Sara Rosett’s  High Society series features Olivia Belgrave, an impoverished ‘lady’ who solves upper crust scandals in a fabulous 1920's world of  fur coats and fashion, cocktails and country houses.

Hi there.  I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and Sara talks about getting started in writing as a military wife, her three other contemporary cozy mystery series, and the favorite famous places that appear in her books.

Six

things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Why the 1920s is a fab period for mysteriesWhat being a military wife taught herHow she manages multiple series What attracts her to mysteriesThe writers she admires mostWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Sara Rosett:

Website: https://www.sararosett.com/

 Twitter: @sararosset

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/srosett/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sararosett/

What

follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for

word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny: But now, here’s Sara.  Hello there Sara, and welcome to the show, it’s great to have you with us.

Sara; Thanks Jenny. It's great to be here.

Jenny: Now, Sara,

was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you decided that you wanted to write

fiction? And if so, was there a catalyst for it?

Sara Rosett - Mystery author

Sara: I can't remember a single specific thing that set me on this path. But I have always loved reading. I've always loved books. When I was a little kid, going to the library was my favorite thing to do. And I love mysteries in particular. So it's just something I've always loved, always wanted to do. I always wanted to write a book.

The joy of the puzzle

Jenny: It's interesting, you know, a lot of authors say that's their pathway. They adored books. And the library was the place that was their magic place. You've now got a very substantial back list of contemporary cozies and historical mysteries in several different series. But your most recent book, I think is Book Four in the historical series called Murder in Black Tie. You've mentioned that you've always liked mysteries. What do you think attracts you to mysteries?

Sara: Well, I

love the puzzle aspect to them. I'm always intrigued to try and figure out who

did it. And I like the different settings you get, particularly in cozies as

you get a close look at somebody's world. And you get to really delve into the

time period and get to know it really well. I like that and I just enjoy the

characters.

Mysteries are usually a series. And so I enjoy going back to

the same characters cos it's like visiting friends and you get to see them

again. So mysteries are  awesome.

The delight of the 1920's

Jenny:  That's great. So Black Tie is the fourth

standalone novel. Even though it's a series, they can be read as individual

books quite happily, can't they? The series is called High Society Ladies

Detective Series, and it features a young woman called Olive Belgrave, who is a

member of the high society set, but is not particularly well-off. So she has to

also assume some responsibility as a working girl in England in the 1920s. What

attracted you to that time period and setting?

Sara: Well, I

think it's a very interesting time because there were so many changes going on.

There are changes in technology, in travel. The roles of women were changing,

entertainment and media were changing. And so it's a really interesting time to

drop a character in and see what she faces. I've always enjoyed Golden Age

mysteries, so I've always liked that time period. The two things blend together

really well and also with the clothes. The clothes are great.

Jenny: Yes, the

clothes are great aren't they? For many women of that  class the obvious solution was to marry money

if you didn't have it yourself. But Olive's got an independent streak, hasn't

she? And she doesn't particularly seem to want to take that pathway,...