J.C. Paulson thinks a mystery can — perhaps should — also be a love story.

Switching from fact (journalism) into fiction (novels, mostly) later in life, it seemed a natural thing to combine the two. Evil versus good. Hate versus love. Think Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, and a host of cozy mystery couples — not that her first two novels, Adam's Witness and Broken Through, are very cozy.

A long-time local journalist at several newspapers and for magazines, Paulson wanted to reflect her community and her country back to herself and to others through her stories. Hence, her novels are profoundly placed in her home city.

She believes that changing the world (for the better) would be nice, too: Fiction allows us to swallow the bitter pills of social injustice and still be entranced, entertained and entangled in their solutions. 

A rabid reader of mystery novels, J.C. Paulson has long admired the works of Dorothy Sayers, P.D. James, Louise Penny and Ann Cleeves. She lives in a rambling bungalow on a quiet street in the middle of Canada with her husband, Ken, a goldsmith. And so, she often wears a tiny golden replica of her first murder weapon around her neck. 

She is presently working on book three in the Adam and Grace series, Fire Lake.

 Interview:

1. Will you tell us about your most recent published work?

Broken Through, published in fall 2018, is the second book in my Adam and Grace series. It was inspired by the experience of a friend, whose neighbour was more than likely murdered. I took the incident and twisted it into a serial killer thriller that explores how hate develops, how love endures, and how we as a society could do so much more to protect women and girls.

 2. What personal challenges do you face as a writer?

I think I’m like many writers who battle self-esteem, impostor syndrome and the nagging feeling we’re not much good at this. I’ve written for a living all my life, but fiction can be intimidating and frightening, sometimes. It bares your soul and your shortcomings. I also find I am perpetually short of time. So-called ‘real’ paying work still must come first.

 3. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

The plot! The characters more or less manage themselves, do what they need to do, stroke along on their own. I always begin with a plot outline, and I know where and how the novel ends. Getting there is not quite so easy. Plots are tricky things, and mysteries come with their own issues. Are there clues? Does the reader know who the villain is too early in the story? The plot hole is my nemesis.

 4. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

There’s a tough question. I wish I could say the ‘other’ work, but that’s not feasible. Neither can I say sleep, nor food, nor love. Perhaps almost everything else.

 5. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

It actually didn’t change my process of writing very much; it did change my process of marketing, though. I’m much more aware of needing to find beta readers, launching pre-sales, starting the buzz well ahead of time, that sort of thing. It’s the publishing/marketing I really had to learn about, but the process of writing, at least the first draft, is much the same. I’m used to having editors, for example, so that’s always been part of it.

 6. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Will you tell us about them?

I don’t have any unpublished books lying about. I’m a little more than half-way through the third book in this series, Fire Lake, which thematically deals with war veterans and PTSD. (And advances the love story between Adam and Grace). I’ve started a fourth, which is not in the series but will be in the universe, going back several generations. You could call it a western, I suppose. (I have a fifth slightly more steamy book next in line; then the fourth in the series, which will be about a murder on our campus.)

 7. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

AUGH! REVIEWS! So hard to get, yes? And so hard to swallow when they are bad. So yes, I read them. Sometimes I learn from them. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep. The usual.

The good ones, though: sometimes I post them on Twitter or Facebook and then run around the house squealing with joy.

 8. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Not really; not on purpose. Oddly, I’m finding that some readers feel that they’ve found secrets, and some pop up even though I didn’t write them intentionally!

 9. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I have so many author friends whom I have met on Twitter, largely, and Facebook, although less so. Their support is incredible, their knowledge wide, their intelligence amazing. I’ve learned so much from them all, from how long a book should be to whether you should be using the Oxford comma to how to improve your style. I have several author friends lurking about my city  and region including Amy Jo Ehman, Regine Haensel, H.P. Bayne, William Robertson and others.

 10. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Start sooner. Yes, you can do it. Yes, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it. And yes, you must write constantly. Daily, whenever possible. Stop doubting yourself. Fling your emotions and your verbs onto every page.

11. What are common traps for aspiring writers?

See No. 10. And find yourself an editor. Some think publishing without fresh eyes on the piece is a good idea. It rarely is.

12. What’s the best way to market your books?

If I knew that! Sigh. I might be rich, famous and selling zillions of books.

However, for what it’s worth, it’s a huge effort and it’s multi-pronged. Locally, regionally, even nationally if possible, meet with readers. Do launches and signings. Be sure your book can be found on as many sites and in as many stores as possible (hard work!) Be active on Twitter, particularly, and grow a community. Develop an email list and stay in touch with readers. Write a blog, if possible. Definitely have a website! Also try to create a street team, that will read you, review you, support you. Then give them something meaningful back. And the list goes on . . .

13. What is your favorite childhood book?

Gone with the Wind. As an adult, I have some difficulties with the novel’s themes – and to be honest, I did even when I was younger — but as a child I was swept away by the epic nature of the work. It completely transported me into a different and frightening world. While I didn’t and don’t agree with some of the author’s racial views as expressed in the book, in a way that was a good thing, as well. I also learned to question what I was reading.

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Website

https://www.jcpaulsonwriter.com/