Jane used to own a rare book and antiques
store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and now lives in New York
City with her husband. Jane is the Chair of the Wolfe Pack's
literary awards, including the Nero and the new Black Orchid
Novella Award (in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
and is President of the Mystery
Writers of America, New York Chapter. The second Josie Prescott
mystery, Deadly
Appraisal, will be published in spring 2007.
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APRIL AUTHOR: JANE CLELAND
Q: Did you actually choose to work in the Mystery genre and
if so why?
(What does it offer that others do not?)
A: I love mysteries... when I decided to try my hand at
fiction, it never occurred to me to write anything else.
Q: How much of your protagonist is based upon yourself and/or
important figures in your life?
A: Very little. Well, okay, I don't know. I guess that
as I think of it, my mom and dad were pretty darn wise and passed
on their views of the world. And my dad was fascinated by business.
And I owned a rare book store in Portsmouth, NH for four years.
And my best friend is named Jo-Ann.
Q: You use, for lack of a better phrase, Parental Pearls
of Wisdom throughout the book revealing much about Josie's
internal conflicts and motivations as well as providing unique
clues to the plot for those readers paying attention. Is this
sage advice giving something pulled from your own childhood and
if so, how has it helped you in your writing and/or personal
life?
A: Most of the sayings are, in fact, things my mom and
dad said as I was growing up. My dad died when I was young, barely
17, and I was utterly unprepared for the world. My mom was a
writer and incredibly supportive, but she was widowed young and
didn't have terrific coping skills herself. I left home at 17.
It was a lonely, difficult time. Thinking of their words, remembering
how much they loved me, helped me get through many tough experiences.
Still does, if the truth be known.
Q: The emotional issues Josie confronts in her second outing
are intense and heart wrenching: the sense of isolation haunting
her as she attempts to rebuild her life. Have you gone through
a similar experience which has helped infused the story with
such authenticity or do you draw from other areas to fuel this
part of the human drama in the story?
A: Thank you so much for the kind comments about DEADLY
APPRAISAL. Isolation is a cruel punishment whether it's self-imposed
or forced on you by others. Shunning is used by many societies
to enforce conformity to the community's standards. Thus, whistler
blowers like Josie get shafted. I've never been shunned, thankfully,
but I can't imagine much worse. I empathize with Josie very much.
Q:Which of your books comes closest to accomplishing your
intention and why?
A: I think I'm too new to answer this. I try really, really
hard to be clear and to write an engaging story.
Q: Who or what have been your major influences regarding
your writing?
(What particular book/writer/film/person/event made you want
to write and why?)
A: My mom was a writer and a major influence on me. As
to others: Rex Stout, Ed McBain, Robert B. Parker, and Georgette
Heyer. Movies: Body Heat and Sea of Love.
Q: What new projects do you have in the pipeline?
A: I'm trying my hand at a thriller. I'm enjoying writing
in the third person and I'm enjoying crafting a bigger, more
global plot.
For more information on Jane, visit: www.janecleland.net
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Consigned
to Death
Nominated for 2006 Agatha
"Best First Mystery"
Deadly
Appraisal
In Stores April 2007
First Chapter Previews
Request A Copy!
Mention "Cleland Preview"
in Subject Line!
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Review by Nancy Gratton:
Deadly Appraisal, St. Martin's Press, 2007, 307 pp.
For lovers of cozy murder mysteries, the pickings have been
slim in recent years. Gruesome forensics and gritty police procedurals
have all but muscled out the more genteel conceit of the amateur
sleuth swept unwittingly into the investigation of small-town
friends and neighbors in the pursuit of justice. For those who
are looking for something new to read that will tempt them away
from their well-thumbed Agatha Christie's, author Jane K. Cleland
offers the misadventures of Josie Prescott, antiques appraiser
and sometime detective.
Cleland's Deadly Appraisal (St. Martin's Press,
2007) is her second entry for in the mystery genre. Her first
book, Consigned to Death (2006), introduced Josie
and her world to readers who have had to search high and low
for a truly satisfying traditional mystery. Consigned to
Death has been nominated for the Agatha Award for "the
best first novel in the tradition of Agatha Christie."
Cleland's heroin, Josie, has moved to the quiet seacoast of
New Hampshire to recuperate from her participation (on the side
of the angels, of course) in a high-profile scandal in the Manhattan
antiques trade. Here she hopes to create a quiet haven for herself,
opening an appraisal-cum-auction business and slowly earning
a place in her newly adopted community. Events conspire against
her, however. The world of antiques is one that evidently inspires
desperate actions, and twice, now, Josie has been forced to turn
her sharply appraising mind to the solution of crime. A newcomer
to town, she can trust only her own instincts and the wisdom
she has learned from her much loved but, sadly, now-departed
father.
Cleland skillfully combines a charming locale (coastal New
England), an intrepid heroine, and a unique milieu - the high-stakes
world of the antiques trade - to create a solid basis for what
her readers can only hope will be an enduring series. Amid the
crimes, clues, and red herrings, author Cleland sprinkles antiques
lore with aplomb, as befits someone who has herself owned a store
much like the one run by her character. Whether she has Josie
appraising a 14th century Chinese vase, exploring the peculiariities
of life along New Hampshire's abbreviated coast, or indulging
in her passion for home-cooking, Cleland displays the deft touch
of a writer who knows whereof she writes.
Consigned to Death stands quite comfortably
on its own as a satisfying excursion into the traditional mystery
genre, but readers new to this author will be well rewarded should
they choose to begin at the beginning and scoop up the series'
opening volume as well. As any good series writer should, Cleland
builds her characters over time, and the enjoyment-quotient of
this second volume is only enhanced when readers take the trouble
to get to know Josie - and her newly adopted community - from
the beginning.
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