Author Interview | Celebrating the wicked new #bookseries of Thrilling Suspense by Clare Chase whilst sharing her writerly process as she ‘introduces’ us to #MurderOnTheMarshes! The 1st #TaraThrope Mystery!

Good evening, dear hearts!

I have a brilliantly lovely conversation to share with you this afternoon! The lovely Clare Chase who wrote a rather intriguingly beguiling Romantic Suspense novel has recently released the first of a new Police Procedural Thriller series entitled: ‘Murder on the Marshes’! And, you know I couldn’t wait to get my *hands!* on the audiobook! I waited on pins for the title to appear inside my Audible Library – thinking it would arrive shortly after *midnight!* on the 1st of August, however, much to my elated joy it came just after 8pm on the 31st of July! Imagine my glee!? (see also Tweet)

A lot of times I have the pleasure of joy of #amlistening to a sampler of the audiobook I want to purchase – however, in rare instances, there is an embargo on having those available pre-publication. Ergo, I was wickedly itching to ‘hear’ the narrator, as listening to audiobooks for me is a brilliantly lovely visceral experience to where I feel pulled into the world a writer creates through the fusion of not just their written words which are eloquently interpreted & brought to life by the narrator – but the actual way in which the narrator voices the characters, sets the tone of the story and the ‘experience’ of hearing the story articulated through spoken dialogue – it’s a lovely immersion of bookish delight – so imagine, trying to ascertain ‘how’ this would sound without a guide? My curiosity nearly killed me,…

.@bookouture I've been so dearly EAGER to hear your #narrator, I can't help myself but read until the clock strikes twelve; pop into my #Audible library, see if I can🧐the #audiobook & sit here listening to the first bits whilst in full anticipation of what will start to unfold😁

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) July 31, 2018

I’ve disclosed this before – a narrator can quite literally de-motivate me from listening to an author’s collective works even though I technically try to keep the door ajar to re-try another of their stories (similar of course, if I read a story in print, find it wasn’t my cuppa & try to find a different title of theirs to give a whirl of a chance of fitting my bookish wanderings). For me, the narrator makes/breaks the whole experience – I can give narrators a bone if say, the delivery isn’t quite posh or if it feels like their still gaining traction on their narration style – but overall, if their voice grates in my ears, if their approach is less than reasonable or even plausible – I can feel myself ‘pull out’.

Here’s how I reacted to hearing ‘Murder on the Marshes’ for the very first moment I found it available to ‘hear’:

A wicked good choice for #narrator – listened to a few minutes of the chapter, as I’m working on cooking dinner, but couldn’t not play the book!?She’s approaching #MurderOnTheMarshes in a similar vein as @EsmieMatthews approached #KayHunter I surmise I’ll be properly enthralled!

— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) August 1, 2018

I am itching to return back inside ‘Murder on the Marshes’ as it is going to be my #nextlisten after I conclude the audiobooks I was listening to in July! Coming out of the #KayHunter series, I am fully bracing myself for this new Police Procedural Thriller! In fact, I’m rather grateful I discovered Kay Hunter, as it gave me a keen insight into my new boundaries of what I can personally ‘handle’ in Crime Fiction!

I knew I could handle Dramatic Crime Fiction through my readings of the Marjorie Trumaine series, the Anna Blanc series and the Samuel Craddock series – however, Kay Hunter is a bird of a completely different feather as it’s a lovely cross between my affection and appreciation for *ncis* (x3) and *law & order* (x3) of which I predominately watched throughout my twenties & early thirties!

Having become so dearly transfixed by Alison Campbell’s style of embracing Kay Hunter, I was primed for ‘meeting’ Lucy Brownhill! Even though I’ve heard only a smidge of the first Chapter, I already could *feel!* this was the right narrator – her approach into embracing Tara Thrope echoes Campbell’s Hunter. In finding this realisation, I knew my time spent within ‘Murder on the Marshes’ was going to be epic, brilliant & chilling!

As dear hearts, as find myself shifting a bit in the type of Crime Novels I love to be reading – I must brace my heart & mind! The further I dip into this kind of suspenseful Thriller, the more I realise my ‘short-list’ of favourite authors shall remain decidedly ‘short’ as I can’t tuck into these stories too much as they are emotionally convicting *but!* there is something to be said for today’s Contemporary Thriller & Suspense authors who are giving me *exactly!* what I am seeking in a novel when I am not dearly *attached!* to binge watching Crime Dramas on television! Irregardless if those series are American, Canadian, of the UK or Australian!

I am blessed to be able to celebrate the new series by Ms Chase as she was already on my ‘list’ of wicked good Romantic Suspense and now, I get to become acquainted with her ‘other’ side of the spectrum – the quirky matching of a DI with a journalist and the lovely complexities of such a relationship will let out as the series progresses forward!

Sit down with your favourite cuppa,

and read why the Tara Thrope series has caught my bookish eye!

A notation about Bookouture & Hachette Books:

In [2016] I created a series of interviews featuring #Bookouture authors: Teresa Driscoll (feat. ‘Last Kiss Goodnight’); Natalie Meg Evans (feat. ‘A Gown of Thorns’); Renita D’ Silva (feat. ‘A Mother’ Secret’); Debbie Rix (feat. ‘Daughters of the Silk Road’); Kerry Fisher (feat. ‘After the Lie’); Helen Pollard (feat. ‘The Little French Guesthouse’) and Tom Bale (feat. ‘See How They Run’). I’ve been striving to collect all of these stories for my personal library whilst intending to share my ruminative thoughts – as I personally love to showcase a guest feature ahead of reading the stories which intrigue my bookish heart! Of this list, as of Thanksgiving 2017 – I have happily acquired the audiobook version of ‘The Little French Guesthouse’ which is a next listen of mine this year! I have more to share about how I acquired this audiobook when I share my ruminations!

Whilst for the past few years I’ve been a book blogger reading INSPY (faith-based) and Motivational stories (of fiction and Non-Fiction) from Hachette Books (USA) imprints: FaithWords and Center Street. At the time of coordinating this interview with Ms Chase, I had missed the fact ‘Bookouture’ was acquired by Hachette UK. This marks my first guest feature and showcased story for Hachette UK : Bookouture! (see also the announcement of the acquisition)

Meanwhile, as per my announcement recently featured on The Sunday Post, No. 6 – I purchased a copy of the digital audiobook version of ‘Murder on the Marshes’ which I am looking forward to listening too. My ruminations are forthcoming on behalf of this first installment of the Tara Thrope series as being this is my own purchase I am not obliged to post my reflections on this novel, I am choosing to showcase my reactions as Ms Chase is an author I personally love reading! (see also my review of ‘You Think You Know Me’)

Previously, you will remember, I crossed paths with Ms Chase through my readings of ChocLitUK (of which I am a reviewer) whilst I have had the pleasure of getting to know her personally through my bi-monthly chat @SatBookChat (previously known as @ChocLitSaturday).

On my connection to Clare Chase: When I started a chat in [2014] my path crossed with Ms Chase as she was a regular chatter of what is now known as @SatBookChat. Ms Chase and I started to notice our reading habits were aligning with each other, and her conversations were happy editions to my week as I liked finding someone else who liked the same types of stories I was gravitating towards myself. We continued to ‘chat’ about our reading habits even outside of #ChocLitSaturday (the previous name of the chat), which was a blessed joy for me.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Chase through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I host #SatBookChat and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.

Murder on the Marshes
Subtitle: A gripping murder mystery thriller that will keep you turning the pages
by Clare Chase
Source: Purchased | Personal Library
Narrator: Lucy Brownhill

As the sun rises, a wealthy young woman – Samantha Seabrook – is found drowned in the ornamental fountain of a deserted Cambridge courtyard, the only clue – an antique silver chain wound tightly around her throat.

It’s Tara Thorpe’s job to discover what happened to Miss Seabrook – but the case becomes personal when she learns that Samantha had been receiving death threats… rather like the one that landed on Tara’s doorstep the night the woman died.

Together with Detective Inspector Garstin Blake, Tara tracks the killer to the dank and dangerous fens on the outskirts of the city. But there’s something Tara can’t quite admit to Blake about her past – and it could make all the difference to whether they live... or die.

Genres: Amateur Detective, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Thriller

Places to find the book:

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781786814319

ASIN: B07FPNP92B

Also by this author: You Think You Know Me, Murder on the Marshes, Death on the River

Published by Bookouture, Hachette UK

on 1st August, 2018

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 10 hours and 45 minutes (unabridged)

As I was researching early reviews by readers and bloggers for ‘Murder on the Marshes’ one mentioned this new series has a touch of Inspector Morse about it. I was keenly interested in hearing this, as Morse is one of my favourite British detectives (by way of the BBC serial, sadly I’ve not yet read the novels) – aesthetically what do you think is pulling readers to feel a homage to Morse in your ‘Murder on the Marshes’?

Chase responds: I was delighted to see that comparison as I love Inspector Morse! If think it might have been made for a couple of reasons. Although my books are set in Cambridge, rather than Oxford, there are similarities between the two cities. In particular they are each home to ancient universities and everything that goes with them, from beautiful architecture to the high concentrations of academics, students and others associated with those institutions. Murder on the Marshes focuses on the academic world, as do a lot of the Inspector Morse mysteries. And I think my books also fall into a similar sub-section of the crime genre, in that they’re traditional detective fiction.

I can imagine – there would be a lot of cross-relatability between the two locales – the architecture is what popped into my mind immediately, as from what I’ve gathered through my ardent appreciation for BBC Crime & Drama serials or mini-series is how wickedly ancient and lovely the buildings are in both cities! I love the Old World – combine that with the University vibe and I think you have a setting prime for ‘intrigue, thrilling suspense & the curiosities of human behaviour’ converging together!

I hadn’t quite looked at it from this particular angle – as ‘Detective fiction’ felt more like a private eye (detective) type story trope for me, which I think might be the interpretation on this side of the Pond vs the UK. The stories you’ve writ here remind me of Police Procedural, Suspense &/or Thriller with a healthy dash of Amateur Detective thrown in! More ‘Law & Order esp the Criminal Intent series’ than ‘Remington Steele’ or even ‘Nash Bridges’, ‘NCIS’ (all 3), ‘The Division’ rather than ‘Mannix’. ‘Columbo’ would work well though in this category as I felt he was definitely the epitome of an American Police Procedural drama!

(says the girl currently binge watching ‘Mannix’ through her local library’s ILL services (inter-library loan) You might find it interesting but I’ve watched more Crime Dramas on tv throughout my life than Comedies & Dramas combined! I now have cornered the globe for this niche as I have beloved favourites from Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia and of course, America.

Speaking of British detectives, what are your favourite Murder Mysteries, Police Procedural & Silver Hair Sleuths on television? Either from the UK, Canada, America or Australia? As those are the ones I regularly seek out myself – I have my own personal favourites and were curious which ones might be yours? What stood out to you about where their set, how their written and which characters (leading or supporting cast) draw your eye towards them the most? And, why, of course!

Chase responds: Growing up I watched all sorts of mystery series. When I was very young I remember enjoying Columbo and lots of Agatha Christie adaptations. Later on I loved Morse, as mentioned above, as well as Moonlighting, Hill Street Blues, NCIS, the Adam Dalgliesh and Inspector Wexford mysteries, and many more besides. More recently I’ve loved Rebus with Ken Stott and Claire Price, the adaptations of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels, Lewis and Endeavour (both spin-offs from the original Morse series) and Grantchester. There are more… but perhaps I’d better stop there. I don’t want that much television…!

These adaptations each have a strong sense of place, whether it’s Morse’s Oxford or Rebus’s Edinburgh, and getting to see a city with all its idiosyncrasies through the eyes of the writer/producer is fascinating. As far as characters go, I was drawn to Maddie and David in Moonlighting because of their humorous banter and on-off romance. I love the dynamic between Rebus and Siobhan Clarke too (Claire Price does the best eye rolls), and Rebus’s boss Gill Templer (played by Jennifer Black) is a great addition to the mix. The mystery is very important in each crime drama of course, but feeling close to the characters is what keeps me going back for more.

Ooh boy! We are surely soul-sisters of Crime Dramas! I grew up *devouring!* Murder, She Wrote; Quincy M.E., Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Nash Bridges, Walker Texas Ranger, Charlie’s Angels, TJ Hooker, CHiPs, The Commish, EZ Streets, One West Waikiki, The Untouchables (1993), The Sentinel, La Femme Nikita and Cagney & Lacey (though towards the end of my teens). In my twenties and thirties I was positively addicted to the franchise of Law & Order and NCIS; Numbers, Leverage, Perception, CSI: Cyber, Elementary (though I need to re-start this from the beginning), SHERLOCK (though disappointed by S3), The Mysteries of Laura, Burn Notice (though the series disappointed towards the end), The Closer (til I lost interest), The Mentalist  whilst I was fascinated with Rozzoli & Isles – would have stuck with Criminal Minds if hadn’t grown so creepy! There were some dramas on Hallmark Channel too – such as Mystery Woman (Kellie Martin), Jane Doe (Lea Thompson), McBride (John Larroquette) with recent favourites the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, the Garage Sale Mysteries, Murder, She Baked and others! This isn’t a full list (of course) but most of my *loves* are on it!

I missed of course, Hawaii Five-O and Miami Vice; of the two, I still would like to gather the seasonals of the former which I can do now through ILL’ing through my local library. I also only caught ‘glimpses’ of The Streets of San Francisco’ and wish to know it better whilst Magnum, PI was my grandfather’s series of preference along with Kojak; for me, I couldn’t get into either of them. (lol) Moonlighting was a bit ahead of my time – it is on my ‘must watch’ list! I didn’t watch too much of In the Heat of the Night either as I knew it was slightly more adult than I ought to watch as a kid under 13 years though I was fascinated with Quantum Leap!

Binge watching television series has never been so wicked fun! I marvel at which of the libraries throughout the United States sends their dvds to my library for my perusal too! It’s heaps of fun seeing which libraries lend out their collections and they each have my absolute appreciation for sending them so far and wide!

As Mum gifted herself BritBox for her birthday this Summer, we’re entranced by the new series Bletchey Circle: San Francisco whilst I noted there are loads of lovely series included in the Mystery folder we haven’t yet seen as well as past favourites like: Hetty Wainthrope and Rosemary & Thyme (which we’ve been recently re-watching!)! I want to get Vera through our library as they don’t have the full series and it looks smashing similar to how I need to start watching the Morse & Lewis episodes via BritBox as I’ve barely seen one or two full seasons (as I used to watch it via PBS) – and Endeavour! Love the series but never could remember the airings so this is a wholly ‘new’ one for me now! Heard of Grantchester (haven’t yet seen) whereas the others you’ve mentioned I must track down to see if they would interest or suit!

Gosh, yes! When you were talking about specifics of character traits – my mind immediately went to how Det. Bobby Goren was portrayed by Vincent (for the life of me I can’t spell nor say his last name!) as he had such a method of approach – sans the disfavour of the subjects/topics/stories which would sometimes be a bit outside the envelope of what I could/wish to hear/see – his acting skills set the bar high! I loved just ‘watching’ him ‘act’ as this detective who was emotionally conflicted, personally constricted by guilt and dearly complex overall – plus just to see how this character’s mind ‘worked’ and sleuthed was worth the angst of the story-lines! I used to binge this with Dad when USA Network ran ‘Criminal Intent’ days… of course, I binged during L&O: SVU days as well – but that was to see Mariska Hargitay!

 What inspired you to write about a journalist and a detective? How did you want to have their paths cross and what is it about their relationship / interaction fascinates you the most as you develop their current time-lines and their back-stories? Any hidden surprises ahead?

Chase responds: I was interested to explore the different approaches and outlooks a journalist and a detective might have and I knew there would be friction between them as they’re both investigating the same murder victim in Murder on the Marshes. DI Blake wants information from Tara Thorpe, but he can only let the details flow one way; everything he and his colleagues discover has to remain confidential. Tara works hard for the clues she discovers and although she’s persuaded to share what she knows, she keeps odds and bits to herself which leads to trouble. I don’t want to give too much away about how the book ends, but Tara’s keenly aware that Blake has right on his side, and that sways her decisions.

I love this kind of tension between characters! It causes the best drama and I delight in seeing how these characters are developed – not just for their individual quirks and back-stories but to see how they play off each other, work with each other (or against) and find common ground (as you know they have it if they choose to root it out!). I found a few characters like this dynamic I loved reading in July (part of my binge on #LoveINSPIRED Suspense). I am hoping the new Crossword Mystery starring two my favourite Hallmark darlings (ie. Brennan Elliott & Lacey Chabert) will have this kind of friction, too as their playing opposite characters than what they normally do when their paired! Something I’d love to see if only to ‘watch’ how they tackle those characters.

I will be brilliantly ‘happy’ to see what simmers and develops between Thrope & Blake!!!

Is there a particular quotation from the story you can share where you stood back, admiring the sharp wit you had developed into its texture and made you smile? Which exchange left you in awe of where you were in the story and the pace you had set for the story?

Chase responds: That’s a really tricky question! The truth is I never feel quite satisfied when I’ve finished a book; I have such a vivid picture in my mind of each scene and what I want to convey but transferring that from the film that’s going inside my head onto paper is difficult! I’ll leave it to the readers to decide whether I’ve managed to make them smile or hold their breath in the right places – I really hope I have!

You either!? I feel the same way… whenever I am working on a story, I feel like I’ve left something out or I’ve forgotten something I was inspired to develop inside it – if only I could either a) remember or b) fuse to paper, as sometimes the hardest part about creating a story is what we desire to include vs what actually works in the timeline of the story itself! I love hearing this – about how your a think writer and how you’ve sorted out a balance of what you create instinctively in your mind to relate directly into the narrative you’ve created. Sometimes I find a disconnect between the two myself – not always but there are moments where I am equally as mystified with my own writings.

I am never quite as certain if I’ve pulled it off either – til I hear the reactions of those (early readers) people I entrust with my drafts. OR, similarly – as I journal a lot of my life on Jorie Loves A Story betwixt and between my bookish musings – I delight in seeing how my readers react to what I’ve disclosed on my blog. As writing this blog is akin to writing stories – as we’re being vulnerable to the outside world, awaiting to see or hear readerly reactions and if what we hoped to convey transfused through the words we’ve assembled.

You’ve broached my favourite two reactions in Crime Drama: the sharp intake of breath when my emotions are hitched into a near fright of turning the page and/or hearing the next sequence of chapters of an audiobook or the delightfulness of finding myself smiling whilst appreciating the humour a writer has etched into their story! I’ll have to let you know after I hear ‘Murder on the Marshes’…

As I’ve recently listened to five out of six installments of the Kay Hunter series, one thing I appreciate (of late) is the humour etched into the background of dramatic crime series. I have a newfound appreciation for this particular niche of Crime Fiction (as I previously felt smitten by the Marjorie Trumaine series, the Hiro Hattori series, the Anna Blanc series and the Samuel Craddock series – all uniquely by Seventh Street Books) – what do you think is the hardest to pull off when writing this kind of fiction? The intensive dramatic bits or the cutting humour which not just inserts the characters’ humanity and most vulnerable states as sometimes humour is an ice breaker — but allow us to see a side of themselves they might strive to hide for the sake of the job at hand?

Chase responds: That’s a really good question. I think where I do slip in humour it’s combining it appropriately with the crime drama that’s most difficult. I found myself slipping in a one-liner in the book I’m currently writing yesterday and then having to take it out again, because it seemed wrong for Tara to be joking around when she was dealing with something so serious. But I do love adding in some banter and flirting between my main characters when it fits! Sometimes my detective characters actually use humour to mask what they’re really feeling – they make a joke about something awful as a way of coping.

I admit your right. With Crime Drama the hardest part is wanting to have a comic relief moment due to high tensions and emotions, but where should it go? How does it offset the tension if it’s not the right ‘time’ to include it? I find the best answer is when writers find their confidence within a series to where they are attached to their personalities in such a way as whenever they go to disclose their more humanistic sides – the humour comes along quite organically. I am sure due to how you’ve been discussing Thrope and Blake you made those choices aptly well and your readers will be responding to those choices in the manner in which you hoped!

I would imagine it is dire and necessary for them to have a positive outlet such as humour or satire if only to find a way to cut the thickness of their grief, anguish or angst – similarly other fields adjacent to law enforcement are notorious for having humour as a way to save sanity – if you are familiar with ‘Crossing Jordan’ a medical examiner series I forgot to mention earlier did this to prove sometimes even the coroner needs a ‘release’ from the ‘job’.

How did you want to use the setting and the locale of Cambridge as a ‘third’ lead character – to where readers would feel the immersion of your vision whilst struck by the cunning narrative? Did you travel to the places your writing about or did you pull the area out of your mind’s eye through research? What struck you as a key personality trait of Cambridge to keep inclusive to ‘Murder on the Marshes’ or ongoing as the series develops?

Chase responds: I’m lucky in that I’ve lived in Cambridge for a long time now, so I don’t have to travel to do my research! Over the years I’ve become fascinated by many different aspects of the city and these have inspired this current series. It’s quite a compact place – the size of a small market town – and this means its contrasts are very stark. You get criminals dealing drugs on the commons whilst choirs sing Elizabethan madrigals from punts on the river, and squatters live on the same streets as university professors. Secrets travel fast here: there are a lot of people who work for the university – everyone knows someone who knows someone. There’s a pressure cooker atmosphere, with high achievers and earners both in the academic and the business worlds. The people I know here are wonderful – lively, friendly and inspiring… but you can imagine that in some circles there’s an awful lot at stake. By introducing fictional characters who have a few well-chosen flaws, Cambridge becomes the perfect setting for crime fiction. I used to work at the university and one of its colleges, so that gave me some insight into how it works and some of the traditions that abound here.

I loved your description about Cambridge! So much so, I used a quote from your response to promote this interview as I felt you truly captured my own fascination with this area of England! The dichotomy your describing is what makes it a perfect ‘place’ to set mysteries – there are so many different facets of entry for a story and when your developing a series such as you are – I would imagine the only key issue would be ‘which story to tell first? next?’ etc, etc.

My goodness! Wouldn’t they just? Secrets would become high stakes trading in some circles – either for the nefarious or the secretive alike – no one wants those revealled or in some instances those are what foreshadow a crime. I think the backdrop of being a University centre is also what makes the dynamics more inclusive to suspense as well – generally that makes it a rather transitive area – local, region, international with loads of tourists, visitors and others all converging – either regularly, seasonally or yearly. I am definitely going to enjoy watching how you bring Cambridge to ‘life’ and which entrances of its society you elect to ‘highlight’.

Most readers are crossing their opinions on whom to ‘read alike’ with your new series to be betwixt and between Agatha Christie and the Midsomer Murders (when not referencing the aforementioned Morse!) – is this a revelation you were expecting or something which took you by surprise? What do you think is leading them to these conclusions?

Chase responds: Again, I loved seeing reviewers make those comparisons. I think it’s down to my place in the crime genre, which is at the traditional, cosy end of the spectrum. I like to read traditional mystery fiction too, so I guess it makes sense that my stories fit in that same niche.

I was so overjoyed hearing you declare this description for your series and stories! As you know, I have a high preference for Traditional Crime Dramas on the ‘cosier’ side of hard-boiled! The latter is so dearly difficult for me to feel inspired to read – I’m just not into gritty and gruesome – there are only a handful of authors I feel I read which push myself into the harder side of the ledger but even then, they ‘hold back’ blessedly so I’m not really broaching myself out of ‘Cosy’ per se even if I opt instead for a story/series which is as you say ‘Traditional but wickedly Cosy’.

As an aside, I had to quit watching ‘Midsomer Murders’ due to the nature of how graphic that series really became or was rather in the beginning? Similar to how disappointed I was in the ‘Father Brown’ series – once they let go of half the cast, my Mum, Da and I said “no more” they lost us now! The whole format, feel and continuity altered – they really just did a ‘re-boot’ in S4 or was it S5? Totally disillusioned. This is why if I hadn’t known your writing style I might have held a breath of worry — as ‘Midsomer Murders’ to me, inflicts a different kind of contention than what I would generally ascribe as your personal writing style. I felt ‘Morse crossed with Christie’ was far more apt! Though in truth, you have your own brilliant style as I’ve blogged about previously!

Can you talk a bit about your process? How do you go about structuring the thread of your narratives for the crime elements? Do you know straight-out how you want the suspenseful bits to develop, building to the climax and then resolve the ending OR do you write a bit more organically – where it all comes together the more you write and even you are a bit surprised by how it concludes?

Chase responds: I’m a planner! I love the process of plotting a new book – from when I get the first hint of an idea, to when I get the whole thing nailed down. I often start with a theme I’d like to explore, and then imagine the sort of characters, locations and situations that would help me do that. Recently I’ve taken to using Powerpoint to create my outline. I use a slide per scene to remind me of what I need to include. I often have scenes I know I’ll need to work in somewhere, and with Powerpoint I can drag the slides around to alter the order if I decide the existing structure won’t work. Then, when I’m actually drafting the novel I’ll look ahead to the next slide and flesh out what I want to convey, either in bullet points or in my head. I always know who the murderer is at the start, and I like to have some idea of how my denouement will work. Because I’m writing a series I also have a file that refers to plot arcs going across multiple books.

Ooh, no, not I! I am very much an organic writer – I don’t do a lot of plotting ahead of time, not even for Nanowrimo! Though in truth, for that, I at least gave myself 5 plot points in case in the rush of excitement to participate I :blanked: but happily I hadn’t needed to worry – I won the competition and had 30 days of restorative writing!

What I loved about your writing process is how you articulate what you want to develop with the tools you are using to ‘guide yourself’ along. The slides your referring too is such a techie alternative to post-its or index cards – plus its dearly visual as well! I used to make Powerpoint projects… I might have to reconsider revisiting this the closer I get to finishing my own drafts, as a way of doing a lovely edit to see if everything is tracking the way I’d hoped it might or to see if I need to insert something I’ve left out.

Now, as a serial writer myself, I do make notes and character sketches of reference – I basically journal my progress, in both understanding my characters and/or the places of interest or I jot down key reference points I feel ought to be remembered as I move through the installments themselves or if I decide to forestall revealling something in one and opt to add it to another. I find writing series is my favourite preference but I also like one-offs dearly and have several at the ready, though only one I wish to pursue first outside the three serials (spilt into three genres: Science Fiction, Suspense and Historical Fiction)

If you sourced research books at a library or a book shoppe – did anyone question why you were either purchasing or checking out certain books which were going to aide your writings? If so, which were they and did you explain you were writing a novel of Suspense?

Chase responds: I must admit this hasn’t happened to me as I’ve ordered the books I’ve needed online – they’re a bit too obscure for my local bookshops! I’ve got all sorts of dodgy-sounding books now, aimed directly at crime writers, as well as some Blackstone police training manuals!

I love finding out of print or obscure books for my research purposes! I either go to specialised Indie book shoppes or lean on my local or University libraries – as you can gather loads through them, not just locally but through their dearly useful ILL services (inter-library loan). However we find the materials we need, I love how eclectic we all become in reference to how expansive our personal ‘library’ includes topical research and the titles populating our shelves! There is a ‘story’ there you know… about the personal libraries of writers!

When did you first get drawn into writing Crime Fiction and has this always been a passion of interest or a new one which felt like a wicked good niche to fill? Who do you love to read inside the genre and who leaves you in apt anticipation of their ‘next’ serial?

Chase responds: I’ve loved to read crime fiction since I was a small child! I started with the Sam Cat and Dudley Pig mysteries by Richard Scarry, which were picture books, and Herge’s Adventures of Tintin. Then, when I was a bit older, I raided my mother and grandmother’s crime and thriller books, from Dick Francis to PD James and Ruth Rendell, as well as a host of golden-age paperbacks. When I started writing myself I tried to write a Rom Com, but it ended up with a blackmailer in it… After that I switched to romantic suspense and then to crime fiction. At the moment, the writers whose series installments I most look forward to include Elly Griffiths, Kate Rhodes and Angela Marsons, but I’m also discovering many new authors (including several also published by Bookouture) whose work I love. I’ve got a big TBR pile!

I grew up on Richard Scarry!!! He was one of the favourite authors Mum wanted me to know and yet, for the life of me, neither of us remember these mysteries? I wonder if they weren’t marketed as much here as they were over there?! So odd! I think I would have loved them! TinTin was never known either – if they hadn’t made that lush film recently, I still would have been in the dark!! I wish they have been marketed here – again, another series ‘lost’ on the ‘beloved list’. Now, in regards to Dick Francis – his novels and the Kay Scarpetta novels were loaned to me as my Dad worked in the field adjacent to the morgue – so you could say his co-workers spent loads of time reading Crime & Suspense! I had to ‘let go’ of Scarpetta after awhile as the style changed and I couldn’t keep with her — but ooh! How dear they were! With Dick Francis I didn’t get to start at the beginning… I want to collect both of these authors stories and re-find where I ‘fit’ amongst them!

Never heard of Ms Rendell — need to seek out! I loved that you started in Romantic Suspense and are now writing Thrillers!! It felt like a natural progression to me when I first learnt of it – a transition you were meant to make and run with it!

You and I both! My TBR List is longer than Santa’s but I still conceive of a plan to get to each of the lovelies on it! I know I still have a small backlogue I need to address as well as new stories I’m consuming – such is life – as sometimes things take us away from reading (ie. life, illness, etc) but what I love most is the inertia of joy in the ‘discovery’ of authors & their stories! I read such a wide gambit of literature – across both markets of interest (mainstream & INSPY) I am never at a loss for finding a story – rather it’s finding the writers who are writing the stories which interest me to read which is sometimes a tricky mystery to solve! I’m quite a discerningly particular reader as you well know! (smiles)

What do you feel is the difference between approaching a Romantic Suspense vs a Dramatic Crime novel? Do you approach both the same way as you lay down the bones of the narrative and the characterisations OR do you spilt your process into different routes per the type of story your about to pen?

Chase responds: I do remember being given very specific advice about romantic suspense from authors in the same field, in particular that the hero and heroine should come into contact right at the start of the book and that the mystery should interweave seamlessly with their story. For me, there’s a certain overlap between the two as I like to have an ongoing will they/won’t they, on/off romantic tension between key characters in my crime books too. But whereas a classic romantic suspense should follow the traditional romance arc, there’s no restriction like that when I write a crime drama. This means I don’t have to wrap up a couple’s relationship in a single book, so romantic ups and downs can act as an ongoing subplot over a series.

I love this myself – the suspension of wonder – of finding those nuanced clues which might reveal more than a writer might hope about their characters – but also, I love the drawn out romance! I love relationship-based romances to begin with – so for me – the relationships in fiction are what make me wicked excited to be reading the stories! I love the dimensions which can be explored through the relationships but also, how even though you can read across genre, there are key components of relatable approach you can appreciate through all the stories you read! I love how you had an nonrestrictive leeway to tell the story how you wanted and could develop the relationship in a manner you saw fit rather than having to adhere to restrictive rules which might have altered your vision of the #TaraThrope Mysteries!

What is your favourite kind of conflict to inflict on your characters and why does it give the best fodder for a series?

Chase responds: I try to weave in conflict on multiple levels and I enjoy each of them! I usually have some kind of emotional conflict going on as a result of the personal relationships my main characters are involved in, as well as the main conflict which results from the mystery at the heart of the book. This will involve the series characters playing cat and mouse with the murderer and usually getting into physical danger before they get resolution.

This is why I prefer ‘Crime Dramas’ over other variants of the genre – even whilst watching NCIS and Law & Order (all 3 versions of each!), there was enough intrapersonal and interoffice dramatics to keep me invested in not just the beauty of the professional ‘families’ but of their personal lives which were knit into the series backgrounds bit by bit. You didn’t always get a full disclosure of their lives but enough to warrant interest in who they were outside of the badge. When it comes to written versions of Crime Dramas this is why I prefer most – as you said – personal & professional conflicts (golly, if you haven’t listened to Kay Hunter, you ought too – you’ve summed up the series in this paragraph!) – interspersed with the sleuthing & the ‘office’ environment of their jobs.

Of all your secondary characters (past, present, future) – which one did you enjoy the most to create and develop? What is it about them which sticks with you?

Chase responds: There’s a lot of pleasure to be had from creating ‘best friend’ characters. It’s often via them that I manage to introduce a bit of humour to lighten the mood. In Murder on the Marshes I enjoyed writing ex-cop Kemp, who’s a rough diamond, and in my Nate and Ruby books, Steph was fun to write.

I’ll keep my ears peeled for Kemp’s entrance – rough diamond characters can be a true hoot to have as secondary characters! Love your descriptive way of revealling ‘who’ they are and the role they have to play!

What inspired you to set ‘Murder on the Marshes’ in academia and have professors as key persons involved in the story-line? What do you love most about University settings?

Chase responds: I used to work at the university here in Cambridge and I couldn’t help being aware of what a pressured environment it is, how much competition there is for funding and positions and so on. I found it a very interesting atmosphere to work in and wanted to explore it in my writing. I had to create characters who were the opposite of those I’d worked with though – the academics I met were far too nice to feature in any crime novel!

I don’t believe I remember this… about your University career and background. I get so caught up inside the stories I’m reading, I honestly will admit, sometimes I forget the personal details of the writers’ as I’m enjoying my respite inside the worlds they’ve created for me to explore! I still find myself in the habit of doing this even though I try to remember – spend more time on the writer’s current life disclosures!! This is why I find myself marvelling in apt fascination when I see a biography I’m featuring *after!* I read said story or heard the audiobook – almost like ‘ooh wow!’

I do know a bit about this kind of tightrope intensity for fund fighting – I was meant to study and pursue a career in Academia myself in Historical Archaeology! (even though I dearly wished the field of Forensic Anthropology had been better developed back in the mid-90s, it would have been a ‘game-changer’ for me!) I rang an in-state University (a top 5 choice of all the ones I researched throughout the States) and had a lovely conversation with a Professor for at least two hours – (we shared a heap in common in the fields of mutual interest – not just Historical but also Nautical Archaeology and Egyptology!) – to which end, I realised as a woman pursuing this field who had aspirations for children and marriage, I couldn’t see how feasible this entry for me would long-term! Sad yet true.

When I was considering Academia (a 16+ year investment of research, post-school exit) I would weigh everything – the viability of career growth, forward motion within the field itself, research opportunities, as well as stability of both the position(s) available and how to weigh hours in the field with those in teaching positions whilst factoring in travel, etc etc. Most of all the considered routes I was going to take included double degrees (BA & BS respectivefully) as well as Masters with Minors and added-on certificates. At least with all that knowledge I can a) write wonderfully insightful New Adult stories and b) mentor my children who seek to pursue Universities on the off-chance they don’t follow in my footsteps.

I loved how you challenged yourself to write past your ‘IRL experiences’ and to seek out the story which was most conducive to this literary environment!! Gosh, I’m itching to dive into this now!! I must remain patient… Must!

Have you decided how many installments will be in this series? If so, can you tell us a bit about how many stories we can see being developed and released? As this is your first series with Bookouture, do you suspect you’ll develop a second one after it or write a few one-offs either before or after this one concludes?

Chase responds: At the moment, my contract is for three books, but I’ve had great fun writing them. Because of that I’m already wondering about whether I might write some more. I will have to see whether people enjoy reading them first though! I did enjoy writing You Think You Know Me  – and I wouldn’t mind writing another of that sort one day.

I can’t wait to read the next two stories in sequence after ‘You Think You Know Me’ which are ‘A Stranger’s House’ and ‘One Dark Lie’. Though in truth, unless the third novel goes into audio or print, I sadly can’t complete the trilogy. I’m thankful ‘A Stranger’s House’ was released into print!!

I look forward to seeing what percolates in your mind and heart,… like I said, ever since I read ‘You Think You Know Me’, I was seriously hooked onto your writing!! This is why I knew I could trust what you would do with ‘Murder on the Marshes’ – I had no fear about listening to the story because I knew I was in good hands!! Definitely a clear moment of ‘auto-purchase / auto-listen’ as I dearly wanted to pursue the next release available to me to gather of a beloved author!

I think it would be keen to see what you could do with a one-off – where we only get those limited sphere of chapters, pages and dialogue exchanges to know the full extent of the story – no second entrances or continuations – just the golden bliss of what is in the context of its story. I think that is the hardest part about writing them – everything is a time capsule inside one singular story.

What is the hardest part you feel towards keeping continuity and clarity of purpose within a crime drama series? How do you keep the content not only refreshed and relevant to your characters, but how do you remember to re-knit in the details which carry forward from one installment to the next? Is there a trick in your toolbox in order words?

Chase responds: It’s a good question, and it is a challenge! I use several tactics to try to make a series work on various levels. In terms of small details, like what colour hair a character has, information on their background etc, I keep a file and add to it each time new details about that person emerge. In terms of the story-lines for the series characters, I use a spreadsheet that I update with each new book in a series and have one tab that relates specifically to story arcs that are designed to go on over several books. I use that to think ahead to how various subplots relating to my main characters might develop. This helps me not to forget about threads that I’ve started.

I personally ADORE spreadsheets!! I’ve been addicted to creating them since I was a teenager helping my best friend with her homework. In the end, she got the A, I did the work! lol I needed the challenge – we were in different school districts – I was drowning in boredom, she was overworked in an AP and magnet programme. I used to do this a lot – asking my friends out of state or out of county for their homework assignments… I was desperately *bored!* Hence why when I had a chance to skip 11th grade by taking on my freshman year of college I jumped at it!

I dream of gathering those really posh looking journals you can spy at big box book shoppes (ie. Barnes & Noble) or on Etsy (as there are some prime looking artisan versions!) – using those as my ‘first published’ copies for my stories but also – as journals of notations, random research bits and other bobbles of interest pertaining to my stories. I definitely want to do this for my poetry collections – but that requires resuming my art lessons! I never mastered the art of watercolouring or pen/ink illustrations… I do loads with creative lettering and I love mixed media art collages but this requires a different set of techniques!!

Your process has keen productive insights – I might snatch a few of your ‘tools’ and add them to my box! This is why I have loved showcasing authors these past five years – I love curating a repository of interviews and guest posts – where writers can offer insight for other writers how they proceed into their stories and how the craft of writing is approached from as many portals of thought as there are stars in the galaxy! Speaking of which, I’m hoping by the close of August to have assembled a database of all the guest features rather than having readers and visitors alike travel through my Bookish Event Archives!

As ‘Murder on the Marshes’ is being cross-released into audiobook – can you talk about the narrator and how you felt ‘hearing’ your story being narrated for the first time? How much imput did you have with the audiobook and what do you love most about having an audiobook version of the novel?

Chase responds: Initially I was sent some samples of the actress, Lucy Brownhill, narrating other audiobooks. I absolutely loved her delivery and was delighted to know she’d be working on my novel. My editor advised on the characters in the story and how they ought to come across, but I was asked to send in a few notes too, to highlight any particular accents, peculiarities and so on. I’ve now been sent the first five minutes of the book to listen to. It’s wonderful to hear it, but it does feel very odd to hear ones own words being read back – and it also made me reanalyse the way I’d phrased things – even though I tend to read through my books aloud myself, before I submit them. (I find reading aloud is a good way to spot clunky sentences, typos etc.)

OOh, now I find this wicked fascinating!! Mostly as I have been ever so curious about how narrator’s approach their narration and of the role authors play in percuring the narrator(s)! This is one reason I love hearing the narrator interviews via Talking Audiobooks & AudioShelf (the two podcasts I link in my sidebar?) — I hadn’t thought to re-address this question to you privately ahead of posting this conversation – I would have asked ‘which peculiarity did you request for Thorpe and Blake’!!

When I first received your reply, I was thinking to myself ‘five minutes’? That’s awfully short – then I criticised myself – five minutes in an audiobook can be ‘quite a long affair’ depending which sequence! I am properly amazed how even when you listen to an hour (short/novella) audiobook – you’re properly astounded by what is ‘heard’, ‘revealled’ and contained within that short expanse of ‘time’. Audiobooks have a way of extending a story – of tucking into the words, the message and the heart of what a writer left behind in a different portal of thought than a novel in print can… it’s why I now love how I’m re-defining my reading life to be either 60/40 or 70/30 spilt with #AudioReads being the higher percentage!

I have trouble editing my own content – I lean on a lovely copy editor – I think it’s partially due to the fact I’m a dyslexic inkslayer too!! Words sound different to me aloud and I have so many endearing ways of expressing everyday words/phrases, proper names, etc it is best I not read my work aloud as it would sound radically ‘different’. This is why I abandoned the idea to pursue narrating or voiceover work — dyslexics ought not even dream of those fields if they like me have severe dyslexia and loads of syntax errors! I used to fret over ‘tweeting’ as it was a rapid-fire way of communicating – in the first year of Twitter my anxiety levels were so high I don’t know how I functioned! I was constantly chewing my thumbs over hitting ‘send’ and re-considering *everything* – did I get the tone right? Did I stipulate something I meant to say or did I say it without expressing intent? Before they offered those emoji’s in-Twitter I was severely crippled by misunderstandings — as I would get into right pickles thinking someone was ‘mad’ when they were being ‘sarcastic’! I’m a visual learner and listener – so reading everything was fretfully hard!! I had to re-learn how I interpret language and conversations!!

I admire writers who can do this – I have had to cobble together my own process – basically I threw out the rulebook for writing and the craft of it years ago! This is why I had to switch-up which Twitter chats I attend as when it gets to the bare bones of ‘craft’, I talk differently than other writers as outside of my years of loving diagramming sentences (it was the art of it rather than the technical aspect!) I couldn’t tell you a flip about what constitutes an adverb, adjective or prepositional phrase! Tropes confuse the hilt out of me which is why I rarely use the term and anyone whose browsed how I organise my indexes on Jorie Loves A Story knows a dyslexic reader is at the helm! lol (ie. I interpret both the world and the book world differently,…) Or rather to put it a different way – I live asymmetrically whereas everyone else is in a symmetrical world!

What is something your readers will find surprising about your reading life?

Chase responds: Although I read more crime fiction than anything else, I also really enjoy funny books. If I’m feeling stressed I turn to PG Wodehouse and I love a good Rom Com too!

I am seriously picky when it comes to Rom Coms! I can find more in motion pictures I love than fiction – though I am always game to try a #newtomeauthor! I wish you had listed a few.. I might give them a whirl! Only downside there is I have an aversion to kinky ChickLit and vulgarity (smirks) so it is a hit/miss for me to find writers who can tickle my funnybone, entertain me with a wickedly brill Romance and give me a Rom Com I find sophisticated and lovely! Again – I yield to motion picture – so, much, easier!

Hmm… another reply I wished I had followed up with — ‘why does Wodehouse’ fill this void?’ I know the name ‘only’ not the collective works. Perhaps I need to rectify? I’m in the Classics Club afterall! Mind, I need to overhaul that page… #epicfail in-progress!!! (rolls eyes)

What is something your readers will find surprising about your writing life?

Chase responds: Some of my friends have been surprised that my current contract is for three books in a year! But I love writing and like to move things along quite speedily, so it suits me!

When I first started (at fourteen) to develop my writing life I was especially voracious! In some ways it scared me – as I was developing *four!* manuscripts in-sync with one another yet entirely separate and individual – across two genres and a collection of introspective poetry by the time I was eighteen! I was fifteen when I realised I was a poet (courtesy of an English assignment which I focused on my week in exploring Mayan ruins in Mexico) – so knowing I would be a prolific writer had its own set of hurdles! Fast forward – (read this Essay of mine as a reclaimed writer) – where life and tides erupted through my living hours, I am one day looking forward to ‘resuming’ from whence I left off. Therefore, *I definitely!* can see why three novels in a year would be appetizing as much as I thought running 10 individual film locations/sets (ie. Peter Jackson) felt wickedly challenging of the right ‘kind’.

Outside of setting a Suspense in the UK – what is one setting you’d love to explore in the future and what draws your heart to set a series there?

Chase responds: That’s an interesting question. I love setting my books in Cambridge because I know it well enough to get a glimpse of all the odd dynamics I’d like to explore. I suppose wherever else I chose I’d want to have that same in-depth sense of the place, to enable me to work out what aspects of the setting I wanted to delve into. However, I’m not sure I know settings outside the UK well enough to do that.

If I had the chance, I’d spend some time in one of the cities I’ve visited on holiday – Rome maybe, or New York – and work to understand the place well enough to write a crime drama set there.

I took a different approach – lost myself in research out of state and felt so wholly connected to those locations, it felt like I had ‘lived there’ as I do agree – in order to write a specific place or region, you have to peel back the layers of what it is like to ‘be there’. You can get this more readily through visitations or bonefide living but there are immersive approaches in research where you’d surprise yourself how well you can ‘know’ a particular area without stepping foot there physically! I do go a bit ‘old school’ in my approaches though – landlines, library enquiries, postal mail sendaways, used bookshoppes, etc are all part of it. Sometimes moreso than online search queues – though those do chop down long distance fees initially! lol

A Rome crime novel – I’d dearly be keen on that one!! New York, of course, is a beloved choice – I have *loved!* all the television series and movies set there – so much so – at one point in my mid-teens I realised I knew more about New York than any other state and city! lol I tested that theory in regards to the City itself once with New Yorkers who were mystified you can gleam so much out of the creative arts about the boroughs and the people as well as the counter-cultures! Whichever cities you choose, they will be the ‘right ones’ for you!! I anticipate the ‘surprises’!!

The Tara Thrope Mysteries:

Published by: Bookouture (@bookouture)

an imprint of HachetteUK (@HachetteUK)

Murder on the Marshes (book one)

Death on the River (book two) | (Synopsis) forthcoming → 17th October, 2018*

*this is a digital first release (ebook) whilst other formats will follow

Converse via: #TaraThrope, #Thriller and #Bookouture

This author interview is courtesy of:

Clare Chase

at the request of the book blogger

who is full of appreciation!

Read a lively convo between a #bookblogger and a writer of #Thriller #Mysteries on the new dawn of a wicked good Crime Drama series feat. @ClareChase_ !! Share on X

{Sources: Cover art for “Murder on the Marshes”, the book synopsis, author biography and the author photograph of Clare Chase were provided by the author Clare Chase and are being used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created in Canva: Conversations with the Bookish banner and the comment box banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.

I’m a social reader | I share my bookish life via Twitter

Am overjoyed everyone whose visited #JLASblog today has been as caught up in my ruminative thoughts for #LoveINSPIRED #Suspense novels as much as they were rather keen on the fact my 1st #audiobook pre-order was for @ClareChase_ 's debut for @bookouture! Clearly a red letter day!

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) July 23, 2018

😍LOVING seeing your reaction(s) – best feeling is when you can as a #reader SURPRISE an author you love #amreading!! Eek As you can tell, jumped the MOON🌑in glee pre-ordering #MurderOnTheMarshes via #audiobook!!🙌

I am seriously addicted to wicked good dramatic crime stories🧐

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) July 23, 2018

I've been happily #amblogging a wicked #awesomesauce convo I had recently w/ @ClareChase_ about her wickedly thrilling new series #TaraThrope #Mysteries!😁Eagerly looking forward to sharing this – we discussed *everything!* about the series, her #amwriting process & more! 📖👩‍💻

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 8, 2018

Happily help me promote this post by RT or favouring one of these tweets:

#WritingWednesday | feat. @ClareChase_ #quote from my #interview feat. #MurderOnTheMarshes
NEW series | #TaraThrope #Mysteries via @bookouture

Clare Chase shares her #amwriting process whilst a #bookblogger realises they both binge watch Crime Dramas! 👉https://t.co/gm0YunHMFB pic.twitter.com/9VW0Fj0tzY

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 9, 2018

.@joriestory

Jorie asks @ClareChase_ keen Qs about her #amwriting #crimefiction series Her #authorslife is full of keen #writingtips! IF you want some #positivevibes this #ThursdayThoughts on how to #justwrite your STORIES this will rock your world!

✍️https://t.co/gm0YunHMFB pic.twitter.com/YNglblNuW4

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 9, 2018