with Jayne-Marie Barker
We are delighted to welcome author Jayne-Marie Barker to Omnimystery News today.
Jayne-Marie's new thriller is The Dancer's Ghost (Austin Macauley Publishers; October 2013 trade paperback format) and we recently had the chance to talk with her about it.
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Omnimystery News: Is The Dancer's Ghost part of a series?
Photo provided courtesy of
Jayne-Marie Barker
Jayne-Marie Barker: I didn't intend to write a reccurring character in my books, but he kept cropping up! It sounds mad I know, and he wasn't supposed to be a big part player, but he wouldn't go away and featured more than intended in book 1. By book 2 he was a regular character and a big part in book 3.
OMN: Into what genre would you place your books?
JMB: My publisher lists my titles as "Romantic Thrillers". I tend to think of them as crime thrillers. My newest book (unpublished at present) is very definitely a police procedural.
OMN: Tell us something about one of your books that isn't mentioned in the publisher's synopsis.
JMB: Distant Shadows, my second novel, was originally written some years back as a romance. The characters in the 50s era are the same, although not a single word remains from the original manuscript. Almost as soon as I'd finished writing it the first time around, I wanted to re-write it and had the idea of bringing in a stalker. I've no idea why but the idea stayed with me and eventually, some time and many different manuscripts later, I came back to it. Now, I'm so glad it didn't go anywhere in its original format. Distant Shadows is a far better book than its first attempt!
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in your books?
JMB: The Dancer's Ghost details dancing technique, ballroom and Latin dancing competitions, and carnival dancing. It also features loss. A far portion of the emotions are drawn from my own experience, adapted to fit the fictional world of the story. The dancing is taken purely from personal experience.
OMN: Have any of your outside interests or hobbies found their way into your book?
JMB: Yes! My other great passion in life is dance. This has already featured in The Dancer's Ghost.
OMN: Tell us a little more about your writing process.
JMB: My writing process is structured. I am a planner by nature. I do have complete and thorough character profiles for all my characters. Before writing the manuscript I create a detailed outline by scene, so I know where my story is going. The planning process takes almost as long, sometimes longer, than the first draft, but it's a worthwhile exercise. The characters and the plot sometimes throw up unexpected twists as the story develops, which usually turn out to be better than anything I could have imagined at the planning stage. I try to allow myself some room for these twists.
OMN: How do you go about researching the various plot points of your books?
JMB: During the planning stage I undertake research for anything I need e.g. characters jobs, experiences etc. I use a combination of internet and library books, but by far the best research technique is to speak to real people. Luckily I have always found people to be very willing to assist. You'll find them noted in the acknowledgements in every one of the books. The most challenging research topic was perhaps the stalker element in Distant Shadows. For this I spoke to professionals in crime detection and people who had been victims of stalkers. The most exciting was perhaps the visit to a primary school for Beneath The Daisies, where the children and the teachers showed me what primary school life is like today.
OMN: Where do your books take place?
JMB: My books are set in a fictional town named Atwood. My fictional town is in Suffolk and based very much on an area I know well. I mention real places e.g. Norwich and UEA (University of East Anglia). The manuscript I'm working on now is set in a real place.
OMN: If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, to research a setting for a book, where would it be?
JMB: The Carribean. I'd love to go there! I think such a view could be very inspiring.
OMN: What is the best advice — and harshest criticism — you've received as an author? And what might you tell aspiring writers?
JMB: The best advice I have received from an author, and as an author, is to just keep going. Harshest criticism, um, not sure, maybe that my work didn't fit into a clear genre. I have learnt from other authors simply by reading their work and studying the marketplace. If you read a book, break it down and examine every piece of it in detail, it's amazing what you can learn! This is exactly what I'd advise aspiring writers to do, study what is already out on the bookshop shelves, and don't give up!
OMN: Finish this sentence for us: "I am a crime writer and thus I am also …".
JMB: I am a crime writer and thus I am also … brimming with imagination. I can't seem to stop creating a fictional world. It's a very addictive past time. Equally, I can't seem to write anything without killing off a character!
OMN: Do you write under a pen name?
JMB: I write under my real name. However, I am contemplating shortening to initials and surname only on future titles. The advantage would be privacy of course. Disadvantages would be lack of recognition.
OMN: Tell us a little more about your books' covers and their titles.
JMB: My publisher's graphics team designed the book covers for each book. I submitted ideas but left the final cover to the experts! The titles, so far, have been fixed in my mind from word go but this isn't always the case. The manuscript I'm writing has no name. It has a working title but I'm not convinced it'll stick!
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from your readers?
JMB: One reader told me that "they had never read anything like it ever before and totally loved it", which I've never forgotten. A few people have said "they couldn't put it down", which is always nice to hear. As an author, it is always nice to learn that someone has enjoyed reading the book.
OMN: If your books were to be adapted for television or film, who do you see playing the key parts?
JMB: Ooh, that's a tricky question! I really don't know. My main character is a complete imagination. I can't think of anybody who resembles him in the least. It would be a challenge for the make up team, poor souls!
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
JMB: As a child I read anything and everything I was allowed to! I started reading Agatha Christie as a young teenager and caught the mystery bug. When I was studying for A-Level English Literature I was introduced to Sylia Plath, Margaret Atwood and Tom Stoppard. A combination of their work, all very different, influenced me.
OMN: And what do you read now for pleasure?
JMB: Much like when I was younger, I read almost every genre with exception of Sci-Fi and horror. I'm not a fan of the graphic or the ugly. My imagination does more than enough, I don't need the detail! I like to read crime fiction obviously, but I also enjoy light hearted reads every now and then too. It's a great feeling when you start a book that you just know you're not going to put down until you've turned the last page.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
JMB: Top 5 Authors I Will Always Read:
1. Agatha Christie;
2. Margaret Atwood;
3. Elly Griffiths;
4. Adele Parks; and
5. Jane Austen.
OMN: What's next for you?
JMB: Next for me … let's see. I have some personal exams in the dance field to complete, plus a new crime thriller series to pen.
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Born in May 1981, Jayne-Marie Barker grew up in Suffolk where my family remain and whom she visits every month. Following the achievement of my OCR RSA Diploma in Administrative and Secretarial Procedures in the summer of 1999, she moved to Hertfordshire to pursue her career. She currently works as Personal Assistant to the CEO and board directors for Europe's leading tyre company.
Aside from writing, her other great love in life is dance; she belongs to an excellent school. Her passion for dance is such that she has passed exams in Ballroom, Latin, Salsa and Argentine Tango, and can now proudly call herself an amateur member of the IDTA.
For more information about the author and her work, please visit her website at JayneMarieBarker.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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The Dancer's Ghost
Jayne-Marie Barker
A Novel of Suspense
Where we come from can change everything …
When a baby is snatched the famous parents keep the tragedy secret, but this doesn't prevent Joyce Capelli from searching, attracting trouble at every turn. An anonymous writer claims to know everything, but it will cost Joyce more than she realises. When a shot is fired all she finds is an open window, and a room of photographs.
In the modern day Rebecca Houseman finds herself widowed, suffering persistent dreams, and threatened. What she doesn't know is why. When the unconventional DCI Allen says her husband's apparent natural causes was in fact murder, she wonders what he was trying to tell her in his final breath.
A stranger is watching the Houseman family, an unsettling familiarity that could change everything. As the attempts grow increasingly deadly, the inspector strives to solve the case, but can he crack the mystery before the assassin finds Rebecca?
Meanwhile, in the 1960s, Joyce's delight at finding her baby is tragically short lived. What could ink Rebecca Houseman and the young dancer's missing baby all those years ago?
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