MLC: What did you do for a living before writing mysteries?
AUTHOR: Corporate trainer and instructional designer.
MLC: What's your average day like?
AUTHOR: BUSY! I work from about nine in the morning to about seven in the evening with occasional three a.m. jaunts to the computer. I write about seven hours a day and do administrative and promotional work the rest of the time.
MLC: Do you have pets?
AUTHOR: Yes, four cats: Angela, Emily, Molly, and Louis.
MLC: Are you a morning person or a night owl?
AUTHOR: Both. I am a high-energy sort of gal.
MLC: What groups are you a member of that you feel are important for you as a writer?
AUTHOR: Mystery Writers of America; I’m on the board of directors of the New York Chapter. Sisters in Crime; I admire their charter.
MLC: When did you start writing?
AUTHOR: I wrote my first novel when I was seven—the story revolved around a cow who was having trouble crossing a state line. (Don’t ask.) From that point on, I wrote off and on all the time, but it wasn’t until I reached my middle years that I was willing to work at writing. Up until then, I waited for inspiration. Now I get up in the morning and go to work. It’s a very different mindset.
MLC: Have you taught writing classes?
AUTHOR: Yes, many times.
MLC: Have you taken writing classes?
AUTHOR: In college.
MLC: What are your views on critique groups?
AUTHOR: I am aware that it’s worked for many people. My concern is this: Just because someone is in a critique group doesn’t mean they know how to critique.
MLC: What is your favorite subgenre of mysteries?
AUTHOR: Traditional.
MLC: What has been your biggest challenge in being published?
AUTHOR: Writing a book that was good enough to warrant being published.
MLC: Why did you decide to write the mysteries you're writing?
AUTHOR: My first manuscript featured a male private eye based in New York. It didn’t sell, but it got really nice rejections! Among the problems the editors reported was that the market wasn’t strong for a new series featuring a male private eye based in New York. I was encouraged to try my hand at a female, amateur detective, not based in New York. I did, and thus Josie was born.
MLC: How did you choose the setting for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: I owned a rare book and antiques store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The seacoast area of New Hampshire is rugged and beautiful, and I know it well.
MLC: What was the inspiration for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: I wanted to create a sweet and decent world (if you don’t mind a murder or two), a place that readers would want to return to over and over again. I only read books with happy endings, and that’s what I wanted to write. But I didn’t want to write fluff; I wanted to create complex characters and intricate plots. Kirkus Reviews said that my writing is “erudite.” When that review came out, I was completely thrilled. I ran around the house shouting, “I got the ‘E’ word! I got the ‘E’ word!” That review provided validation that traditional mysteries can still be erudite.
MLC: What writers have inspired you?
AUTHOR: Rex Stout. Robert B. Parker. Ed McBain. Georgette Heyer.
MLC: How do you come up with your plot ideas for your mysteries?
AUTHOR: I don’t know exactly. I think a lot before I write. I pose specific questions to myself along the lines of “What if...?” Then I sleep on it. In the morning—and sometimes in the middle of the night—answers come to me.
MLC: How do you research for your mysteries? How long does it take?
AUTHOR: I use the Internet and a wide variety of reference books that I own. The world renowned auction house, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, does antiques appraisals for me. My research doesn’t take that long. When in doubt, I reassure myself that I’m writing fiction.
MLC: Is the setting of your mysteries imaginary or real? Why?
AUTHOR: Portsmouth, New Hampshire is real. Rocky Point is not. New Hampshire’s coastline is the smallest in the nation—it’s only 18 miles long. Rather than select a specific town on the coast, I made one up. It allows me to take geographic liberties that suit the plot.
MLC: Do you live where you set your mysteries?
AUTHOR: I lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for four years more than twenty years ago. I now live in New York City--in mid-Manhattan, near the United Nations.
MLC: Tell us about your latest mystery.
AUTHOR: After setting up shop as an antiques appraiser, Josie Prescott’s life has not gone according to plan: business is booming and she has good friends and a promising romance—but dead bodies keep crossing her path. And now, in
Antiques to Die For, a friend is killed just hours after confiding a secret to Josie, leaving a bereaved sister who reminds Josie of herself when her mother died.
It turns out that the victim had other secrets, too: a mysterious treasure she told her sister she was leaving behind—and a secret admirer who now seems to be turning his creepy attention to Josie.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a 12-year old orphan whose sister is murdered? Can you imagine what it would be like if your sister told you that you owned a treasure—a priceless antique—but you don’t know what it is or where it is?
Set on the beautiful and rugged New Hampshire coastline, Antiques to Die For is filled with antiques lore and complex plot twists. In the end, using her knowledge of antiques, Josie finds the valuable treasure—and solves the crime. And in doing so, she gives a young girl hope.
A text and downloadable podcast of Antiques to Die For, and a book trailer, are available on my website.
Website: www.janecleland.net
E-mail address: jane@janecleland.com
Blog: www.janecleland.net and go to the blog link