Q: The premise for Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mystery Series fascinates me: a woman from present time teaming up rather accidentally with a police detective from the 1930s through a portal in their home. What inspired you to focus on time travel?
First of all, I’d like to thank you, Lori, for inviting me here today. I love talking about my books
and my characters Steven and Olivia. Now, to your questions...
When I was 29, I had a strange experience. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a man standing at my bedroom door. I was absolutely terrified and froze. He leaned over the threshold, peered in at me, then stood up, shook his head, and walked through the wall. This happened four nights in a row until finally I said, “Are you real?” After that, he never came back. I still have no idea what that was all about and until recently I never told anyone because it was so crazy.
When I decided to create a series, I knew I wanted to write traditional police procedurals. But I wanted to incorporate something different—a twist. One day, I happened to think of that bizarre experience and also remembered something I’d read about Einstein and time travel. I researched it again and found Einstein believed there is no past, present, or future; that all time happens simultaneously; and that time can fold over. As soon as I read that I knew what my series would be. I used Einstein’s theory as the basis for the mysteries.
Q: Why the 1930s?
The 1920s and 1930s were the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and the Golden Age of Travel. I’m passionate about both. I love the classic Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh mysteries. I like their cultured and well-educated detectives—Hercule Poirot, Albert Campion, and Inspector Alleyn—who use their wits to solve crime. I modeled Steven after that type of detective.
I wish I’d been able to travel during that era. The thought of packing steamer trunks, leather suitcases, and hat boxes to take a trans-Atlantic voyage excites me. The #1 thing on my bucket list is a trip on the Orient Express, which I actually have plans to do soon.
There’s also a practical reason why I chose 1934. I needed a year where I could create characters who span Steven’s Depression era and Olivia’s 21st century. There are 3 characters thus far who exist in both time periods. In Doorway to Murder,
a beloved history teacher who dies in Olivia’s present day (2014) is a teenager when Olivia meets her in 1934. In Olivia’s time, her neighbor and unofficial grandmother, Isabel, is a baby in Steven’s time, in Threshold of Deceit. And a woman who holds the key to the entire series is a teenager in 1934 when Olivia first meets her. However, before that meeting, Olivia has only known her as her best friend Sophie’s grandmother. It might sound a bit confusing, but I promise it isn’t when you read the books.
Q: You taught for 35 years and you ran a successful translation business. Why did you decide to become an author at this point in your life?
I closed my translating agency in 2000 and retired from teaching in 2006. I was looking for a mentally creative and challenging activity. In 2010 and 2011, I wrote two articles for Victoria magazine. When I sat down to write those pieces, a feeling of total contentment washed over me and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life writing. However, 700-word articles weren’t fulfilling enough. I decided to completely immerse myself into writing a full-length novel.
Q: What were some obstacles (real or imagined) you faced when you sat down to write that first novel?
I have a lot of back and shoulder problems so I can’t sit at the computer for longer than an hour. I have to set a timer and get up for a while before I can go back to writing. At first, I was disappointed because I wanted to write all day long, but writing that way turned out to be motivating and productive. Since I know that timer’s going to ring, I totally focus and get a lot written in that hour.
Q: You have expressed a love of international travel. Will your main characters, Olivia and Steven ever leave the United States?
Yes. In book 5, Murder at the Door of the Moulin Rouge, Steven and Olivia travel back to Paris in the late 1800s, when his mother was working as a young artist. Her friend Toulouse-Lautrec needs help to solve the murder of one of his models, a young girl from the provinces. Several years earlier, Eugène-François Vidocq founded a police force—what would eventually become the Sûreté Nationale—but they’ve told Toulouse-Lautrec they’re too busy to be bothered with someone they believe was a prostitute and not worthy of their attention. Steven’s mother is outraged and tells Lautrec, she knows someone who can track down the killer. She contacts Steven.
Q: Writing can be such an isolating pursuit. Where have you found support when you need it most?
I did struggle with that at first. Then I met Tina deBellegarde, a fellow mystery writer who’s also in my Sisters in Crime chapter. We became good friends and support each other. During the pandemic, we hit the jackpot. On a Zoom call, we met two other mystery writers: Lida Sideris and Jen Collins Moore. The four of us really clicked. In 2020, we created panel discussions and toured the country from California to New Jersey, virtually of course. Then we created a series of workshops and we’re now teaching classes on mystery writing. We’re also super excited to be launching a website for mystery readers and writers. It’s www.sleuthsandsidekicks.com It should be up and running by the end of July.
Q: What are you working on now?
I’m writing RSVP to Murder, the 4th book in The Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mysteries. It’s a classic English country house murder, but it’s set in the Adirondack Mountains because
Steven and Olivia live in New York—an Adirondack Great Camp stands in for the English mansion.
Steven and Olivia are invited to a Christmas party by a wealthy art collector. Naturally, a blizzard turns it into an isolated setting with a killer on the loose—it’s kind of a locked-room mystery. And, of course there are a couple new time-travel challenges, as well as something big regarding Olivia.
Q: Do you anticipate ever writing a different series or a standalone novel?
There are three teenage girls in the series that I’ve grown to love. I’m thinking of writing a YA series with Annie, Molly, and Lily as the main characters. The books would take place in the 1930s.
Q: Do you have any advice for emerging writers?
Join a writing group in your genre. If you write mysteries, become a member of Sisters in Crime. If it’s romance, join Romance Writers of America. Being a member of a SINC chapter will help you learn the craft, keep you up-to-date on conferences and workshops, and provide opportunities for meeting other mystery writers. Writers need other writers. Networking is important. In the mystery community, we help each other, support each other, and promote each other. It’s wonderful. I’m happy and proud to be a member of that terrific group of people.
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