In HEART OF A TIGER, a child is in danger. What made you use this element in your story? Was that meant to increase the tension and engage the reader even more?
The child in the story is because of the Earl of Soothcoor. He has been a “cast member” in three previous stories. I’ve become quite fond of him. He’s 40ish, never married, plain looking, and secretly heavy into philanthropy. I decided he was in a rut and needed something to push him out of his comfort zone. The child is his heir through his brother and his Indian wife.
I like a mystery series with a couple who solves mysteries together. Was it always the plan to have a mystery series with a married couple? Or did things change as you began writing the first book?
Things changed after I wrote the first book, THE WAYLAID HEART. Readers requested I have them in a series. So, I did! I adore them. They are a loving couple, opposites that complement each other.
I love historical romances and historical mysteries, but I always wonder one thing. How much research went into a book like this? Are you a history buff?
I am a history buff. It has always fascinated me. I have a good basis for my time period in the books I own. For specific items, I do “just-in-time” research on the internet. Without giving too much away for readers, for this book I researched poisons and chimney sweeps, among other things.
Is there a time period that you haven’t already written about, that you might like to set a story in the future?
I’m considering a series of murder mysteries in St. Augustine, Florida in the 1920’s. My daughter and son-in-law are restoring a property there. When I visited last year, I read some materials she had from the local historical society and became “hooked” on the possibilities for that city and that era.
If you could recommend only one of your books to a reader unfamiliar with your work, which would you pick? And why?
THE WAYLAID HEART is my favorite. It is a mystery, and it is a romance–my favorite combination. Sir James had been a cast member in HONOR’S PLAYERS, and I had to promise him his own book to keep him from taking over and saving the heroine instead of letting her husband do so!
A few authors I’ve interviewed in the past have told me that the kind of book they enjoy writing is not the same kind of book they enjoy reading. What do you like to read? Favorite books? Authors?
I am a diehard Jayne Anne Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick fan, even if I do skim over the “hot” parts.
What are you currently working on?
ARTFUL DECEIT, the first book in a new series with cousins who are, in one fashion or another, into “the arts”. If everything goes well that will be out at the end of June. I am also planning a fourth book in the Chance Inquiry series.
A Chance Inquiry #3
For the past six months, since solving the thefts of England's subsidies meant for its war allies, Lady Cecilia and Sir James Branstoke have concentrated on renovating their estate in Kent. But with most of the work done, and winter approaching, Lady Cecilia is restless. She doesn't want to hibernate like a bear for the winter. Her husband, Sir James Branstoke, cautions her to be careful of what she wishes for.
When David Thornbridge sends word to them that someone has kidnapped a child from The East India Company dock, Cecilia and James immediately return to London to investigate. To their horror, they learn the child is the nephew of their friend, the Earl of Soothcoor. Soothcoor is in Northumberland. It will take days for the news to reach him, or for him to return to London. The Branstokes take in the child's nursemaid, and with the help of her, a Bow Street Runner, and Mr. Thornbridge, they search London for the child.
Their investigation leads them from warehouses, to a society musical entertainment, and to the rooftops and chimneys of London. And just when they rescue the child, MURDER occurs. For kidnapping the child was only a small part of a monstrous plan to hold the power of life and death in one man's hands-for a profit.
Thriller Crime [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: April 12, 2022, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781648392030 / ]
Holly Newman is the pseudonym for Holly Thompson. She lives in Bradenton, FL with her husband Ken and six cats. She became interested in the Regency period while in high school when she volunteered at her local community library to re-shelve returned books. Every week there were Georgette Heyer novels to be shelved. Curious, she checked one out and became immersed in the world of the regency. Ten years later she became involved in a regency historical re-creation group complete with the mode of dress, manners, and dancing. It was no wonder that when it came to writing a novel, regencies were high on the list.
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