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1. What was your initial inspiration for the Thorndike and Swann Mysteries series?
The idea popped into my head years ago, but the story was going to be set in Gilded Age New York City. I have lots of story ideas that come and go, but each time I mentioned to someone the premise of the story, a debutante returning home to be brought out in society learns that she comes from a long line of spies and secret agents for the government, people’s ears would perk up, and the reactions were positive. When Kregel asked me to propose a new Regency series after the Serendipity & Secrets series finished, I thought maybe I could rework the setting from Gilded Age to Regency, and Thorndike & Swann series was born.
2. Millstone of Doubt is the second book in the series. Is it a stand-alone story? Is it connected to the first book, The Debutante Code?
This is a connected series where the characters from the first book ,The Debutante’s Code, carry over to the second and third. This is also the first time I’ve written a series where the hero and heroine remain the same. Readers can definitely solve the mystery alongside Daniel and Juliette in Millstone of Doubt without having read the first book, but I think their enjoyment and understanding of the characters will be enhanced if they read The Debutante’s Code first.
3. Could you share a bit about your hero Daniel Swann and heroine Lady Juliette Thorndike? What are their likes and differences?
Daniel is an anomaly in the Regency world. Born in poverty to an unwed mother, a mysterious patron steps in when he is 12 years old and removes him from his mother’s custody, sends him away to school, and then assists him in finding the employment of his choice. Daniel feels strongly that everyone counts or nobody does, and justice should truly be blind. His work as a Bow Street Investigator gives him the opportunity to pursue justice and try to right wrongs.
Juliette has been sheltered from most of life’s difficulties, the pampered daughter of an earl. She has a strong sense of noblesse oblige, believing that God put her in her family for a reason, and that she should use whatever influence she has for the good of others. She longs to know strengthen her family relationships, and to pursue the calling God has placed on her life to serve King and Country.
Daniel is drawn to Juliette, because she is kind, beautiful to him, and intelligent. He admires her spunk and loyalty and her sense of adventure, though the last one gets her into scrapes from which he must rescue her.
Juliette admires Daniel’s intelligence, his kindness, and his desire to see that right is done. His self-sacrificing sense of nobility is both admirable and exasperating, as he allows no one else to influence his decisions, not even her!
4. Have you based any characters (or aspects of their personality) on people you know?
My leading men always share heroic traits with my husband. 😊 Kindness is paramount, as well as integrity.
Secondary characters are sometimes influenced by people I’ve met, but often, I base them loosely on movie actors. In the Thorndike & Swann mysteries, Juliette’s Uncle, Sir Bertrand Thorndike is based upon a young Cary Grant, very suave, with a nice line in sarcasm and irony.
5. Did you know exactly the way the story was going to go from the beginning, or did your characters or the plot itself, develop a life of its own?
I am a plotter, but the way I plot leaves room for some unexpected things to happen. I work out the plot, then I tell it to my grown daughter, who is excellent at pulling on plot threads. When I sit down to write, I have a 3-5 page synopsis with a paragraph for each scene I envision. As I write, the story may change, and usually about the 1/2 to 2/3 mark, I have to go back and fix/rewrite all the things that have changed so I can move forward to the end.
6. What challenges did you face writing in the Regency time period?
An intense amount of Research! Regency fans are very savvy about their beloved time period, and they want realism and accuracy. Then there are all the words I want to use that weren’t in use during the Regency period. Anachronisms will be my death!
7. For you, what is the most important part of telling a story (i.e. a particular message, relatable characters, swoony love story that gives all the feels, setting so realistic you feel you've gone back in time, etc.)? What do you hope readers come away remembering?
I never write with a particular agenda, or to convey a particular topic. The theme of the story often emerges after I finish writing it. As if I have to write the story to find out what I wanted to say. Mostly, I want readers to be entertained. I want them to experience a satisfying read, where justice was done, hope was given, and the promise of happiness assured. I’ve been told that one hallmark of my writing is the use of unusual words, particularly period words, so if my readers have to occasionally head to a dictionary and learn something new, that’s okay with me, too.😊
8. Can you share with us what you are writing now?
I am literally days away (as of the time of this interview) in turning in book three in the Thorndike & Swann series. Children of the Shadows is nearly finished, and I hope will be a fun tie up to Daniel and Juliette’s story. I hope to continue writing Regency stories set in the “Haverly Universe” as I call it, so Daniel and Juliette may be making future appearances.
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Millstone of Doubt
A Bow Street Runner and a debutante in London Society use their skills to find the killer of a wealthy businessman, but the killer’s secrets aren’t the only ones they will uncover.
Caught in the explosion of the Hammersmith Mill in London, Bow Street runner Daniel Swann rushes to help any survivors only to find the mill's owner dead of an apparent gunshot--but no sign of the killer.
Even though the owner's daughter, Agatha Montgomery, mourns his death, she may
be the only one. It seems there are more than a few people with motive for
murder. But Daniel can't take this investigation slow and steady. Instead, he
must dig through all the suspects as quickly as he can because the clock is
ticking until his mysterious patronage--and his job as a runner--comes to an
abrupt and painful end. It seems to Daniel that, like his earthly father, his
heavenly Father has abandoned him.
Lady Juliette Thorndike is Agatha's bosom friend and has the inside knowledge
of the wealthy London ton to be invaluable to Daniel. She should be in a
perfect position to help with the case. But when her trusted instructor in the
art of spy craft orders her to stay out of the investigation, Lady Juliette
obeys. That is, until circumstances intervene, and she drops right into the
middle of the deadly pursuit.
When a dreadful accident ends in another death on the mill floor, Daniel
discovers a connection to his murder case--and to his own secret past. Now he
and Juliette are in a race to find the killer before his time runs out.
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