Historical mysteries are an enduring part of the crime writing landscape with millions of readers worldwide. Today I talk to Historical Dagger Finalist, Fiona Veitch Smith, in an episode jam packed with advice, hints and tips.
Historical mysteries are an enduring part of the crime writing landscape with millions of readers worldwide. Today I talk to Historical Dagger Finalist, Fiona Veitch Smith, in an episode jam packed with advice, hints and tips.
Hi, and welcome to the writing and marketing show brought to you by author Wendy H. Jones. This show does exactly what it says on the tin. it's jam packed with interviews, advice, hints, tips and news to help you with the business of writing. It's all wrapped up in one lively podcast, so it's time to get on with the show. And welcome to the writing and Marketing Show, Episode 114 with author entrepreneur Wendy H. Jones, and a very warm welcome to you again. Today we're going to be talking to Fiona Veatch Smith about writing historical mysteries, which is always a subject dear to my heart, and more about Fiona in a moment. And as I'm batching these because I'm going away and I'm trying to get ahead of myself, so we've still got podcasts coming out. I'm going to set them up in advance. And I haven't really got any great news today except that three days time I'll be at the hotel at the Westerwood hotel in Cumbernauld and we'll be waiting for the Scottish association of Writers Conference to start so that's exciting then I'm away on holiday for a few days so I'm getting ready and getting it all sorted out. As always, it's a pleasure to bring you the show every week and I do so willingly and I enjoy doing it however if you would like to support my time and doing this short you can do so by going to patreon.com forward slash when to H Jones and support me for just $3 a month which is the price of a tear coffee a month. So what are the owner, the owner of each Smith is the author of the poppy Denver investigate novels, Golden Age style murder mystery set in the 1920s about a reporter sleuth who works for a London tabloid. She is formerly a journalist having worked on the arts and Klein beats of a cape town newspaper, and lectured in journalism in the UK for 10 years. She holds a Bachelor of journalism a BA in history and an MA in creative writing. She lives with her Husband, Daughter and dog in Newcastle upon Tyne. On her non writing day, she works part time as a freelance editor and writing tutor as well as being the assistant secretary of the Crime Writers Association. So without further ado, let's get on with the show and hear from Fiona. And we have Fiona with us welcome Fiona.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Good morning, Wendy. lovely to be here.
Wendy Jones:It's lovely to have you here. It's always a pleasure to chat to you. If you're and I have to say,
Fiona Veitch Smith:Oh, it is I prefer it in person. But it's I'm really happy to be with you even online.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, absolutely. We need to get together. It's been too long. And definitely do a cup of coffee and maybe glass or something. Oh, yeah. Sounds like a plan to me. So tell us where are you in the world?
Fiona Veitch Smith:I'm in Newcastle upon Tyne at the moment and I'm in my study at home where I do most of my
Wendy Jones:writing. Oh, wow. See, you're in the right place. And you're poised to be interrogated. I mean, interviewed.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Have you got your torture tools out Wendy.
Wendy Jones:Practising for the next Cranebrook Oh, no, I'm looking forward to it. You get to trouble for stuff like that. No, don't yeah, oh, we better be careful. Anyway, moving swiftly on words, we'll ask the first question and figure ourselves out of that hole. So I know Fiona that historical fiction, it can be a tricky one to pin down because people's idea of what's historical varies. So what is the definition of historical fiction?
Fiona Veitch Smith:Historical fiction, according to the historical novel society, the historical Writers Association, and the Crime Writers Association, which is what I work for. Yeah, they set it at 50 years. So anything that was written 50 years or beyond that, in the past, would be considered historical fiction. So at the moment, we're around about 1972. The problem with Oracle, that's historical, exactly. I was two years old at the time. So anything before I was two years old, would be considered historical. But the thing is, people write and read works, that seems to them historical, because it's my daughter, now 17 years old, you know, anything that would be 25 years ago for her would be considered historical, you know, something before she was born and beyond that, as well. So it is a subjective thing, what is historical, but there is actually a general industry consensus that it is 50 years. But I like to refer to not just historical fiction, but period fiction, because writing something that's set in the 1980s, for instance, requires exactly the same process of research and creating a creating a historical context, as it would with a true historical that's 50 years and older. So I would refer to that as period fiction, something that's just not today, but isn't quite historical. But for some of the writers who are watching or listening rather to your podcast, if they're considering writing something that's in 1974, why not try to make it 1971 Just to, to whip it into that historical bracket. And it'll just be easier for bookshops and libraries to be able to market the books for you.
Wendy Jones:Good points. Actually, I've not thought about that, you know, if it's on there on the cusp, it's better just to move it forward, just back a little bit. And then it will fit fit nicely into the bookshelves as they say,
Fiona Veitch Smith:or consider you know that it's going to take you a year or two to write something for it to get out there. So something that may be on the cusp now, in a couple of years time actually would qualify. But consider that if you're able to, to fit it more comfortably into the historical bracket. Yeah.
Wendy Jones:Great point. So I'm curious, what are the key elements of a historical mystery?
Fiona Veitch Smith:Well, historical mystery is like any mystery, really. So the mystery, the mystery genre has to really have a murder in it or a death, the mysterious, it's not necessarily a murder, a mysterious death of some kind. Now, you would think mystery is really something that's unknown and needs to be investigated. But in the mystery genre. Death really needs to be involved, the readers come to those books with an expectation that someone is going to die. And someone is going to be investigating that death. So a mysterious death. You're going to need an investigator, often in mysteries. It's not a professional investigator. It can be. But usually, mysteries will have an amateur sleuth of some kind, in mine of poppy Denby, of course, it's she's a reporter, sleuth, she's a journalist. But you can have a you can have a cleaner of I'm just trying to think of that that series of books that has the cleaner of crime scenes, It can be it can be anyone, it can be an amateur, an amateur detective fits very well into the mystery genre, you need to have quite a cast of suspects with motives. You have to have red herrings, and you have to have the investigation needs to be resolved at the end, far less far more so than in a thriller, for instance, you can perhaps get away with it, some people getting away with it. But in a mystery, there's an expectation that it's much more of a closed thing doesn't mean there can't be a few loose ends that can be carried on in this in a further series further on in the series, which I've done in my Poppy Denby, book six at the moment. And I'm busy resolving something that happened in book one. So for followers of the series, won't say, won't say what it is. But you might have got to the end of book one. And I wonder what happens to so and so you're going to finally find out in book six, but largely in in a mystery, it needs to be resolved within the book itself. So historical. So what makes it a historical mystery is that the history itself becomes almost a character in the book. So you have to pay as much attention to creating the historical setting as the mystery. And you have the challenge with writing historical mysteries is to balance those two. So people who come to it with enjoying the history of it are going to get enough of the history. And people who come with mystery are going to get enough of the mystery and not feel they're bogged down by the history, or alternatively bogged down by the mystery, and not getting as much of the stuff of the context of the period as they wanted to get the historic mystery.
Wendy Jones:I love the way you say that the the historical setting is a character as well. And I think you've hit the nail on the head there because you need the historical context, you want to learn about the time period, as well.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Let's let people come to these come to these books with the expectation of wanting to find out about a period, or people who love a period already and just want to be absorbed into that. So certainly the things like the with my books, that the fashion of the period, the culture of the period, what films are on in the 1920s music of the period is is just as important as the mystery. And people who don't enjoy those sorts of books might come to them and think, Well, I don't really particularly care what shoes they were wearing in 1927 But people who love the periods and love the history aspect of it, expect that. So it's it is a challenge to balance the two but yes, you've got to put in enough of the period enough of the history for people to feel they've been immersed or it's always I've just had a Review for just trying to think which one it was book five, book five in the in the poppy Denby series. And the reviewer said, it was like he time travelled back into the 1920s. And that is the best compliment you can get is that you have transported your reader into that period, or at least made them feel that they've been transported into that period. So yeah, readers have historical mysteries come for both the history and both the mystery, and you got to give them both, but you can't allow one to overpower the other
Wendy Jones:brilliantly put, as they say, now with Poppy Denby, you've done a great character. I love Poppy. You know, everybody loves Poppy, as they say. So but how does one go about writing a relatable main character giving that it's in a different era.
Fiona Veitch Smith:That is the biggest challenge. And that is really what sets aside a history, I would say historical mystery, but really any history book, any historical novel, is having a way that a 21st century reader can connect and relate to that character, but at the same time trying to make them as authentic to their period as possible. And there's always a bit of smoke and mirrors that goes on with that. Because for me, what you need to do is, is find out what a 21st century person would respect and relate to, in a in a character in, in the contemporary world. And you've got to somehow transpose that into historical. So you're talking about people's personalities, people's characters, everybody loves someone who is trying to loves an underdog, who is trying to get ahead. So you would have that in the contemporary. And you would find that just as much in historical, we can relate to someone who's an underdog and he was trying to get ahead, people always relate to someone who is, is trying to seek justice or standing up for a defender of the innocence in the downtrodden. You could enjoy that in a contemporary book. And you would enjoy that in historical so it's, for me, it's looking at virtues or character traits, in a in a character that are respected and engaged with today and looking for them in that period. The problem comes is when some of these characters have authentically would have characteristics that perhaps would be frowned upon today. So I don't want to get into the into the whole thing of, of Kancil culture and all of that that sort of discussion. But it isn't, it is an issue that you would have What if you were to have a a reporter sleuth who happened to be a slave owner, you know, so that and didn't think there was anything wrong with being a slave owner. And as far as he was concerned, and people around him, he was a particularly nice slave owner as well, you know, he was treated as slaves rather well, thanks. But he didn't see there was a problem was that it would be really, really hard to get your contemporary reader, your modern reader to empathise with that main character. So you would have to have him suddenly beginning to fight on behalf or releasing his slaves or something like that, which may never have happened. And, you know, a man like that could have got to the end of his life as a slave owner, and being within that context, not a bad one. And could have been solving crimes, but he would be a hard sell, he would be really hard sell as a protagonist now. So it's finding characters that don't have things that that job with modern readers expectations of what a good guy or a good girl is, but at the same time, trying to be as authentic as possible to the period, but also without then transposing our anachronistically transposing our expectations onto onto the past, but it's hard not to people who say, You can't do that. It doesn't happen, you've just got to find a more authentic way to do it. So Poppy, for instance, is a is a feminist, and that's one of the that's one of the main themes of the series is woman getting ahead, but I can do that because it's the 1920s and women are getting ahead. And in every book, she comes against obstacles of people trying to stop women getting ahead, and that actually is authentic to the period, something that is is slightly more or less authentic to the period, but not completely absent his views on racism views on disability, you know, disabled people with disabilities in that period were treated very, very badly indeed. And good people, nice people wouldn't have necessarily even seen that as a problem. But we do now. And so within the puppy books, there are people With Disabilities I try to I try to bring them into the stories in a way some people may feel that I'm transposing 21st century ideals onto not probably am. Yeah, I probably am. But I don't care, I really haven't. I'm enjoying it, my readers enjoy it, most of them do. And if they don't enjoy it, there's other theories they can move on to. But certainly most of my readers have said how much they enjoy the characters with disability who are in the books and are just raring their heads and forging careers and lives for themselves.
Wendy Jones:Well, that's a good way of putting it and it's true, you need to, you need to be sympathetic to modern readers. Whereas the same time as getting it as authentic as possible in the era, but you can play literary dice with it and do what you want, because you're the author, you know. So it's a good way of putting it. Want to take this a bit further because you've got main character but but your main character is going to have to solve a mystery. And they've got to do it in a time where there are no computers, and maybe no or little forensic science. How do you do that?
Fiona Veitch Smith:I actually found that one of the most liberating things was to go to periods before computers. And before, not entirely before telephones, telephones were, were beginning and papi occasionally manages to make a phone call somewhere. But it was hugely liberating to not have my character resort to the internet in order to find an answer or to track someone down. And it became a challenge to me to consider how I was to do this old school. So we have letters or letters are actually written telegrams are sent, you have to consider the communications of the period. And I'm probably a lot there was a lot more available to me in the 1920s than someone writing in the 1830s. For instance, there was more available to to me as a writer in that I could have a telegram being sent off and within a day and answer coming back. Yeah. So I found it liberating I found that it actually slowed down the story, enough for puppy to be able to do some proper sleuthing, you know, you this is a real sleuth, when she went will follow a clue investigated, and she'll hop on a bus and go somewhere. And you'll interview someone and get some information. And slowly and slowly and slowly piecing it together. Whereas if it was in the days of the Internet, she could just you could get all that information probably in about five or 10 minutes. And I wouldn't enjoy as a writer, I don't think I would enjoy that as much. So it allows me to pace with sleuthing and to also bring the reader in and allow them to investigate along along with her stage by stage by stage. But I also have a I have a little device. The first book in the series is called the Jas files, not the Jas files, for those who haven't read it. Or it's the nickname of a group of files that the newspaper holds in their archive. And it's essentially it's unresolved or unproven, gossip, about about different people. And they come across snippets of gospels or as sources told them something and something hasn't been verified. And it all goes into these files called Jazz files. Now that in a way is is my sort of internet resources word for copy. So whenever she she needs some information, she will go to the the archivist is chap called Ivan Mullen off who is a White Russian refugee emigrate. And he looks after the the archive and the jazz files. And so she goes to him and Ivan, I need to find out something and she gives usually gives him a list of tasks of people, she needs to track down and see if there's any dirt on them or any information on them. And he goes away for a few hours. And then he'll he'll call it she'll come back to see him and he's got a file of stuff that he's gathered. So in a way that's actually a version of the internet. You know, Ivan has a version of Google, it just takes a little bit, take a little bit longer. But he's is a character who has information that she needs that she doesn't have. And so yeah, I think I've managed to gypo it a little bit with with my Ivan character, and also and dodge she has a socialites relative called and dot. Who knows? Absolutely everyone. So again, that's sort of a bit of a Google thing, as well so and has no not heard of this person or that person? Oh, yes, she has. And she knows all the gossip and who she's had an affair with. You know, she had absolutely everything. Oh, could you make an introduction to me? And so Oh, yes, we can do that. So it's, you know that that's the speculative email set and.is able to make the introduction. So resource You're talking about with the internet is a resource of information. And so what I've done is I've recreated that resource of information in a slower, more period appropriate way.
Wendy Jones:No, it's beautifully done. You've just really recreated the internet in a different way. You know, because the dots of the time were the internet of the day, they knew everything. They were the Google of the day, you know? Something about research, so it seeped in quite nicely. And, you know, can you give us some tips on how to research for historical mysteries?
Fiona Veitch Smith:You have to really get to know your periods very, very well. So seek yourself in the literature of the period. So read books that were written in the time. So with me in the 1920s, of course, we've got it was the golden age of mystery fiction and detective fiction. You have the Agatha Christie's the Dorothy L says that the GK Chesterton's was just a little bit before that, the Conan Doyle just before that as well, but you have the literature of the period, which is good to read what was written then. So you get it in the voice of the people. Then, for instance, I've just, I've just come across in rereading Dorothy L. Sayers just finished rereading the unpleasantness of the Bologna club, she keeps referring to attack teec. And what attacked what attack? And I've read, I've come to realise that it's actually shorthand for Detective. It's a private detective. Yeah. Oh, yes, of course, was called attack. Yes, it is. And so it's things like that I'd never come across that before except when I was reading Dorothy L says. So, absorbing myself into the literature of the period, then, of course, books that are written about period are useful in terms of gathering information about you know, historical facts and things like that. But in terms of the spirit of the period, try to read what was written in that period. Newspapers as well. I get yourself signed up to the British Newspaper Archive, which is was originally when I first started out was originally based at the British but still is based at the British libraries and used to have to go down there and which, which wasn't a great choice, I must admit to to go down there and be immersed in period newspapers was just absolutely wonderful. And you could get them on like you've got them on microfilm, you'd sit in front of your, your machine, they're out but now they've digitised most of that. And they're continuing to digitise isn't every, every month or so I get an email from the saying that other newspapers have been newspapers and magazines have now been digitised and are now available on the British Newspaper Archive. And for people who are listening to your show from around the world. It isn't just but it is based in Britain. But it's not just British newspapers. They have newspapers from around the world as well which they are gradually digitising it's a fantastic resource. It does cost it costs are off the top of that it's under 100 pounds. I can't remember what but round about the 8090 pound a year mark roundabout there and you got it you sign up for it but it is searchable. So for instance, I came across during research as a real library. I came across a map of Newcastle upon Tyne where I live in the 1920s and a I noticed that the the charity shop where my daughter now works on a on a Monday used to be a theatre and I had absolutely no idea and it was knocked it was knocked down. And so I saw this on the map was as I was busy looking. And with my magnifying glass actually I was looking on this magnifying glass in this theatre that I've never heard of that theatre. So I went on to the Newspaper Archive and I typed in the name of it was called the Palace Theatre and I typed in Palace Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne 1929. And suddenly these all these newspaper articles come up that mentioned the Palace Theatre in 1929 and Newcastle upon Tyne and I found out exactly what was was on at the time there was a Jack and the Beanstalk happened to be on. So I was able to find out what was on at that theatre and it's all those sorts of sorts of things that it's a phenomenal resource. But again, you heard that I was actually sitting at a library, go into a library. I was going through a huge tome of council minutes from 1929 massive thing. Now I learned about Council minutes when I worked as a reporter in South Africa in in Cape Town On the tape times, and one of the jobs as a junior reporter was to actually go through Council minutes, which was seemed like the dullest thing possible. But you've got so many ideas for articles out there. So I've come to respect Council minutes since then, and I was going through the council minutes of 1929. That's how I also came up with lots of other useful information, my job, the number of people who were sadly living in single single room accommodation, the number 15,000 families in Newcastle upon Tyne, were living in single rooms in 1929. Yeah, so little tidbits like that. But I was browsing through it. And I came across this map, and had Platt who was planning permission for something and I suddenly noticed the theatre that I know had been there before. So I was at a real library looking at a real book and was then able to have a look on the computer, something that was digitised as well. So I'm probably going off track here. But that's the sort of research I do. I also museums as well, that certain museums specialise in certain areas, that the suffragettes period, for instance, Museum of London is very strong on that they've got, they've got archives on that fashion of the period, which is very useful for me in what I write, the Victorian Albert Museum has an incredible fashion archive. So different museums in different parts of the world will specialise in certain areas, and many of them are online these days. And of course, if you can get some now these, I say, hopefully, post COVID period that we're into, sort of these museums and archives are beginning to open up. And there's nothing that beats actually sitting there with a pair of white gloves on and flicking through some of these things yourself.
Wendy Jones:No, oh, sounds great. They're great tips. You know, research is amazing. It really is. And one thing I realised was looking through a newspaper from the Second World War, it was the Dundee courier. That the amount of information you can get from adverts? Yes, yes. Everybody was obsessed with constipation in Dundee, and every advert was a cure for constipation.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Absolutely. adverts and also the commercial adverts and then also the small Oh, that I so miss the small, the Cassatt, little classified ads, yeah, but who is looking for love and isn't looking for love and the things that you could the things that you could find out in those just little snippets of life. So yeah, but you can get lost in in terms again, remember the history and the mystery, you've got to gotta know when to stop as well. So you can get yourself down a rabbit hole and never come out again, with research. So you have to be strict with yourself and say, I said, actually set a time limit and I stop research. After three months, I will not allow myself any more than three months research for particular book and then I'll have to start writing. It doesn't mean I can't ever look anything up during the writing period. I certainly do. And can. For instance, I wanted to find out when my my new character actually so I'm starting a new series. I haven't slept papi go, but I am starting a new series with a criminalist scientist. And that's the word that was used in the 1920s and 30s for a forensic scientist, but they weren't called forensic scientists at the time. And she the woman was needed to take some fingerprints. And I discovered in my research that lifting the the idea of what's called lifting fingerprints only came about in the 1960s, late 1950s, early 1960s. So before that they would just dust them and photograph them. But I, my character didn't really have time to do the dusting and photographing. I thought, Oh, I wonder if she could accidentally discover lifting fingerprints. And I thought, I wonder if she has some. I wonder if she has some self clear sellotape to hand and she comes up with the idea of just lifting it and photographing it later. And so I'm in the middle of writing. And then I think to myself, now was clear sellotape invented, so I had to do. I had to do research, and dammit, no, it was two more years into the future before clear sellotape was invented. And so I had to make a decision whether to let her use clear sellotape and at the back of the book, Make historical notes, which I occasionally do, saying, now I'm aware that this was only discovered in 1930. But for the purposes of this book, but please be aware that I'm, you know, I know that this was the case, I had to make a decision to do that, or to actually not use it, and, and find another way and I decided that it would actually just be lazy of me. And so I decided not to use it in that chapter. find another way to do it. But that sort of thing. As always, that's the sort of research you can continue doing as you go along. Did they have clear sellotape at the time, but the bulk of your research really needs to be done before you start writing your book. And you have to be quite strict with yourself.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, I think that's important, really? And but also, how do you incorporate the research into the manuscript without boarding the reader to death? Because by the time you've done all this research, you're probably like, I've got to get it all in the book. But it's not a history book you're writing?
Fiona Veitch Smith:Absolutely, absolutely. And that the balancing the history and the mystery, and not overpowering your reader. But at the same time, creating an authentic context is one of the huge challenges not just of historical mysteries, but of all historical writing, and not just historical writings, but I was talking to someone the other day, who, who writes speculative science fiction. And they have done all sorts of research into some signs, you know, potential scientific theories or whatever. And it's, how much of that do you put in as well, you know, so it's whatever your specialism is of what you're writing. Either drastic or just thinking Jurassic Park, for instance, you know, how much dinosaur stuff actually goes into it. So it's not just a historical thing. But it is a problem that is that raises itself regularly with historical writers. And for me, there's there's two things that I, I consider. The first is the expectation of my readers. As I've said before, there are some people who come to my books, with an expectation of being immersed in a historical setting, you've got to give them enough. There are others who come to the books who find it's too much. So you have to get to know your readers. And this is easier said than done. Certainly, when you're writing your first book, and you haven't been published yet. Because you don't necessarily know your readers that well. But send your book out to to Peter readers, and get their response on it. And if they say, Yeah, I felt as a few sort of over egging that I felt if you were laying in on bit thick. And if the majority of your readers say that, then you know that perhaps you are laying it on a bit thick. So it's to get it getting to know your readers. I hopefully, I know that I put in more information than some readers like, I know that. But I also know that the majority of my readers, like the amount that I put in, yeah, so it's good to get to know your readers expectation and how much they they not put up with, but how much they value of that. So it's to know your readers. The second thing is know thyself, as well know that you can be present, I know that I am prone to not so much with historical research. But with place throughout place, a sense of place is very important in my books as well. And I know that I have a tendency to put too much in that. And I do it in order to create a sense of place, but it can sound like a travelogue at times, just in sections. And I have a a very useful editor view points that out to me. And she she will actually just we've had the conversation so many times she just all she does now is right beside be decided a paragraph travelogue and I know exactly what she means. And I then have to go back and strip it out again, I have to make a decision. Even though this I thought this was marvellous information. And it took me three weeks to find out to find this out. You know, it's, it's, you have to ask. So is it helping the story? Is it? Is it helping the story to move along in any way is a crucial information that your reader needs to understand the story? Or is it just a bit of showing off that you're doing and you have to be quite brutal with yourself. And sometimes it's not sometimes it's always useful to have someone from the outside looking in someone that you've established a relationship with, who is able to say to travelogue, or whatever your particular weakness is too much food and I once edited someone else's work, which I won't say who it is. And there was just every second page was was a recipe on this and the recipe on that recipe on level. And I pointed out it Don't you think it's a bit too much? And actually he came back to me and said, Oh no, my readers love that. That was what they've said in the reviews. So for me it was far too it was far too much. Because I'm not particularly interested in all those recipes to be honest. It's not my thing, but people do love cooking. It's he felt that he wasn't excuse the pun over egging the pudding. But he could have been it could have been and it might hopefully would have been humble enough to accept my comment that he perhaps have overdone it a little bit. And we all have our pets, our pet areas that we like to show off our knowledge about something. And sometimes it's really just boosting our own ego rather than serving the writer at the writer serving the reader or serving the story.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, no, excellent points. So what would be your top three tips then? For anyone contemplating writing a historical mystery?
Fiona Veitch Smith:Top three, only three? Okay. Only
Wendy Jones:three, I'm afraid.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Yes. Right, I would say the first one is, is choose your period carefully. Now, writers will become known for a period. So it's again speaking to people who may not have had their first book published yet and are considering writing something, it is tempting to right around to, to jump into this period, jump into another period and jump into whatever interests you. But it is useful to become known as an expert in a particular period that can typecast you and it can restrain you. And it is quite freeing to be able to move on to a new a new period, but you need to be established enough to be able to do that for your readers to come with you. So for instance, writes to me about the 1920s, my new series, I am moving into a period, but I'm moving my my readers very gently into the 1930s. So it's not a huge jump. But if I suddenly decided I was going to write something in the seventh century, wanted to start a new thing set in the seventh century, involving involving bead and all of that lots and all the eighth the eighth century, then it would be quite, it would be quite a difficult sell to do that. So I would say certainly select your period carefully is something that you've got, there will be enough material for you for a series of potentially a series of books. So don't choose a aspect. Once you get into the research, any period office can offer loads of material, but try to find a period where there is research available that could give you multiple storylines, and then immerse yourself in that period. So you don't have to spend three months with every single book, researching yet again, what the cars were like, what the what the fashion was, like, the food was like, that needs to be something that is part of your armoury already before you go into the research before you go into the writing of the book. And then you can just add specifics to it as you go along. So get to know you choose your period carefully, something that's going to offer you lots of opportunities. And be prepared to stick with that period for a while to become established in it. The second thing is something we've touched on already. So that's number one. Number two, I would say is you need to always consider the balance of the history and the mystery. We've said this before. You've got readers coming, you've got readers who are primarily mystery readers who need to be satisfied, and you've got primarily history readers, and then you've got readers who enjoy both, and don't allow either to overpower it. And then finally, again, we've touched on it is the relatable character. So this of course is true for any, any, any novel. But for historical mystery, just as much, you've got to have a relatable character. And you've got to have considering historical mystery. You've got to have someone who could has realistic opportunities to investigate. And to sleuth, you've got to have choose your character and put them in a context where they will be able to investigate and have the ability to and even though on the surface, it may not appeared first that they would have the ability to you need to give them opportunities, characteristics, connections that enable them to do an investigation. So an authentic potential investigator who may just seem a little extra ordinary for the time. Those are my top
Wendy Jones:three excellent tips. There really are. So I know you're a writer, we've talked about your Poppy Denby mysteries. So tell us about them properly. Or anything you want to talk about in terms of your books.
Fiona Veitch Smith:Poppy Denby investigates. And for those who don't know it is a series set in the 1920s. It starts in 1920 itself when Poppy Denby who is a quite a young, inexperienced young woman, the daughter of Methodist ministers, and she moves to London to look after her disabled ads. He was a former suffragettes and was injured in a battle with With the police in 1910, she comes to London to look after her. She's been invited by aunt and doc to come only to discover this was a ruse, and and.is Quite happy. Thank you very much with a companion grace, who looks after her perfectly well, but she wanted to get puppy down to London to give her an opportunity to have a career and flourish. So daughter's really living vicariously through her niece, Poppy comes to London gets a job on a tabloid newspaper called The Daily globe, which is, is a small crusading type newspaper, small investigative newspaper, which is has been won in a poker game by an American called Rollo Rawlinson. And he is the type of editor who cuts corners and doesn't mind a little bit of a payoff here and there. He's a good man though, who is who seeks the truth. Puppy, on the other hand, is much more straight laced, and tries not to break the law and tries to do everything by the book. And the two of them together, are able to, to bring a bit of they contrast each other and help each other's strengths and weaknesses. So Poppy gets a job on this newspaper. And on the very first day, the chief journalist dies under mysterious circumstances and he falls to his death in front of her. And she when the body is finally removed, there is a blood stained letter underneath him. And she scraped us off the off the floor. And when the blood finally dries out, she's able to read what's on the letter. And that starts on investigation. She has to pick up where this this poor man left off and discover why he was killed and what story he was following. And that is the start of the poppy Denby series, we go through the 1920s by the time we get to Poppy Denby, six, which was just released last autumn, we are in 1925, and trying to hit 9025, Poppy is 27 years old. And so we've been going through the 1920s and Poppy is now an established reporter on the daily globe, and she investigates murders on the side. And like any, like any good mystery detective, she just happens to stumble upon murders, murders come to her people ask us to investigate murders. And she's just investigated the murder of a female scientist in the basement of bar a tree in Oxford. Those are the Public Enemy books if anyone would like to know more about them, or where to where to get hold of them. You can look at WWW dot Poppy denby.com. All one word, Poppy denby.com. And there's lots of information on the website and you can say hello to me if you'd like there's a contact, a little contact form and you can say hello, Fiona. And I'll say hello back.
Wendy Jones:And they're great books. I have to say I love the poppy Denby mysteries. Probably Danby is a great character. I want to be Poppy Denby,
Fiona Veitch Smith:Poppy Denby's a much nicer person than most people. People do people love Poppy Denby, she's, she has lots of fans we have and she has quite a few gentleman fans as well as certain gentleman she's had to marriage proposals actually. Yeah. written to me and asked me to pass on their proposal to properly.
Wendy Jones:They're getting rather carried away. But hey, that's good. That's good that they like her. And if you got any other books that you write,
Fiona Veitch Smith:Oh, all right. I do write children's books as well. And we just been children's picture books. I haven't got any on the on the cards for the immediate future. But I certainly if you if you look up my name for any beach, Smith, there's a lot of there's a lot of children's picture books out there. It does seem to be something that was I've really, really enjoyed writing picture books. And it was always a nice break actually, from my novels, I would sort of do a picture book in between. And it would help to get my clear out my brain a bit. And you know, and give me a difference. Or you know, yourself writing children's and adults books as well. It's always a bit of a relief to be able to write a children's book. Not that it's any easier. It's just a different process. And so I always enjoyed that. I enjoyed writing visually. I'm a very visual writer. And with picture books, I wasn't even I didn't do the art myself. I had to, I had to create the images and right around right around the images. So yep, children's picture books I've written I've written a standalone, a period standalone, not historical sets, partly in South Africa and partly here in NewCastle and South Africa in 1976, with the Soweto riots, called the Peace Garden. I've written a standalone historical Love Story adventure set in first century palace. Stein called pilot's daughter. And then this new series that I'm I'm writing is again, it's a it's a murder mysteries sense, going into the starting 1929. And going into the 1930s. And I can't tell you the name of it yet, because discussions are underway with with publishers. So we haven't got to that point yet. But as soon as we do, you'll be the first to know, darling, you'll be the first to know.
Wendy Jones:Thank you, I will be very grateful. I'll be waiting for that first copy to come out. Well, my final question, because all interviews have to come to an end at some point is where can my listeners find out more about you and your books?
Fiona Veitch Smith:Well, the poppydenby.com would be the best place to to do that. I do have a website as well, which is Fiona dot vich smith.com, which is a bit wordy and hard to spell. If you if you go to Poppy denby.com There will be a link from there, which they could follow to my other website, which is further dot veg smith.com.
Wendy Jones:Probably easier.
Fiona Veitch Smith:It'll just be easier. And on there. There are some things about my other books as well. But yeah, there'll be a link from Poppy denby.com, which will be the easiest thing for your readers or your listeners, sorry.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, listeners, readers, they might read the show, they might read the transcript so they may be readers as well. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure. Fiona, thank you very much for joining me, taking time out of your day. It's been absolutely lovely. Wow, you enjoy the rest of your day. Take care. We'll do have a great day Wednesday. Bye. That brings us to the end of another show. It was really good to have you on the show with me today. I'm Wendy H Jones. And you can find me at Wendy H jones.com. You can also find me on Patreon where you can support me for as little as $3 a month which is less than the price of a tea or coffee. You go to patreon.com forward slash Wendy H Jones. I'm also went to H Jones on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Thank you for joining me today and I hope you found it both useful and interesting. Join me next week when I will have another cracking guest for you. Until then, have a good week and keep writing keep reading and keep learning