1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE CURSE OF PENRYTH HALL
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
The Curse of Penryth Hall is a country house murder mystery set in the first few years after the First World War. It’s centered on the adventures of Ruby Vaughn, an unconventional American bookseller, who is sent deep into the Cornish countryside to deliver a box of old books and ends up with a dead baronet and a centuries old curse on her hands.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’d actually intended to set the book in Wales, and my heroine Ruby was going to be a folklore scholar. During my research process, I was reading accounts from 19th and 20th century folklorists, in order to ground myself in what I thought was going to be my heroine’s academic worldview. But as I read more, I kept finding these intriguing stories of Pellars appearing in the Cornish folk tradition and I ended up shifting the entire story to Cornwall instead just so I could include a Pellar in the story.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely, Ruby is the life of the party! Though I honestly might be a little concerned for my personal safety since she has a habit of getting herself into trouble.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Reckless, loyal and brave.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
How to write a mystery! I’d never actually written one before—even though I’d read tons of them.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
A little of both. So, a little bit about my process first--I don’t write chronologically. I might start writing a novel with Chapter 3 or 4—then suddenly get an idea for dialogue that belongs in the midpoint, so then I’ll skip ahead and then write it out until the muse is done with me. Then, once I’ve exhausted that path, I go back to where I was and try to continue on. The problem with writing this way is that I’ll end up adding a plot thread close to the end that shifts earlier chapters—so I have to go back to revise earlier chapters so I don’t leave a thread dangling.
Because of all the back and forth, I don’t do sentence level edits until the very end. My process is way too messy for that. I save those for once my plot and scenes are locked into place and then I worry about echo, and cadence and fix word choice. The upside to of all of this revision before the first draft is complete means that my first completed draft is really actually more like a 2nd or 3rd draft than a first. It’s a totally chaotic writing process—and I would never recommend it to someone unless their brain likes it—but it works for me.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Cheese. I love it so much, especially a good washed rind cheese slathered on crusty bread with a fruit jam…it’s literally the best thing in the world!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I really move around a lot when I write. I don’t have a dedicated office, but I spend a lot of time writing either outside or on the porch with my cat. Pretty much wherever I am with a laptop is my writing space.
10--Who is an author you admire?
That’s a hard one! There are so many people writing that I admire, but lately I’ve been really looking up to Deanna Raybourn. Partly because I love her novels so much and am pretty sure I’ve read everything she’s written, and partly because of how well she keeps her series alive through so many books. The characters are always fresh and surprising. I think she’s about eight books into the Veronica Speedwell series with a new one coming next year, and it’s still going strong. It’s pretty inspirational.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Yes and no. I think a lot of books have that ability—even if it’s incremental change. I’m not sure there’s one book for me, but about ten years or so ago I wanted to become a marriage and family therapist, and was in a mental health counseling graduate program. As part of our coursework we had to read Martin Buber’s I and Thou and Thich Nhat Hanh’s Cultivating the Mind of Love. Those two books taken together really shifted the way I looked at both myself and interpersonal relationships. It definitely changed me for the better.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I had a slightly different path to publication because my deal came as part of winning the Mystery Writers of America / Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition. I’d submitted the manuscript in December of 2021, during the last week or two that the contest was open. I honestly did not expect to win when I submitted the manuscript, but I had a completed manuscript and the contest was open—so I thought I’d give it a chance.
Of course, I nearly forgot all about it over the next few months. It was the very end of March 2022 when I got the call. I was at work crunching numbers when I saw an unknown number from New York pop up on my phone. I almost didn’t answer because I’d been getting so many spam calls that week—but then I remembered that I’d submitted to the contest and they were supposed to notify the winner by the end of March. So, I answered totally expecting it to be a junk call. But it was my future editor calling me to tell me I’d won. I was so stunned, I’m not sure I managed a complete sentence the whole time we spoke.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
It really depends on my mood. I was in a big romantasy phase earlier this year thanks to bookstagram, but have gone back to gothics for fall. Normally I bounce between romance and mystery with all their various sub genres.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I’m not sure I have one. I used to watch so many movies when I was younger, but I think with kids I’ve kind of gotten out of the habit of committing the time to watching movies unless I’m watching with them. I tend to watch tv series more, that good bite sized plot arc where I can stop or I can continue on depending on my mood. Whatever I’m watching, I love a good costume drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall/Winter. I’m all about liminal spaces. Changes and transitions. That goes for seasons too.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
So, this may seem weird but I’m not a big holiday/birthday person for myself. Usually we don’t do much on the actual day besides cake and whatever I want for dinner. This year we went out and got sushi with the kids after I got done with work. I’m very much a “life is short” kind of person, so I would far rather celebrate on a random Tuesday if I feel like going out than making a big deal over my birthday.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The She Wore Black podcast by Agatha Andrews. It is my favorite bookish podcast, and I am constantly telling people to tune in. I always look forward to new episodes. Her taste is impeccable, and she has never once recommended a book I didn’t absolutely love. If it has Agatha’s stamp of approval, I am all over it!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Any and all! I’m a huge foodie and I love to eat. Right now, I’m really in a banh mi phase and could probably eat different ones every day. They’re the perfect balance of savory, sweet and spicy. But my favorites really change with my mood.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I usually write in my free time, or read. I work full time and have two small kids, so I’m stealing hours before work, on weekends and after everyone is in bed. Most of my free time ends up going to writing or reading. One of the two.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
The next adventure for Ruby Vaughn will be coming in Fall 2024. I’m really excited to be able to share more about that with you soon.
An atmospheric gothic mystery that beautifully brings the ancient Cornish countryside to life, Armstrong introduces heroine Ruby Vaughn in her Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Curse of Penryth Hall.
After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.
A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses—or Pellars—but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next victim: Tamsyn.
To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night.
Mystery | Romance Historical [Minotaur Books, On Sale: December 5, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250886019 / ]
Jess Armstrong’s debut novel The Curse of Penryth Hall won the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur First Crime Novel Competition. She has a masters degree in American History but prefers writing about imaginary people to the real thing. Jess lives in New Orleans with her historian husband, two sons, yellow cat, speckled dog, and the world’s most pampered school-fair goldfish. And when she’s not working on her next project, she’s probably thinking about cheese, baking, tweeting or some combination of the above.
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