Robin Oliveira got started writing her first book after she saw a ghost – yes - quite literally!

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Robin talks about the unusual visitation that prompted a lot of questions, and tells what she’d do differently if she was starting out all over again.

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

Why she is obsessed with '19th century glass ceilings'How not listening to the discouragers worked for herThe holy delight of  exploring Civil War archivesThe public and private face of writingThe most common questions readers askThe authors she admires most

Where to find Robin Oliveira: 

Website: http://robinoliveira.com/

Facebook: @AuthorRobinOliviera

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:   Beginning at the beginning – was there a “Once Upon a Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction??  And if so what was the catalyst for it?

Author Robin Oliveira

Robin: I don't have a moment that I can put my finger on in terms of thinking that I needed to be a writer, or I wanted to be a writer. I meet a lot of writers that say they absolutely wanted to be a writer from the moment they knew what books were. For me, I was a reader. I loved books. I spent my childhood reading, I spent a lot of my adulthood reading in my private time.

It was after I had my children - I was a registered nurse, and I stayed home when they were young. I thought I could either go back to nursing, or I could try to write a book. When my son went off to kindergarten, that was when I started to try to teach myself how to write. I finally ended up at the community college program and then the University of Washington extension here in Seattle. They have a lovely program for writers. So it was a gradual process, but mostly I became a writer because I loved books.

My Name Is Mary Sutter

Jenny: Yes. And what made you choose historical fiction as your genre? You were attracted to that area obviously?

Robin: I'm very drawn to the 19th century.   I'm very fond of authors like Jane Austen and George Elliott, so that was part of it. But I think the other thing is that I was drawn into historical fiction by the first character I ever wrote. As odd as it sounds, she appeared to me one day. This has never happened to me before or since. But I was dusting my dining room when a woman in a 19th century dress appeared to me. She was seated at a trestle table looking through a microscope, and she had medical books behind her.

I started to investigate what person, what woman of that era would be doing in that. I just learned that women became conditioned out of their experiences in the Civil War. So then my first book was set in 19th century America. I learned so much about the era that I just wanted to learn more, so I kept setting my books there.

American Civil War nurses

Jenny: That's such a remarkable experience that I'd just like to focus on it for a moment. Had you been reading anything about Civil War nurses or had anything particular in your mind related to that when this vision appeared?

Robin: No, absolutely not. I knew very little about the Civil War, but I am a registered nurse so there's that association. But I knew practically nothing about the American Civil War. I knew very little about the 19th century when I started and had that particular moment.

Jenny: Was it a frightening moment?

Julie McElwain’s time travel mystery series featuring FBI profiler Kendra Donovan set in 1815 London has been described as ‘Jane Austen meets the Alias TV series.’  She’s made top sci fi and mystery lists every year since the series was launched, with ‘Most addictive mystery” one of the accolades.Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Julie talks about what working in the world of TV soaps has taught her and why she’s never read Diana Gabaldon.

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

How Nancy Drew got her startedDifferent technologies: Can you light fire with a tinder?The magic appeal of time travel storiesImportant lessons from The Young and the RestlessThe writers Julie is reading right nowWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Julie McElwain: Website: https://www.juliemcelwainauthor.com/ Facebook: @JulieMcElwain Twitter: @JulieMcElwain

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Julie McElwain - Author

Jenny: Hello there Julie and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.Julie: Thank you so much, I'm really honoured.

Jenny: You’re an award winning journalist and you’re still working in TV – which we will get to a little later – but in terms of fiction – when did you get the bug to write fiction?   Was there a “Once Upon A time moment” – an epiphany about tackling make believe story telling?

Julie: Just like a lot of writers I think, people fall in love with reading. But I can tell you, probably my first time I read a Nancy Drew I fell in love with the character. I fell in love with this world they were creating and I remember I was probably about ten at the time and I thought- this is what I want to do. It just so intrigued me at the time.Back then, there was no such thing as iPads or laptops, so I got a notebook and a pen and I just started writing. I've been pretty much writing fiction ever since that time I wanted to create a Nancy Drew series. It's very private for me though until I gradually did it, and I had no idea I would end up writing a book that was published. But the love of writing, I can probably trace to that time.

Jenny: Sure. So your Kendra Donovan series - is that not the first fiction you've done?Julie: No. Like a lot of writers, I think people write and you try to send it out and it gets rejected. So I probably have several books in a drawer somewhere. This is my first fiction that has been published.

Classic Dr Who an early inspiration

Jenny: And then you came up with a great premise – an FBI agent gets wormholed back into 19th century Britain – one critic described it as a “genre-bender with a clever gimmick.”  What made you settle on time travel as your vehicle?Julie: I've always been very intrigued by the whole time travel concept. In college, I remember watching Doctor Who, the old shows. They'd have a couple of time travel episodes. So I've always been very intrigued by it, and when it comes to time travel there are a lot of romances that are time travel that have always been something they've done.  It was such an interesting concept to me to take a modern woman who is so amazing in her career- you just put her back in the past and she has to solve crimes. She does not have any of the modern day technology, or everything she's relied on.Just being a modern day woman put back into the past, into the early 19th century before women had the right to vote, all this stuff. I think that would throw off your world even more! So I guess I just came up with the idea and it intrigued me and I thought that would be an interesting mystery series that would have a bit more of an interesting hook than other mystery series.

Murder in Time - Book One

Jenny: Definitely. There are so many avenues for interesting little sidelines, but we'll get onto that.Jenny: Your heroine Kendra Donovan is the ultimate outlier – even...

Julie McElwain’s time travel mystery series featuring FBI profiler Kendra Donovan set in 1815 London has been described as ‘Jane Austen meets the Alias TV series.’  She’s made top sci fi and mystery lists every year since the series was launched, with ‘Most addictive mystery” one of the accolades.Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Julie talks about what working in the world of TV soaps has taught her and why she’s never read Diana Gabaldon.

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

How Nancy Drew got her startedDifferent technologies: Can you light fire with a tinder?The magic appeal of time travel storiesImportant lessons from The Young and the RestlessThe writers Julie is reading right nowWhat she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Julie McElwain: Website: https://www.juliemcelwainauthor.com/ Facebook: @JulieMcElwain Twitter: @JulieMcElwain

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Julie McElwain - Author

Jenny: Hello there Julie and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.Julie: Thank you so much, I'm really honoured.

Jenny: You’re an award winning journalist and you’re still working in TV – which we will get to a little later – but in terms of fiction – when did you get the bug to write fiction?   Was there a “Once Upon A time moment” – an epiphany about tackling make believe story telling?

Julie: Just like a lot of writers I think, people fall in love with reading. But I can tell you, probably my first time I read a Nancy Drew I fell in love with the character. I fell in love with this world they were creating and I remember I was probably about ten at the time and I thought- this is what I want to do. It just so intrigued me at the time.Back then, there was no such thing as iPads or laptops, so I got a notebook and a pen and I just started writing. I've been pretty much writing fiction ever since that time I wanted to create a Nancy Drew series. It's very private for me though until I gradually did it, and I had no idea I would end up writing a book that was published. But the love of writing, I can probably trace to that time.

Jenny: Sure. So your Kendra Donovan series - is that not the first fiction you've done?Julie: No. Like a lot of writers, I think people write and you try to send it out and it gets rejected. So I probably have several books in a drawer somewhere. This is my first fiction that has been published.

Classic Dr Who an early inspiration

Jenny: And then you came up with a great premise – an FBI agent gets wormholed back into 19th century Britain – one critic described it as a “genre-bender with a clever gimmick.”  What made you settle on time travel as your vehicle?Julie: I've always been very intrigued by the whole time travel concept. In college, I remember watching Doctor Who, the old shows. They'd have a couple of time travel episodes. So I've always been very intrigued by it, and when it comes to time travel there are a lot of romances that are time travel that have always been something they've done.  It was such an interesting concept to me to take a modern woman who is so amazing in her career- you just put her back in the past and she has to solve crimes. She does not have any of the modern day technology, or everything she's relied on.Just being a modern day woman put back into the past, into the early 19th century before women had the right to vote, all this stuff. I think that would throw off your world even more! So I guess I just came up with the idea and it intrigued me and I thought that would be an interesting mystery series that would ha...

Anna Lee Huber‘s dark Gothic-themed Lady Darby mysteries have attracted a strong following and won awards, but she’s not one to rest on her laurels.

HI there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Anna talks about her new mystery hero, World War I spy Verity Kent; she explains why she’s also started Gothic Mist, a new romantic suspense series, and tells of the one thing, that more than any other, is the secret to her success.

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

Why she's attracted to Gothic mysteries

Unveiling the 'unknown' story of woman spies in WWI

Movie soundtracks - her 'secret sauce' for writing

Why 'breathe and let  be' is an important author skill

How she discovered her natural fit for historical fiction

The writers she admires most

Where to find Anna Lee Huber: 

Website: http://www.annaleehuber.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnaLeeHuber

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaLeeHuber

Instagram: https://twitter.com/AnnaLeeHuber

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

And now here's Anna. Hello there Anna and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Jenny:  From what I read on your website you’ve always loved to write.  But what got you started on historical mysteries?  Was that the first fiction you tried your hand at when you decided you wanted to be a writer?

Anna Lee Huber - author

Anna: Well actually, I started out writing straight historicals. I've always been fascinated with history, and so when I was an adult and went back to writing after some years, I realized it was definitely going to have to be an historical setting.

My first attempt at a book though, I kept having romance and all these other things sneak in and it ended up not being a very good book, because I didn't structure it correctly. Then I tried to write historical romance, but the mystery kept on overtaking the plot. So I realized, OK let's switch this. Let's try writing historical mystery, and having romance as the sub plot.

That's what I realized was the perfect fit for me; it's actually what I enjoyed reading the most, though I should have probably clued into that earlier! I also enjoy historical romance.

Jenny: That's great. Also just winding back a bit - why did you go straight to the historical?

Anna: I just like history so much. When I write, I feel like my voice is more of a historical fit. I'd love to try my hand at writing a contemporary, but I don't know. It just seems so natural to me. It interests me the most and most of my plot ideas would work better historically than contemporaries so I guess that's the reason.

Jenny: It's your natural fit.

Anna: Yes, it is.

Jenny: Your award-winning Lady Darby series is rather dark – would you almost call them Gothic – and set in 1830's Scotland.  What led you to that period and setting?

The Anatomist's Wife

Anna: Well I came up with the idea for Kiera the character first. I realized that I wanted to write an historical mystery with a female protagonist. But I wanted to give her some kind of skill she could bring to the investigations, and I wanted her to be kind of awkward socially- not being the natural social butterfly.

So how could she investigate these crimes, and what could she bring to it? That's when I stumbled across the idea of giving her knowledge of anatomy, which she gains by force from her first husband.

Then I started looking into history, and the 19th century has always been a big draw for me. And I realized that Burke and Hare are arrested in 1829 and so that was kind of the perfect setting, because of that scare about the body snatchers and everything that was coming out about what the anatomists were doing in order to teach their pupils and advance science in the medical industry.

Also the Anatomy Act was coming up in 1832,

Anna Lee Huber‘s dark Gothic-themed Lady Darby mysteries have attracted a strong following and won awards, but she’s not one to rest on her laurels.

HI there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Anna talks about her new mystery hero, World War I spy Verity Kent; she explains why she’s also started Gothic Mist, a new romantic suspense series, and tells of the one thing, that more than any other, is the secret to her success.

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

Why she's attracted to Gothic mysteries

Unveiling the 'unknown' story of woman spies in WWI

Movie soundtracks - her 'secret sauce' for writing

Why 'breathe and let  be' is an important author skill

How she discovered her natural fit for historical fiction

The writers she admires most

Where to find Anna Lee Huber: 

Website: http://www.annaleehuber.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnaLeeHuber

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaLeeHuber

Instagram: https://twitter.com/AnnaLeeHuber

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

And now here's Anna. Hello there Anna and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Jenny:  From what I read on your website you’ve always loved to write.  But what got you started on historical mysteries?  Was that the first fiction you tried your hand at when you decided you wanted to be a writer?

Anna Lee Huber - author

Anna: Well actually, I started out writing straight historicals. I've always been fascinated with history, and so when I was an adult and went back to writing after some years, I realized it was definitely going to have to be an historical setting.

My first attempt at a book though, I kept having romance and all these other things sneak in and it ended up not being a very good book, because I didn't structure it correctly. Then I tried to write historical romance, but the mystery kept on overtaking the plot. So I realized, OK let's switch this. Let's try writing historical mystery, and having romance as the sub plot.

That's what I realized was the perfect fit for me; it's actually what I enjoyed reading the most, though I should have probably clued into that earlier! I also enjoy historical romance.

Jenny: That's great. Also just winding back a bit - why did you go straight to the historical?

Anna: I just like history so much. When I write, I feel like my voice is more of a historical fit. I'd love to try my hand at writing a contemporary, but I don't know. It just seems so natural to me. It interests me the most and most of my plot ideas would work better historically than contemporaries so I guess that's the reason.

Jenny: It's your natural fit.

Anna: Yes, it is.

Jenny: Your award-winning Lady Darby series is rather dark – would you almost call them Gothic – and set in 1830's Scotland.  What led you to that period and setting?

The Anatomist's Wife

Anna: Well I came up with the idea for Kiera the character first. I realized that I wanted to write an historical mystery with a female protagonist. But I wanted to give her some kind of skill she could bring to the investigations, and I wanted her to be kind of awkward socially- not being the natural social butterfly.

So how could she investigate these crimes, and what could she bring to it? That's when I stumbled across the idea of giving her knowledge of anatomy, which she gains by force from her first husband.

Then I started looking into history, and the 19th century has always been a big draw for me.

Jessica Fellowes’ Mitford Murders mysteries have all it – the famous blue blood sisters, fabulous fashion, murder – and a Downton Abbey style TV series already in the planning. Not surprising when you realize that Jessica is already the author of five best-selling Downton show guides.

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Jessica talks about mixing fact and fiction in her mysteries and how a former deputy editor of Country Life came to write murder mysteries.

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

How Downton Abbey led to Mitford Murders

The best advice from an Oscar winning Uncle

The magic appeal of the madcap 20s

Important insights from a magazine apprenticeship

The writers Jessica is reading right now

What she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Jessica Fellowes: 

Website: https://www.jessicafellowes.com/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaFellowesAuthor/

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessicafellowes

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jfellowes/the-mitford-murders/

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

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Hello there Jessica and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Jessica: I'm very happy to be here, thank you Jenny.

Jessica Fellowes - author

Jenny: You’ve had a fascinating career as the official guide to all things Downton Abbey – You’ve written five best-selling books about the TV series - and we will talk about the TV show a little later – but focusing on the Mitford mystery series - when did you decide you wanted to write fiction?  Was there any “Once Upon a Time moment – an epiphany?

Jessica: I think it's one those things that you always have in the back of your mind, that you would  like to get to. But I've been a big reader for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for a lot of writers and I just didn't think I could get anywhere near to coming close to what they were doing. So it was really a question of confidence I think, as much as anything else. Then working out what my voice would be, and what era I would do.

What the work of Downton Abbey did for me was it really focussed my research on the 1920's, which is an era I had a fascination with. But having that store of knowledge after five years of working on the Downton Abbey books made me think, if I'm going to do this, I'll do it in the 1920's. I had somebody approach me and ask me if I'd like to write a novel, and that got me quite excited a few years before, and I sort of had a go. But I've been a jobbing writer for such a long time, I need the commission and I need the deadline.

So it was really only once the Downton Abbey books had finished and I was thinking 'Now is the moment.' I was approached by an editor who asked me if I'd be interested in writing a crime series with the Mitford Sisters as the background, and what did I think of that idea. When he said that, I thought that's it. I could just get it.

That was the epiphany, that was the moment. But the main thing was he was willing to put the faith in me and have a go and he's promised he would hold me by the hand through the process of the first novel so that I wouldn't embarrass myself too much at the end of it! So that's what got me off. Each time you get a bit more confident, and each time you enjoy it a little more.

The red sofa - appears in many important scenes - like when Matthew is introduced as heir.

Jenny: Yes, there are very strong parallels between Downton and the very famous Mitford Sisters and the sort of life they led. And having read the first two, there are various things that I see that are a crossover. I notice that one of the heroines in Downton has a secret love affair with a jazz singer from one of the night clubs. And in Bright Young Dead, there's a jazz singer also named Jack,

Jessica Fellowes’ Mitford Murders mysteries have all it – the famous blue blood sisters, fabulous fashion, murder – and a Downton Abbey style TV series already in the planning. Not surprising when you realize that Jessica is already the author of five best-selling Downton show guides.

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Jessica talks about mixing fact and fiction in her mysteries and how a former deputy editor of Country Life came to write murder mysteries.

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

How Downton Abbey led to Mitford Murders

The best advice from an Oscar winning Uncle

The magic appeal of the madcap 20s

Important insights from a magazine apprenticeship

The writers Jessica is reading right now

What she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Jessica Fellowes: 

Website: https://www.jessicafellowes.com/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaFellowesAuthor/

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessicafellowes

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jfellowes/the-mitford-murders/

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

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Hello there Jessica and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Jessica: I'm very happy to be here, thank you Jenny.

Jessica Fellowes - author

Jenny: You’ve had a fascinating career as the official guide to all things Downton Abbey – You’ve written five best-selling books about the TV series - and we will talk about the TV show a little later – but focusing on the Mitford mystery series - when did you decide you wanted to write fiction?  Was there any “Once Upon a Time moment – an epiphany?

Jessica: I think it's one those things that you always have in the back of your mind, that you would  like to get to. But I've been a big reader for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for a lot of writers and I just didn't think I could get anywhere near to coming close to what they were doing. So it was really a question of confidence I think, as much as anything else. Then working out what my voice would be, and what era I would do.

What the work of Downton Abbey did for me was it really focussed my research on the 1920's, which is an era I had a fascination with. But having that store of knowledge after five years of working on the Downton Abbey books made me think, if I'm going to do this, I'll do it in the 1920's. I had somebody approach me and ask me if I'd like to write a novel, and that got me quite excited a few years before, and I sort of had a go. But I've been a jobbing writer for such a long time, I need the commission and I need the deadline.

So it was really only once the Downton Abbey books had finished and I was thinking 'Now is the moment.' I was approached by an editor who asked me if I'd be interested in writing a crime series with the Mitford Sisters as the background, and what did I think of that idea. When he said that, I thought that's it. I could just get it.

That was the epiphany, that was the moment. But the main thing was he was willing to put the faith in me and have a go and he's promised he would hold me by the hand through the process of the first novel so that I wouldn't embarrass myself too much at the end of it! So that's what got me off. Each time you get a bit more confident, and each time you enjoy it a little more.

The red sofa - appears in many important scenes - like when Matthew is introduced as heir.

Jenny: Yes, there are very strong parallels between Downton and the very famous Mitford Sisters and the sort of life they led. And having read the first two,

Tessa Lunney’s party girl hero Kiki Button poses for Pablo Picasso in Bohemian Paris in the first book of a mystery series that gently prods at serious questions – like how to be a ‘modern woman.’

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Tessa talks about  why she’s obsessed with 1920s Paris, how her doctorate on war literature helped shape Kiki’s character, and why Harry Potter saved her in the early days of motherhood.

But before we talk to Tessa, just a reminder that the show notes for this episode can be found on the website, the Joys of Binge Reading.com  that’s where you’ll find links to Tessa’s website and  work, as well as details about how to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes.

Where to find Tessa Lunney: 

Website: https://tessalunney.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tessa.lunney

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tessawynn

Instagram:  @misskikibutton  and @tessawynn

Six Things You'll Find Out  

Why she’s obsessed with Anglophone 1920s Paris

Partying with Pablo Picasso and Kiki Button

Aussie nurse and hero Kiki Button’s relevance to Me Too

How Harry Potter saved her sanity as a young Mother

Where to go in Kiki’s Paris

How her doctorate on war trauma informed the story

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 Tessa.  Hello there Tessa and welcome to the show it’s great to have you with us . .

Tessa Lunney: Paris mysteries

Tessa: It's great to be here.

Jenny: Beginning at the  beginning - was there a "Once Upon A Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction?  And if there was a catalyst, what was it?

Tessa: There was a moment when I decided to write fiction, and that was about two years after I realized I was never going to be an actress. I wanted to be an actress so much from when I was a very little girl. When I was about 21 or 22, I realized that I didn't have the success that my friends who were actors had already had, but also it didn't suit me. It didn't suit my personality and it didn't suit me intellectually. I looked at the decisions I'd made in my life, and I realized none of these were pointing towards an acting life.

I told myself  "you have to be honest with yourself, you're not going to do this". A couple of years later, I finished university and I did an honors year, which is an extra year added on to my three year degree. I was surrounded by highly intelligent, passionate, eloquent book readers. And I thought 'these are my people!' I thought, 'you're going to have to go with books. It's you're first love and you're true love, so maybe you can tell a story... maybe you should start to try?'

And so I started to try when I enrolled in a graduate diploma of creative writing. I enrolled because my boyfriend at the time was enrolling in his Bachelor of Music, and I was bored and had nothing better to do. I had three or four classes a week, and I thought this is it. This is what I'm going to do. That was like a long moment that ended in a flash of revelation.

Jenny: It's great that you had such self awareness at such an early age!

Tessa: Well, it was sort of forced upon me because I was quite unhappy trying to do this and trying to do that. It was all failing and not working. It should have worked; it worked in my mind but I just couldn't perform, I couldn't do anything. I tried out the drama schools and hadn't got in and I just thought this is a series of failures. But more than that- I wasn't even enjoying it. I didn't even enjoy being up on stage. I didn't want to do it, so why are you pursuing this if you hate it? So I had to think about it. It took a long time because I went overseas and had affairs and finished my degree. I did a lot of thinking, so the self awareness came slowly.

Jenny: April in Paris 1921 is a mystery set in that period when the expat artists and writers were taking over Montparnasse!

Tessa Lunney’s party girl hero Kiki Button poses for Pablo Picasso in Bohemian Paris in the first book of a mystery series that gently prods at serious questions – like how to be a ‘modern woman.’

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Tessa talks about  why she’s obsessed with 1920s Paris, how her doctorate on war literature helped shape Kiki’s character, and why Harry Potter saved her in the early days of motherhood.

But before we talk to Tessa, just a reminder that the show notes for this episode can be found on the website, the Joys of Binge Reading.com  that’s where you’ll find links to Tessa’s website and  work, as well as details about how to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes.

Where to find Tessa Lunney: 

Website: https://tessalunney.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tessa.lunney

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tessawynn

Instagram:  @misskikibutton  and @tessawynn

Six Things You'll Find Out  

Why she’s obsessed with Anglophone 1920s Paris

Partying with Pablo Picasso and Kiki Button

Aussie nurse and hero Kiki Button’s relevance to Me Too

How Harry Potter saved her sanity as a young Mother

Where to go in Kiki’s Paris

How her doctorate on war trauma informed the story

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 Tessa.  Hello there Tessa and welcome to the show it’s great to have you with us . .

Tessa Lunney: Paris mysteries

Tessa: It's great to be here.

Jenny: Beginning at the  beginning - was there a "Once Upon A Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction?  And if there was a catalyst, what was it?

Tessa: There was a moment when I decided to write fiction, and that was about two years after I realized I was never going to be an actress. I wanted to be an actress so much from when I was a very little girl. When I was about 21 or 22, I realized that I didn't have the success that my friends who were actors had already had, but also it didn't suit me. It didn't suit my personality and it didn't suit me intellectually. I looked at the decisions I'd made in my life, and I realized none of these were pointing towards an acting life.

I told myself  "you have to be honest with yourself, you're not going to do this". A couple of years later, I finished university and I did an honors year, which is an extra year added on to my three year degree. I was surrounded by highly intelligent, passionate, eloquent book readers. And I thought 'these are my people!' I thought, 'you're going to have to go with books. It's you're first love and you're true love, so maybe you can tell a story... maybe you should start to try?'

And so I started to try when I enrolled in a graduate diploma of creative writing. I enrolled because my boyfriend at the time was enrolling in his Bachelor of Music, and I was bored and had nothing better to do. I had three or four classes a week, and I thought this is it. This is what I'm going to do. That was like a long moment that ended in a flash of revelation.

Jenny: It's great that you had such self awareness at such an early age!

Tessa: Well, it was sort of forced upon me because I was quite unhappy trying to do this and trying to do that. It was all failing and not working. It should have worked; it worked in my mind but I just couldn't perform, I couldn't do anything. I tried out the drama schools and hadn't got in and I just thought this is a series of failures. But more than that- I wasn't even enjoying it. I didn't even enjoy being up on stage. I didn't want to do it, so why are you pursuing this if you hate it? So I had to think about it.

Timothy Hallinan’s mysteries and thrillers have made numerous Top Ten Lists for their imaginative verve and humor – and his latest release Nighttown – No 7 in the Junior Bender series, is no exception.

Hi there I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Tim talks about he’s how an LA burglar came to star in a series which proves bad guys have the most fun, and why writing is better than the best job ever.

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

Why writing is more fun than working with Hollywood icon Katarine Hepburn

The amazing street kid behind the Poke Raffery series

How 'getting a heap of useless degrees' finally paid off

The new Golden Age of crime fiction is here now

The writers he admires most - and they're mostly women

What he'd do differently second time around

Where to find Timothy Hallinan:

Website: http://www.timothyhallinan.com

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.hallinan.1

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/timhallinan

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: Hello there Tim and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us.

Timothy: Thanks, it's a real pleasure to be here.

Author Timothy Hallinan

Jenny: Now Tim, before we even dive into the questions, I know you've just had a week away at Joshua's Tree having a sort of personal style writing retreat. That seems to me totally romantic, I just love the idea of doing that. How did that week go?

Timothy: It went amazingly well. I live a fiction in which I will never complete the book I'm working on even though I've written 21 or 22 of them. When I get completely blocked, I go up there and I walk around in the desert for 2-3 days. Everything just melts, and there I am again with the story and the characters. And it worked this time yet again, for probably the twentieth time.

Jenny: That's just wonderful. Is there a certain point in a book where you get stuck every time, or is it different with each book?

Timothy: I get stuck over and over again, but usually the big crisis is about a third of the way in. I've actually thrown out half a dozen books because I just couldn't push past the block.

 Jenny: Wow that's interesting. To get ourselves launched here, how did you get started?  Was there a 'Once Upon a Time' moment when you thought I've just got to write fiction?  And if so, what was the catalyst for it?

Timothy: It was actually a "Twice Upon A Time" situation. We moved all the time when I was a kid. I'd lived in 22 houses by the time I was 18 years old. What that meant was I had no on-going friendships. I mean, you could move six blocks and you're in a different school. For a kid, it might as well be a different planet.

So what I did was, I read. I read all the time. When I was 11, I read The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. I understand how the story works - it's something secret, and somebody has to figure out how it works. Somebody has to restore order. About a year and a half after that, in my family's house in Tarzana,  on the old estate of Edgar Rice Burrough's, I read Gone With The Wind.

For the first time in my life, I read characters who were more real to me than the people with whom I lived. In fact, my mother said that she had to come up and call me sometimes, two or three times, and she had to literally put her hand over the page of the book before I could tune into her.

So by the time I was maybe 13, I understood that there was a kind of story I wanted to tell. And I understood that the most important part of any story were the characters. That was sort of the basis on which everything grew.

Jenny: Now you mentioned that you sort of had a "twice revelation" experience. So that was how you got to really decide you were going to be a writer. How did you actually then carry it out? You had a couple of starts, didn't you?