The Vagabonds are delighted to welcome mystery writer Julia Spencer-Fleming to the caravan. Julia studied acting and history at Ithaca College, and received her J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in a 185-year-old farmhouse outside of Portland, Maine, with three children, two dogs, and one husband. Julia’s first book, In the Bleak Midwinter received the Agatha for Best First Mystery as well as the Malice Domestic, the Anthony, the Dilys, the Barry and the Macavity Awards, making her the first author to win all six awards for a first novel. Subsequent books in her series featuring Clare Fergusson, a former Army helicopter pilot and an Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, police chief of Miller’s Kill, New York, have been shortlisted for the Edgar, Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe, and Romantic Times Readers’ Choice awards. The sixth book in the series, I Shall Not Want, is scheduled for a June 10 release.
I started reading Julia’s books shortly after Eloisa James introduced her to the Squawk Radio community. I was hooked by a title that alluded to a Christina Rossetti poem and a first line that has to be among the best ever: “It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby.” Julia has been an auto-buy author for me since I read that first book. I Shall Not Want is just as riveting as the others in the series. Not only is it a great mystery but, as one review notes, “Clare and Russ’s complex romantic dance is as compelling as ever.”
Welcome Julia!

Hi. My name’s Julia, and I’m a romance reader.

Hi, Julia!
Okay, for regular readers of Romance Vagabonds, that’s probably not a shocking confession. But in the mean streets of crime fiction, where I make my living, that’s enough to raise eyebrows.

Romance. Don’t they use a lot of…adjectives? Like “ throbbing?” And “moist?”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like crime fiction uses “gritty.” And “gunmetal.” Part of the problem is, of course, that historically romance was written by women for women, while mysteries were written by manly men like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Part of the problem is that each genre–romance, mystery, horror, science fiction–is trying to snatch the most respect from the exceedingly small portion ladled out by the literary and critical establishment. And part of the problem is a lot of mystery lovers are–and I mean this in the nicest way possible–prudish.

The only body parts I want to see in my book are dismembered ones.
When I started my first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, I knew I wanted to tell a love story about a brand-new female Episcopal priest and a married small-town chief of police. I knew I wanted it to be smart, and grown-up, and to ask questions like, “What do we sacrifice to honor our commitments?” and “What if finding your soul mate only lead to heartache?” I didn’t know if the ending would be happy or tragic. I didn’t know if I could balance the story of Russ and Clare, and the people of Millers Kill whose lives intersect with theirs, and the demands of a tightly-plotted mystery. I really didn’t know the central question over five–soon to be six–books was going to be Will they or won’t they?

Really, does this sort of thing belong in a mystery novel?
My agent called me up after I sent her the first draft of I Shall Not Want. “I think you’re moving in a genre-blending direction,” she said. She sounded excited, so I figured that was good. “It’s sort of mystery-women’s fiction-romance.”
“With explosions,” I pointed out.
“Sex and explosions are a great combination,” she agreed. “Have you thought about adding in vampires?”
“I don’t think so. I’m going for psychological realism.”
“With explosions.”
“And sex.” I paused. “Is this going to be a hard sell for some mystery fans?”
“Maybe,” she said. “But the good news is, you’ll more than make up for it in romance readers. If you can get the word out.”

That’s three sold. Only 14,997 more to go and I can make the New York Times list!
Reader, I blogged it. (That doesn’t make much sense, but I love riffing off that line. Don’t you?) The rest is up to you. Come on over and visit my website, check out the excerpt of I Shall Not Want, relax and have a drink. (I can’t actually supply the drink, but I would, you know, if I had the technology.) I want to prove that my agent is right about romance readers. Because, after all, I am one, too.
Are you a cross-genre reader? What questions do you have for Julia about genre-blending, mystery writing, or her fascinating characters, gypsies? Ask away! One lucky commenter, chosen at random, will win a copy of one of Julia’s books.