Jeannette de Beauvoir, author of A KILLER CARNIVAL, set on the tip of Cape Cod, answers our questions about writing and her newest book. Thoughts to share or questions? Leave a comment!
Who is your favorite character, and why?
I should say my protagonist, Sydney Riley, because—well, she’s my protagonist—and also because she and I share a whole lot of traits. (Sydney made a New Year’s resolution to tone down her sarcasm; I know I never could!) And of course I love many of my characters because they aren’t fictional, but real people who have kindly allowed me to throw them into my world of murder and mayhem. But I’ll be honest: from the first book in the series (Death of a Bear, 2017), I’ve had my eye on the inn’s chef. She hasn’t yet appeared in any of the books, but has been referred to in all of them as “Adrienne our diva chef.” I’d like to think I’m deliberately building up curiosity and tension and all that by not saying more, but the truth is I’m afraid to take her on—she’s such a mystery now that I don’t want to not do her justice!
What was the most interesting thing you learned writing the book?
I learned a lot about making and disarming bombs, to start with. (I can imagine the look on the face of a security service checking out the browsing history of any mystery writer’s computer!) But more seriously… with Sydney’s boyfriend being Muslim, I felt a need to really explore Islam, and I spent months reading and listening—there’s a great TEDxTalk about the difference between “headscarf” and “hijab,” given by a Muslim woman professor in Colorado. If you have any interest at all in the subject, check it out.
What meal and drink do you think would pair well with your book?
I think the wine would have to be red Châteauneuf du Pape, mostly because it’s a wine that “maintains its rich spiciness” (Wikipedia) as it ages. Not unlike Sydney. And me. Just don’t chill it…. please! As for the meal, I don’t think any of us could compete with Adrienne, the inn’s diva chef, but I’d suggest a hearty Portuguese fisherman’s stew, filled with lots of clams and mussels and cod and garlic… It’s a staple dish in Provincetown!
What is the hardest part of writing a book?
The beginning. No; the end. No; the middle. Writing is work I love, but that doesn’t make it any less work. I have a tendency to do the literary equivalent of painting myself into a corner with my storyline—I’m not assertive enough when my characters indicate they want the story to go in a different direction than I’d planned. So that leaves me with a whole bunch of plot holes, and at that point I feel like I’m playing whack-a-mole: as soon as I figure a way out of one of them, another pops up. Those are the moments when I wish I’d chosen a career like long-distance truck driving, or becoming an astronaut or a physicist… you know, easy things!
Were there indispensable people without whom you couldn’t have written the book?
Oh, heavens, yes, always! Lots of them. For this book, two people really stand out. First off, my publisher, who returned the first draft to me with several pages of notes indicating changes that transformed it from a complete mess into a viable story. (No, Jeannette, just because you researched something and are really interested in it, it doesn’t need to be included, you can leave out the kitchen sink.) And then there was my friend Pat; we take road trips together during which I tell her about my half-baked ideas and she comes up with a new direction, or something I hadn’t thought of, or a subplot that might work better. Every writer should have a Pat, should try talking someone through their story before it’s finished; it’s a great way to see through someone else’s eyes what works and what doesn’t.
Like Sydney Riley, Jeannette de Beauvoir lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a former fishing-village poised on the tip of Cape Cod. Sydney leads a more exciting life than Jeannette, as she regularly stumbles over dead bodies. Jeannette tends to stumble over her own feet.