We are delighted to welcome author Vivian Conroy to Omnimystery News today.
Vivian is the author of The Lady Alkmene Mysteries (Carina; September-October-November 2016 ebook formats), three books of which are coming out this Fall. Click on the banner, below, for more information about this series.
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Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the lead characters of your new mystery series.
Vivian Conroy: Set in the roaring twenties, my Lady Alkmene Callender mysteries feature a titled leading lady and a reporter who hates titles and money — or worse, both combined! — who find themselves interested in the same case (the seemingly accidental death of a wealthy art collector that might in reality be murder) and who work as much against as with each other to solve the crime. I came up with Alkmene first, picturing the scene of a woman in evening dress reaching for a lighter to relight her cigarette when she overhears a few whispered words from behind a silk screen that put her on the trail of the murder case. Because she is a woman and raised within the protective confines of her class, I knew she could not go out and contact street informers or find information via police contacts, so I needed her to have a sleuthing partner who would be her entrance into the lower class world. At the same time I wanted her to be able to offer to this partner her particular skills and abilities so — despite their obvious differences — they would still be equal partners, rivals for the winning clue as much as allies for justice and truth. I think with Jake Dubois — a half French, half British reporter with strong opinions on class and privilege, plus some secrets in his past that will come up in the course of the series — I have created a character that is both appealing and intriguing and can go head-to-head with Alkmene, who is herself strongwilled and fearless in the pursuit of the killer.
OMN: How do you expect them to develop over the course of the series?
VC: I hope readers will already see some character development in Book 1, A Proposal to Die For, as Alkmene gets her first eye witness tastes of how people live in less well-to-do neighborhoods and her best intentions of solving some issues have a disastrous effect. I hope to show that Alkmene's supposed privileged position also comes with setbacks and challenges and that she has to struggle to find her place in the world and establish herself as an independent woman, rather than someone's daughter or wife.
In Book 2, Diamonds of Death, to clear a cat burglar of a murder charge, Alkmene goes to stay with some family members she lost touch with as one of them might be the murderer who set the cat burglar up to be wrongly accused. Away from the buzz of London, at a remote manor, digging into family secrets, Alkmene confronts questions about her own childhood and the value of family ties so the reader gets to know Alkmene even better.
As to Jake, the readers will find out more about his past and his motivation in crime solving as the series progresses.
OMN: Suppose Lady Alkmene were to interview you. What would be her opening question? And what would be your answer?
VC: Her opening question would be why I find it necessary to have her risk her life in every book by direct confrontation with the killer. And my answer would be that often there is no other way to prove guilt as the killer has hidden his or her traces so well. Besides, Alkmene would not be Alkmene if she didn't enjoy a little danger, a little risk.
OMN: How would you tweet a summary of Diamonds of Death?
VC: Lady Alkmene Book 2, DIAMONDS OF DEATH: Lord Winters dead, his famous diamonds missing, can Lady Alkmene untangle a web of deceit?
OMN: What advice might you offer to aspiring authors?
VC: For aspiring authors it can be hard hearing so much advice about how to write, and you can actually get quite confused and blocked when you sit down to write, because you are constantly thinking about the right way to do it. I'd like to say two things, from my own experience. 1) Write what you love. I've loved mystery all my life and when I sat down to write Alkmene, she just came to life on the page. I had so much fun creating her world, the suspects, clues, red herrings. Don't try to write to a trend but write a genre you love and know well. 2) Grab the reader right from the start. The opening scene has to bring your world to life at once and pull the reader in. You don't have a lot of time to set it all up, so avoid backstory and focus on giving a taste of the atmosphere and creating an interesting setup. In A Proposal to Die For, I opened with Alkmene overhearing a marriage proposal that also carries a hint of malice. The reader wonders what is behind it all and starts guessing right alongside Alkmene. Backstory etc. can be woven in later. Just grab the reader and don't let go!
OMN: Tell us more about your covers.
VC: I did say to my editor I loved the 1920s' Art Deco posters, but I could never have imagined my covers would look so gorgeous. They reflect the era so well, and the different settings of the books. One reviewer said she'd love to stroke, or frame, the cover and I feel exactly the same way.
OMN: What's next for you?
VC: November will see the publication of Book 3 in the Lady Alkmene series, Deadly Treasures, where Lady Alkmene is invited to visit a childhood friend's excavation site only to find there is more being dug up there than just dry bones and pottery shards. I love books set at archaeological digs so I had a blast developing the fictional castle with the treasure that is at the heart of the mystery. Cornwall formed an atmospheric, mysterious backdrop and one of the suspects was by far my favorite minor character to write to date. Deadly Treasures can already be pre-ordered to arrive first thing on November 21.
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Having read her first Agatha Christie at thirteen, Vivian Conroy soon devoured all the Poirot and Miss Marple stories. Over time Lord Peter Wimsey and Brother Cadfael joined her favorite sleuths. Even more fun than reading was thinking up her own fog-filled alleys and priceless artifacts so she created the Lady Alkmene Callender 1920s' Mysteries, published by an imprint of HarperCollins. When not writing or plotting, Vivian enjoys hiking, growing her own windowsill herbs and experimenting with felt and clay.
For more information about the author, please follow her on Twitter.
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