Lynn Slaughter Novelist
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Creative Writing Instructor

First off, congratulations on the publication of THE SUITCASE, Book 4 in your Beryl Blue, Time Cop Mystery series. Can you share with our readers a bit about THE SUITCASE and what inspired your series?

Thanks for hosting me today, Lynn. It’s great to visit with you again!

THE SUITCASE takes place after the main events of BERYL BLUE, TIME COP, my time travel mystery series that follows Beryl’s time-hopping efforts to save a WWII soldier from a time traveling assassin. If you’re surprised that a modern day librarian is the only one in all of time who can do this job, imagine Beryl’s confusion. She figures out why over the course of three books, while solving other mysteries along the way. 

Which brings us to THE SUITCASE. This short historical mystery takes Beryl on a mission to 1922 France, where she and her new partner are on the trail of a time tourist gone rogue. Together, they must figure out what connects a train, a sobbing woman, and a missing piece of luggage to the wayward time traveler they’re chasing and bring the bad guy in before he can mess up the timeline.

What drew you to write a time travel series? Do you have favorite time travel authors?           

My passion for the time travel genre started way, way back. Growing up, I was obsessed with Julia Sauer’s book, FOG MAGIC, a moody fantasy story set on the Maine coast, about a lonely girl’s trip through time. I read it dozens of times as a kid and even reference it in the third Beryl book, EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE. When I moved on to grownup books, I fell into the magical and romantic OUTLANDER groove and never looked back. 

Movies and TV have also inspired me. I love the noisy, action filled The Terminator as much as I do the swoony romance Somewhere in Time. Quantum Leap and the time travel episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek are must-watch TV, but my number one is the cheesy fun Time Tunnel (1966), which stars my first TV boyfriend James Darren as one half of a duo of scientists who step into the “time tunnel” and are spit out at major historical events where everyone conveniently speaks English and don’t seem to notice the odd (and 1960s mod) clothing our accidental time travelers are wearing. 

The Beryl Blue series includes a variety of historical periods, most recently 1922 France. It’s obvious you love history! What kinds of research do you do to bring each historical period to life in your novels and short stories? 

I love history, and that’s why I write time travel—writing about modern day people hurled across the centuries to the past gives me an excuse to visit and learn about other time periods. 

I love doing research, too. I particularly like to hunt for the small things, moments of everyday life, the sounds and scents of the era, minor details that help to add texture to the story. When writing A MOMENT AFTER DARK, my historical suspense set in December 1941, I was able to listen to radio news reports from the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. I heard how shocked and terrified the newsmen sounded as they reported live on the air and I used that in the book to stoke my characters’ own fear. For a scene in the first Beryl book set during the Battle of the Bulge, I read interviews and memoirs of men who were there to get a feel for the sights and smells they remembered both in battle and during their downtime. It’s a joy to discover something new about the past, even if what I find never makes it onto the page.

You also have a new short story collection out, CLUES & CHILLS: NEW ENGLAND STORIES OF MYSTERY & MURDER. Can you share with our readers a bit about your stories? 

I call CLUES & CHILLS a “murderous tour of New England,” with one mystery story set in each state, except Maine, which gets two because it’s the biggest state. I like to switch things up, so the stories are a mix of genres, some darker, some lighter, some hilarious, like the ones set in Maine, and it should come as no surprise that some are historical. 

I had a heck of a lot of fun writing these stories. Just like my kids, I love them all equally, but if I had to choose a favorite in this collection it’s the gritty historical, “Dirty Water,” set in Boston during the Red Sox’s bid for the World Series in 1967.

In what ways is your writing process similar or different depending on whether you’re working on a novel or a short story?

It all starts with an idea. Whether the idea is enough to sustain a full length novel, that is the question. In my short suspense THE TITANIC TIME HEIST (a prequel of sorts to the Beryl series), I sent a couple of time traveling thieves to the Titanic with a plan to rob the ship before it sinks and bring their loot back to the future. That scheme goes very, very wrong. A wowza concept, right? But, I discovered in putting the story together, not enough to carry a full novel. Thus the story became a “short bite,” a fast-paced example of Murphy’s Law we writers love to exploit—if anything can go wrong, it will.               

You mentioned that you knew you wanted to become a writer at age ten when your classmates loved a story you wrote about your teacher wearing a mini-skirt! When did you decide to write seriously for publication, and what steps did you take to hone your craft?

It took me a long time to get serious about writing for publication. After careers in writing as a reporter, crafting copy in public relations, and putting together descriptive proposals as a grants writer, I finally turned to what I loved best, writing fiction. The first book I wrote was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer inspired paranormal about soul sucking demons and it was aw-w-w-ful! I made all the rookie author mistakes, head-hopping, too much description, slow pacing, etc. 

But… I’d completed a manuscript! A full book with a (slow) beginning, (mushy) middle, and (far from exciting) ending. I kept writing while also taking classes (and joining writers’ organizations like Sisters in Crime). I learned about plot structure, raising the stakes, pacing, and writing tight. Most important, I developed my writer’s “voice,” the wry, fast-paced, funny, occasional dark, and slightly snarky narrative style that is totally me. 

What’s a typical writing day like for you?

I try to write every day, the operative word being try. If I can successfully get myself to BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard), I can usually write one novel and two to three short stories a year. Getting them out and published is a different challenge, with social media and the need to market my work putting demands on my time. 

What’s next for you writing-wise?

I’ve got two new projects cooking, different genres but both with my signature humor, emotional punch, and fast pacing. 

First up is MY BICENTENNIAL, a coming-of-age set in 1976 about a teen girl from the wrong side of the tracks who struggles with body image issues. Basically what most girls go through during their high school years in any era, with the added bonus of 70s-style disco, platform shoes, and copious body shaming. 

Then there’s KILROY WAS HERE, the first in a sci-fi adventure series I’m calling Indiana Jones-meets-Romancing the Stone—in space. Here’s the pitch: a by-the-book security forces commander on her last mission tangles with a treasure hunting rogue determined to steal a priceless artifact. And her heart. 

I hope to have both books out by December. We shall see!

Anything else you’d like to add or wish I’d asked that I didn’t?

Earlier you mentioned the miniskirt story I wrote for a 6th grade assignment and how my classmates’ positive response was all the encouragement I needed to keep going. I tell that story all the time, which gets me a lot of laughs, but it’s also an example of the #1 lesson I’ve learned as a writer. The kids in my class loved the story; my teacher did not (she gave me a C-minus!). I’ve learned not everyone will like what you write, but some people will love it. And that’s all the encouragement you need to keep going. 

Thanks for having me here today – happy reading!

 

BIO: Meet award-winning author Janet Raye Stevens – mom, reader, tea-drinker (okay, tea guzzler), and weaver of smart, stealthily romantic tales. A Derringer Short Mystery Fiction Award finalist and winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for the WWII-set paranormal, A Moment After Dark, Janet writes short stories and novel-length time travel adventures, historical mysteries, and the occasional contemporary Christmas romance with humor, heart, and a dash of suspense. She lives, writes, and drinks copious amounts of tea at her home in central Massachusetts. 

Buy/Contact Links:

Linktree/buy links: https://linktr.ee/janetrayestevens

JRS Website: janetrayestevens.com