there are seventeen steps in the bookshop, and there were seventeen steps at 221B Baker Street. The shop cat is named Moriarty [like Sherlock Holmes’s famous nemesis], and he hates Gemma. That stuff is always fun, as is simply thinking, What would Sherlock Holmes do? and having Gemma do it.

In The Sign of Four Spirits, Gemma investigates a séance that results in a murder—one that could only have been committed by someone inside the séance room. How did you approach plotting this mystery? What did you enjoy about including supernatural elements like a séance?

“Possible” supernatural elements. I started this book with a one-word idea: séance. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a very committed spiritualist and he wrote quite a few books on the subject. I’ve always found that interesting considering his greatest creation was such a non-superstitious person. Like Holmes would do, Gemma goes to the seance as a total non-believer, because someone has asked her to accompany them. The medium immediately picks up on her powers of observation and bans Gemma from the room. So she, naturally, listens from the other side of the door. 

Are there supernatural elements in this book? That’s for the reader to discover. Gemma doesn’t think so.

You have several mystery series under your belt, including the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries, the Tea by the Sea Mysteries, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates). Do you have a favorite series to write? Does your writing process change depending on the series?

I love them all! But I have to say I particularly enjoy writing the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop books because it is fun to try to recreate the Great Detective while keeping the character modern and female.

In the Lighthouse Library series, the classic novel the library book club is reading is loosely reflected in the plot of my book, and I enjoy finding, and reading, a classic that suits the theme I’m wanting to develop.

The writing process between the series is the very same. I’m a semi-outliner, meaning I start writing by the seat of my pants and write about a quarter of the book. Then I stop, and outline the rest.

Having written so many novels, what advice would you give your younger self? Do you have advice for newer writers and authors hoping to find similar writing success?

I don’t know that I’d give younger self any advice other than that which I’d give to newer writers: Persistence is the key. It’s a tough business and it’s getting tougher, so you just have to keep going in terms of writing and trying to get published, if that’s your goal. My other advice is to read, and read often and widely. Reading is how we learn our craft.

One thing I did have to learn is to trust yourself as a writer. Don’t give up when you hit a bad point in the book. Work through it.

Lastly, what’s next for you? I see you have some upcoming releases on the horizon—can you tell us about those, and/or anything else you’re looking forward to?

The next book out will be A Stranger in the Library, the eleventh Lighthouse Library book (written as Eva Gates) in June. The fifth Tea by the Sea book, Trouble is Brewing, comes in July, and then the seventh Year Round Christmas book, A Slay Ride Together With You, in September. So, a busy year. In personal news, I’m writing this on a plane to Ecuador where I’ll be visiting the Amazon basin and the Galapagos, so I’m really looking forward to that!

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Thanks so much to Vicki 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.

Today’s featured author is Geri Krotow, whose Kielbasa Queen mysteries are an homage to 1980s upstate New York and Polish-American cuisine. In the interview below, Geri and I chat about the inspiration behind this series, her cozy mystery sleuth, writing in multiple genres, and more.

Connect with Geri on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Grab a copy of The Pierogi Peril from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Geri, it’s great to have you! The Pierogi Peril is the second book in your Kielbasa Queen mystery series, a Polish-American culinary cozy series set in upstate New York in 1982. What do you love about this Polish culinary theme? What sparked the idea for this series?

Hi, Manon—thank you so much for having me at the Cluesletter! Let’s get right to it. I grew up in Western New York surrounded by Polish American culture, and am of at least 50% Polish ancestry according to my DNA. 😊 I’ve always had story ideas around this swirling in my mind’s “idea” compartment, but nowhere to put them. Then the main character, Lydia, showed up (my characters almost always appear before the plot). I knew she was a chef of some sort, then that she was the daughter of a butcher. She knew her way around her father’s butcher shop. The original story line took place in the present day, and I had her being a vegan because I liked the juxtaposition. But I hadn’t lived in Cheektowaga or Buffalo since I left for the Naval Academy (way back in the last century). I had a lot of research to do, and time to catch up on! But my agent posed the best idea ever when she said “unless you set it in the 1980s…” More brainstorming and MANY revisions later, we had a solid proposal that the publisher liked so much, they bought it!

I love a good cozy mystery sleuth. What do you love about your protagonist, Lydia Wienewski? What character traits do you admire about her, and how does she use them to solve mysteries?

I love Lydia’s tenacity. She was raised with a strong—maybe too strong at times—work ethic. Lydia won’t stop until she gets a job done, whether it’s butchering meat and then arranging it appealingly on trays for her father’s butcher shop display cases, making a batch of pierogi—Polish dumplings—for the lunch crowd at her recently opened Lydia’s Lakeside Café and Bakery, or figuring out a killer’s motivation. Her natural curiosity certainly helps her dig up the most obscure clues. And her empathy, for the victim and human beings in general, make her an ideal sleuth. Her devotion to family and friends is admirable to me, too. Lydia will do anything for her family, and her deep bond with Grandma Mary makes their stories so fun to write.

You also write in other genres, like women’s fiction and romantic suspense. What have you learned writing these other books? Are there any interesting overlaps between cozy mystery and the other genres you write?

Thank you for asking this—I have so much to say, but I’ll try to keep it simple. 😊 First, story is story. Characterization and plot are common to all fiction (or… should be). 

Strong characters, and by that I mean characters that are fully developed, whether they are the protagonist, the victim of a crime, or a grocery clerk, the characters need to read as real and authentic. No reliance on stereotypes! My characterization bible remains GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon.

Next, plot. Plot has different progressions depending on the genre or subgenre, but again, story is story. There will be a time “before” the current story on the page began, a “call to action” as described by many story guides before us. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler (and his presentations with Michael Hague) and On Writing by Stephen King come to mind.

And now, my big reveal. I don’t think I’m telling a different story than I did with my very first book, which falls under women’s fiction by today’s marketing. The vehicle, in this case, the genre I’m using to convey the story, has evolved over several books, series, and—gulp!—decades. The heart of my stories remains authentic characters who have compelling reasons to be together (or not) and who must face their own inner demons in order to achieve their dreams. Lydia has to look at herself, her goal of running her Polish American restaurant and bakery, and weigh it with what she considers her family obligation to keep Pop’s butcher business profitable. When dead bodies show up, as they do in cozy mysteries, Lydia doesn’t balk. She goes after the elixir, which means she has to get the murder solved ASAP in order to keep her family afloat.  

After writing so many books (in so many genres!), what advice would you give to new writers? And/or, do you have tips for plotting a mystery in particular? 

Welcome all writers, especially those of you who are just beginning this journey! We need your story, your voice. Never give up! Keep going! Attend conferences, connect with other writers—hello, Bouchercon, Sisters in Crime—and read. Read as though your pants are on fire. I’ve been studying Agatha Christie and many contemporary mystery/crime authors for a very long time. While there has always been an element of suspense (and often, a dead body!) in all of my books, including my earliest romances, a cozy mystery requires a variety of suspects to choose from. Mystery readers are savvy and particular. They will forgive many things but are least likely to ignore either an easy puzzle to solve or worse, a large plot hole. 

Lastly, what’s next for you? Will there be more Kielbasa Queen books, and/or any other upcoming releases?

No news yet on future Kielbasa Queen mysteries, but my fingers and toes are crossed that I’ll have something to share soon! Lydia and Grandma Mary have so many more adventures to share!

I also write the Shop ’Round the World series, a contemporary cozy mystery series set in a fictionalized version of where I live in Central Pennsylvania. As you can imagine, the characters and sites in this locally set series are constantly reminding me that they have more stories to tell, too.

I’m also playing around with a stand-alone thriller, but that might be more of an exercise in creativity than a publishable novel. Only my muse knows!

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Thanks so much to Geri 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.

I’m pleased to be welcoming John Hatch as today’s featured author, for the Cluesletter’s first-ever nonfiction book feature! John’s new release, “What Do You Mean, Murder?” Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic is a deep dive into the making of the 1985 film—one that I know many of you, like me, absolutely love.

In the interview below, John walks me through his inspiration for writing, the book’s structure, and some of the most surprising facts about the movie.

Connect with John on Instagram and his website. Grab a copy of Poster Girl from your retailer of choice here.

Hi John, thanks so much for joining! “What Do You Mean, Murder?” Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic is a new exploration of the classic 1985 film. What drew you to this film initially, and why did you write the book?

I felt like I’d been waiting for someone else to write this book for ages. It seemed obvious—Clue is this beloved film that’s grown from flop to cult classic, and there was so little information about how it was actually made. Then, in early 2021, when theaters were still showing older movies during the pandemic, I saw it for the first time in a movie theater since I was nine years old. I noticed things on the big screen I hadn’t seen before, and it spurred me to start researching. I found there was a lot more information than I expected, and it went from there.

Why do you think Clue has become a cult classic? In your opinion, why do contemporary audiences still love it?

I think most people discover Clue as kids, and they’re drawn to the slapstick and the farce. There are people crashing into each other, silly jokes, and rapid-fire dialogue. In the 1980s and 1990s, Clue was on cable TV a lot, before there was anything like 500 channels or on-demand streaming. That’s how kids found it. Then as they grew up, it was a nostalgic part of their childhood. They kept watching and noticed the more grown-up themes of corruption, sexual politics, and the Red Scare. Those now-grown-up fans introduced it to their friends and their partners and their own kids. It keeps managing to find new viewers.

How did you approach writing this story? What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

I decided early on that I wanted to take this in a little bit different direction than most production histories and “making-of” books. Those typically unfold chronologically through the development, writing, casting, and then the shooting schedule. Most films aren’t shot sequentially—that is, in the order the scenes in the film appear. They’re shot based on location and actor availability. A scene at the beginning of the movie and a scene at the end of the movie might be shot on the same day, in other words. But knowing that my book would mostly appeal to fans, I wanted to walk them through the movie that they know so well and practically have memorized. After I talk about development and writing and casting the film, I start with the opening shots and take readers through the movie, moment by moment. In that sense, the book is something of a detailed annotation of the film. I cover everything from the shooting schedule to the lighting, the props to the soundtrack.

The most challenging part of writing the book was also the most surprising to me. As I got into telling the story, I became acutely aware that I was writing about people who are still living, people who I don’t know. I’m a historian who is usually writing about people who are long-since deceased. That wasn’t the case here. I was surprised at my own discomfort in writing about these people. I’m wary of celebrity culture—of the way we talk about famous people as if we know them just because we’ve seen them in movies or on talk shows or, worse, in the tabloids. We don’t know them! They aren’t our friends. And so I was determined to be fair to them. A few times in the book I think this worry about fairness led me to swing the pendulum too far the other way—I was being too effusive of the actors and the director. I’m grateful to have had a fantastic editor who pointed those moments out and encouraged me to rework them.

Can you share an unexpected fun fact about Clue? And/or, what did you discover during your research that really surprised you?

I was surprised to learn how much of this was all producer Debra Hill’s idea. She is responsible for Clue, but because she passed away in 2005 from cancer, she is often left out or only mentioned in passing in most articles about the movie. She secured the rights to the film from Parker Brothers in 1980, came up with a delightful treatment (a three-page summary of the film), and then hired writers and crew. I hope my book corrects the record and shows how important she was to this movie that so many people love.

Lastly, what’s next for you? Are you working on any other books? Anything else to share?

I’ve been kicking around a few ideas, and I’m settling in on doing research for another 1985 movie. This one wasn’t a flop—it was a big hit and it remains a favorite today. I won’t say which film, but if you like pirate ships and buried treasure, stay tuned :)I’m currently recording the audiobook for “What Do You Mean, Murder?” and I hope I can have it out in the next month.

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Thanks so much to John 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.

Today’s Cluesletter featured author is Shelley Blanton-Stroud, whose latest release, Poster Girl, is the third World War II-era mystery starring cynical gossip columnist Jane Benjamin. In Poster Girl, Jane attempts to find a Wendy-the-Welder poster girl at a San Francisco shipyard, but ends up investigates the deaths of women welders.

Those of you who caught my review of Poster Girl on Instagram know I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and its wry heroine. Everything about it—setting, characters, time period—felt refreshingly realistic. In my opinion, it can be read as a standalone (though I may have to nab the first book in the future!).

In the interview below, Shelley and I chat about Jane’s character, historical research, and writing advice. I hope you enjoy!

Connect with Shelley on Instagram, Facebook, BookBub, and her website. Sign up for her newsletter here (and get a free eBook of the first Jane Benjamin mystery, Copy Boy!). Grab a copy of Poster Girl from your retailer of choice here.

Hi Shelley, it’s great to have you! Poster Girl is your third novel starring cynical gossip columnist turned amateur detective Jane Benjamin as she lives and works in World War II era San Francisco. I loved Jane’s cynicism and tenacity—why do you think she makes a good investigator? What inspired her character?

Thank you! Jane was inspired by a few people. One of the early inspirations was the iconic San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Herb Caen, who became the voice of the city for many decades. Like Jane, Herb came to San Francisco from Sacramento, as something of a rube. But because he was smart and savvy and naturally stylish, he came to embody the city. He arrived in San Francisco at 18 years old and by 19 he had a newspaper column. I was always so curious about what exactly happened in the gap of that year that prepared him for the life he would live. That was the beginning premise with Jane. How could she turn herself into an iconic figure, when she starts out picking tomatoes in the fields outside Sacramento.

Here’s my second inspiration—my father who, with his big family, migrated from Texas to California during the dust bowl. I got lots of details about Jane’s beginning from their family stories. I liked the contrast between her dusty beginnings and the socialite world she would ultimately find herself in.

With the series incorporating real-life events and characters, what kind of historical research do you do while writing? What are the challenges and joys of setting a mystery in this time period?

In addition to a lifetime of overheard family stories, I read a lot, I have good friends who are librarians who help me so much, and I visit museums like the Rosie the Riveter Museum in Richmond, CA, the exact setting where Poster Girl takes place.

One particular resource that meant a lot to my research for this book was the documentary Invisible Warriors: The African American Women in World War II, by producer/director Gregory S. Cooke. It was incredibly helpful to see and hear the real Rosie the Riveters’ voices, looking back at their experiences, both painful and exhilarating.

Your background is in education, teaching writing at Sacramento State University. How has teaching how to write informed your own writing practice? What is your favorite piece of advice to offer new (or experienced!) writers?

Well, Write. I hate to say what everybody says, but it’s true. Writers write. Don’t just think about writing. Write. Don’t idealize writing. Write. Don’t just read books about writing. Write. Don’t worry your writing won’t be good enough. Just write. And after you’ve written, you’ll have something to work with and editing will feel like the most gratifying, creative thing in the world.

But beyond that familiar advice, I would also say, excavate your own bones. When were you broken by the topic of your writing? How did you heal? What you write won’t resonate with you or anyone else if you haven’t dug up what you’ve really thought or felt or experienced about it. Even if you are not the subject matter of your writing, you are its consciousness. So figure out what in your history affects how you think about this content. Even if that information never goes explicitly into the text, it will be there, just underneath, informing what you write, how you write.

What made you choose to write a mystery series? How do you plot your mysteries?

I write what I love to read—historical mystery—I think because there is so much escape in it. That escape is what drives me to read. But also, I made my decision to focus on mystery because of what I perceived as my strengths and weaknesses. I knew I did just fine at sentences. It wasn’t hard for me to get words on the page in a shape that basically made sense.

But what I found difficult was the architecture of story. When I wrote without a thought to genre, my stories just . . . wandered. Ugh. Then, when I began to learn more about the actual shape of a story normally revealed in mystery, I found the limitations that set me free!

Lastly, what are you currently working on? Can we expect more Jane Benjamin mysteries, or do you have any other projects in the works?

I am working on a novel set in 1945. Though it will be in the same universe as the Jane Benjamin novels, this one will be a standalone, with a different protagonist (though Jane will appear in the novel). The period is San Francisco on V-J Day, when the celebration turned into a brutal riot—over a thousand people hospitalized, eleven killed, and six women raped. That is the historical moment I’m currently writing about.

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Thanks so much to Shelley 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.