Sara Rosett and Lee Strauss discuss writing Historical Mysteries

Before their live chat for BingeBooks Book Club, on Historical Mystery Day, Thursday September 29, we asked Sara Rosett and Lee Strauss to answer some favorite author questions.

BB: Where and when do you like to write?

SR: I use dictation to get a first draft down in the morning. Once it’s transcribed I like to edit the draft in my office, which has bookshelves full of my favorite novels and all my reference books.

LS: Usually afternoons in my sunroom. I take care of business matters in the mornings. I also like to play pickleball three mornings a week, so it's nice to have a flexible schedule.

BB: Is there anything - furnishings, art, equipment, etc - you always like to have around you when you write?

SR: I like to have my divided keyboard, which keeps my wrists in alignment so I don’t strain them. I also like to have access to the internet so a can do a quick search. I need to know weird little details like when fire-proof material was invented and what days certain trains ran and whether or not cars in the early 1920s had windshield wipers. 

LS: Nothing external. I like to write in silence, so nothing is playing in the background except a fan when it's hot. 

BB: Who are your influences?

SR: I love Agatha Christie’s inventive plots and the humor she often infused into her novels—I think that’s something that people overlook about Christie. Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense books were a huge influence on me. I think it’s one reason my books have a strong sense of place.

LS: Rhys Bowen, Sue Grafton, and of course, Sara Rosett. 

BB: What are you reading right now?

SR: I just finished Ashley Weaver’s The Key to Deceit, a World War II mystery about a female safecracker—it’s great! I’d definitely recommend for historical mystery lovers.

LS: I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. Right now I'm reading Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang and The Poisoners Handbook by Deborah Blum. 

BB: What book would you recommend for a great summer vacation read?

SR: If you want a fun contemporary mystery/thriller, I’d recommend Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson, about a grad student who’s making a documentary about a mystery writer who went missing. 

LS: I've discovered a new-to-me author, Lynn Messina who has a delightful Regency cosy series called A Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mystery, the first book titled A Brazen Curiosity.

BB: Have any of your characters ever surprised you? How?

SR: I don’t create elaborate character sketches before I write. I let the characters develop as I write. I get to know them throughout the first draft, so I find out interesting things as the book progress. About halfway through one of my books, I realized that the character I’d thought was the murderer was actually a red herring. Fortunately, another character fit the role of murderer perfectly—all the clues were already there, so I guess my subconscious knew all along!

LS: Ambrosia, the Dowager Lady Gold. Ambrosia started off as my stock, grumpy old lady in my breakout series, The Ginger Gold Mysteries, but as time went on, I knew I needed to give her more depth to account for her prejudices and behavior. In Murder at the Royal Albert Hall, I took the mystery back to the days were Ambrosia was a young women at a boarding school, and her past, twisty and tragic, took form.

BB: Cat or Dog?

SR: Dog

LS: Cat

BB: Tea or Coffee?

SR: Um, how about Diet Coke? That’s my caffeine choice. :) 

LS: Dog

BB: Tell us in 1 sentence why readers (will) love your latest book.

SR: Murder at the Mansions has a definite Rear Window vibe, but with a classic Golden Age twist: Olive moves into her swanky London flat, but a resident goes missing, and Olive has to investigate her new neighbors to find out if there’s an innocent explanation or if it’s murder.

LS: Murder at the Weddings is the final book in the series where readers will finally see Rosa and her love interest Miguel get their happy ever after.

BB: Tell us in 1 sentence why you love writing historical mysteries

SR: History has always fascinated me, and I love incorporating real places and events into my fictional stories.

LS: The past has always fascinated me by what we can learn and what we fail to learn, making way for intriguing scenarios and characters.

Watch Lee and Sara in conversation, and found out about future author chats, on our Book Club page.