Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Guess whose had the joy of interviewing one of her favourite Cosy Historical Mystery writers!? Yes, that would be Jorie! I had planned to listen to this third installment of the #AnnaBlanc series on audiobook – as it has become a bit of a tradition now – per each new release, wherein I was able to first read the story in print and then watch how the lovely Moira Quirk retransitioned the story into a beautiful rendition of giving us a stage worthy performance of Anna as we’ve come to know her through the imagination of Ms Kincheloe!
I’ve had the pleasure of hosting her during my chat @SatBookChat (in 2019) whilst keeping in step with her series ever since I first spied it as a book I could request from Seventh Street Books – it was my first choice and I still stand behind what drew me into Anna Blanc’s life & world! There was something immediately connective about how the vision for this series was fusing to the idea of what I felt the series would become – as soon as I dug my heels into “The Secret Life of Anna Blanc” – I was a goner!
I was wickedly excited about this independent & spirited young woman who was determined to live her life on her own accords and never let into the pressures of her society. Anna has become a heroine for all women who are striving to raise their voice, stand their ground and be the unique light they are free to be in a world who might not be ready for their individualism. And, for me – that is what carries through the series itself.
Whenever I re-engage with the series through Ms Quirk’s narrations – I find myself noticing subtle things I might have either a) overlooked or b) not have noticed the first go-round of reading this series in print. Her performance has instincts about how to draw out the characters in a truthful way of representing each of their unique personalties whilst bridging the world of Anna Blanc and the pacing of her life into our own readerly lives in the manner of performance only audiobooks can grant a reader.
I still fully intend to listen to this installment – I am awaiting renewing my #Scribd subscription in *March!* as I had a small bit of downtime whilst focusing on my health & wellness these past several months. I was grateful to see it was available on the streaming audiobook site because of how I had originally attempted to get it placed inside my regional library via a purchase request for OverDrive. I will never quite understand the issues facing libraries with how some audiobooks are just not available to be purchased or added to their collections. This is a continual issue as I even learnt the new Clare Chase novel isn’t able to be acquired either which has left me pensively museful about the situation overall.
For the audiobook blog tour – rather than removing myself from the line-up – I decided to host an Author Interview as I never tire of learning more “behind-the-book!” secrets of Anna Blanc nor would I ever tire of talking about a series I truly LOVE to read! I am hoping through this conversation – you might walkaway with a few more keen insights of your own and perhaps, if you haven’t given Anna a chance to entertain you – perhaps this interview might convince you – its high time to start @ the beginning and properly “meet” Anna Blanc!
Without further adieu : brew your favourite cuppa & enjoy the convo!
why i enjoyed reading “The Body in Griffith park”
You have to love Anna’s spunk – if she’s typing nonsensically at her typewriter or asking the most off the chart curious enquiries from Joe (such as every notation of insight she has on flowers!) – she finds the balance between being completely devoid of the requirements of her job and the spontaneity of fiercely believing she has what it takes to succeed as a detective who breaks the rules but maintains a high success rate of closed cases. In a nutshell, what isn’t to love about Anna Blanc? Stepping back into her shoes is like going home – you know your going to be on this wicked adventurous ride where only her compass knows the route you’ll traverse but ooh, the memories once you return from the experience is worth the anxieties of knowing you’ll get into the fire alongside Anna!
Betwixt the joy of finding her own case to investigate and the dalliance she’d love to have with Joe, Anna once again finds herself pulled into two different directions. Happily self-taught and well read on criminological topics of insight, Anna has the tendency to be a few steps ahead of both Joe and the other detectives in how she pieces together not just the scenes of the crimes she wants to solve but the methodology of how those crimes were left behind to be found. This is where the series is a joy to be reading because you get to see inside her process for sleuthing inasmuch as seeing her disdain at being re-directed by Matron Clemens into more ‘matronly duties’ she was hired to achieve.
Although emboldened by her choices for independence from her father (and family) – her choices do have after effects on her heart, if you take into consideration how much Anna still worries about the conditions of her father’s business affairs and what the choices she made in her own life might have reverberated into his own trials of tribulation. I was firmly against the antics of her father, as he had such a controlling interest in pushing Anna into a life which would have rendered her miserable but at the same time, the empathy, compassion and love she still has for him shows her own humanity in a light that I am not sure would reflect through his own eyes. And, that shows again the stark contrast how Anna Blanc is different from the rest of the Blanc family.
Never let it be said Anna Blanc is short on ingenuity when it comes to sorting out resolutions to problems which fall outside the normal realms of conventional society! When you reach the section on how she needs to start influencing the lives of streetwalkers who might be open to reformation, the interesting bit is how her original idea is now blooming towards fruition but how the ladies society who was attempting to step forward into this niche of charity outreach found they understand very little when it comes to the needs of working ladies! In true Anna Blanc spunkified fashion, Anna herself has to step forward into the hurdles of balancing the influence of a better path in which the women could hope to embark against and the truthfulness of their station, situation and financial needs. In essence, her answer to that particular problem was wickedly inventive and creatively appropriate!
You never know what kind of folly of joy you’ll find within an Anna Blanc Cosy Historical Mystery – one thing is wickedly certain though – Kincheloe is going to give you a hilarious romp of delight in how she carves out the dramatic crime narrative alongside smitten sleuthers Anna Blanc and Joe Singer! Keeping me fast on me feet and in the delightful joy of her seriously #awesomeauce sense of humour – Kincheloe made an early-on reference to “Bosom Buddies” wherein Anna cloyingly encourages Joe to get his groove together and switch how he presents himself in order to sneak into visit Anna at her flat!
When it comes to serial fiction, there is always a need for newfound adversity, ripples of angst and a dash of the unexpected – scenes and sequences to keep you on your toes, itching to dive into new chapters and to see how things will wick out in the end. For this installment of the series, Ms Kincheloe has expertly given us a heap of strife in regards to the relationship between Joe and Anna! She’s inserted quite a heap of drama into their young lives – given them reason to trust and mistrust each other and to confound each other as well – they move between absolute admiration and devotion to bouts of uncertainty and disillusionment. Their each struggling to find the rhythm of what makes their relationship work and how to fuse their connection stronger when they both like to butt heads like those fierce mountain sheep who lose their hooves!
-quoted from my review of The Body in Griffith Park
The Body in Griffith Park
Subtitle: An Anna Blanc Mystery
by Jennifer Kincheloe
Source: Direct from Publisher
Los Angeles, 1908. Anna Blanc is a former so-so socialite, a flailing police matron, and a killer detective.
Ex- heiress, Anna Blanc, is precariously employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, reforming delinquent children and minding lady jailbirds. What she really wants is to hunt criminals and be alone with Detective Joe Singer--both no-nos that could get her fired. On a lover's tryst in Griffith Park, Anna and Joe discover the body of a young gambler. Anna can't resist. She's on the case. With a murder to solve and her police matron duties piling up, a young girl shows up at Central Station claiming to have been raped by a man from Mars. The men at the station scoff, but Anna is willing to investigate. Meanwhile, Anna begins getting strange floral arrangements from an unknown admirer. Following the petals leads her to another crime--one close to home. Suddenly pitted against Joe, Anna must examine her loyalties and solve the crimes, even if it means losing the man she loves.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1633885400
ASIN: B0823YYS51
Also by this author: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook]
Series: Anna Blanc
Also in this series: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook], The Body in Griffith Park
Published by Jennifer R. Kincheloe Ltd
on 2nd December, 2019
Format: Audiobook | Digital
Length: 11 hours and 42 minutes (unabridged)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook
Converse via: #AnnaBlanc + #HistoricalMystery or #HistMyst
Moira Quirk has narrated three of your Anna Blanc novels now – I feel as if she has grown into the role of Anna Blanc inasmuch as Anna Blanc has matured a bit through the experiences you’ve placed her inside. What is your favourite moments of The Body in Griffith Park as heard through her narration? What are your favourite new insights into Anna which shined through?
Kincheloe responds: Moira Quirk is a genius. I’m so lucky, honored, blown away, that she chooses to narrate my books AND is a fan of the Anna Blanc series. She’s simply the best at what she does.
There’s a moment in The Body in Griffith Park, when Anna is pretending to be a man. Moira’s interpretation of Anna pretending to be a man had me in stitches.
What is the process of narrating the Anna Blanc stories? Do you and Ms Quirk converse back and forth about the story, the characters and what you hope will translate into the audiobook? Or does she take the source material and run with it – producing Anna in her own way and giving all of us a wicked good listen along the way?
Kincheloe responds: There was some back and forth—especially with book 1. Moira asked a lot of questions. But for the most part, she runs with it. For example, she asked if she could do Helmet Melvin with a German accent. That fit with LA at the time—a city of immigrants—and I said, do it. And it was the perfect way to give him an individual voice. But she is so good, her standards are so high, my input is barely necessary.
What were you hoping readers would takeaway from Anna in this installment? And, as you are drawing her closer to Joe in more romantic inclinations – how did you seek to balance their romance with their jobs?
Kincheloe responds: This book raises some ethical questions without exactly answering them. Anna’s wrestling with issues of loyalty and duty. She needs Joe to help ground her and give her perspective. She is growing, changing from a naïve, sheltered, self-absorbed girl to a woman whose actions have great consequences. She’s doing all of this struggling under the thumb of the patriarchy and the expectation that she behave like a nun. So of course she has to break the rules with regard to her work and her relationship with Joe.
What was your favourite scene in The Body in Griffith Park? And, why did it stand out to you as you were writing it?
Kincheloe responds: I had fun with the Gila monster, from the bite to Anna’s escape on the train. I got to indulge in a little silliness, and also to give Anna a little perspective on how her beauty gives her privilege. She took that for granted before.
I love how you insert us into the everyday histories of the era and lead us through an intricate look-see of Anna Blanc’s world – how do you keep this world refreshed and never give us a chance to feel ‘we’ve seen or heard that’ previously?
Kincheloe responds: I read the Los Angeles newspapers from the year when the book is set—everything from the advertisements, want ads, society pages, and local news. If it’s fresh news for the people of Los Angeles, it’s going to be fresh for my readers.
Of all the research you’ve done what are some of the cosy comforts of familiarity you love about Anna Blanc’s world and what do you think Anna would think about today’s world in contrast?
Kincheloe responds: I appreciate the manners. It’s good to treat people with consideration. Of course the form of it has no value without the substance of it—caring for the feelings of others. Anna would be shocked and fascinated by what we say, do, show today.
When it comes to fine tuning the crimes and the exploration of the early days of forensics and investigative procedures – what do you love most about how you can knit in those aspects into the background of the story? How do you choose what to include and what to omit?
Kincheloe responds: I usually include whatever I can. I have a crime scene investigation book from the 1890s that I use as a reference, and in the books, Anna has read it. They had fingerprinting, used microscopes to look at fibers, took crime-scene photographs, even entomology. If it moves the story along, I include it. If it’s just a historical detail, I cut it.
If you sign up for my email list, you can get access to that crime scene investigation book, and many, many other books I used for research. Just go to my website.
What is the hardest part of writing the Anna Blanc series? Maintaining the thread of intrigue within the crimes themselves or keeping the pace taut and wickedly on point between Joe, Anna and the rest of the characters at the police department where they each have personal growth but the focus still remains pinned on Anna?
Kincheloe responds: The hardest part is faith and perseverance. Most authors’ first drafts are terrible. So, you’re writing a book, wondering if you’re going to be able to repeat your past success. Really, the creative possibilities are endless. It’s plodding through the doubt. But, yes, it’s always hard to keep a relationship interesting.
Of all the secondary characters whom do you feel has truly come into their own now and why do you think they made that transition?
Kincheloe responds: I love Wolf. Maybe you can tell. He’s hopelessly in love with Anna and has a strong bromance with Joe. He cheers them on and protects them, even as he wishes he could be good enough for Anna. Anna makes him a better man.
I know we mutually share a love of empherma and vintage photographs – as you regularly share on your social feeds (especially via Twitter) – do you have a larger collection of these non-digitally and in person? I was curious if you have old photographs, bits of empherma and other vintage and early 20th Century artifacts which also give you inspiration as you write the series?
Kincheloe responds: When I started writing THE SECRET LIFE OF ANNA BLANC, I had a lot of research to do, and I did some of it through period photographs. I purchased some images from antique stores and pinned them up above my desk—a girl with Anna’s spirit. A young man who could be Joe. Photographic subjects who were my Clara and my Theo, etc.
I have a bunch of used French postcards, which I can’t read, but the images are wonderful.
By contrast, I have something near to 40,000 electronic images, mostly from the early 1900s, which you can see on my Pinterest Page.
You’re series has always had a strong foundation of cheeky humour, wicked historical background and an inspiringly unconventional romance knit into the heart of the stories – how did you first conceive to give the series this kind of spunk and wicked good texture? Or was it organically evolving into the pages as you wrote the stories?
Kincheloe responds: I think I wanted to do something fresh that had never been done before. So, with each line, I push myself to be original.
What do you foresee coming next for Anna Blanc? In regards to the length of the series and the surprising route her life continues to take as she forges her own way in a world built against her?
Kincheloe responds: I have a few more books planned out. Actually, I could go on forever. There is so much material in history and Anna has so much growing to do.
If Anna could comment on her life in-series right now, what do you think her takeaways would be?
Kincheloe responds: She’s discovering sex, which is exciting, and has found a man who is good for her. At the same time, she’s terrified by the next step with Joe Singer and what she has to give up because she’s a woman. She’s also frustrated that, as “the smartest man on the force,” she’s still just Assistant Matron Blanc.
This author interview is courtesy of: Audiobookworm Promotions
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you’ve been reading &/or listening to the #AnnaBlanc series! If this is your first introduction to Anna Blanc, let me know in the comments what has left you curious to explore her world & to take up residence in the series I’ve been smitten with reading and listening via audiobook! What is your preference? Reading stories in print or listening to them in audio? Or a mixture of both, like me? Also, what was your favourite revelation in this interview with the author?
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Body in Griffith Park” (audiobook version), author biography & photograph were provided by Audiobookworm Promotions and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
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