Author Guest Post - Victoria Thompson

I will have a review of Murder on Amsterdam Avenue shortly, so please stay tuned that front.  Edgar® and Agatha Nominated author Victoria Thompson writes the Gaslight Mystery Series, set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt. Her latest, MURDER IN MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, is a May 2016 release from Berkley Prime Crime.  Please welcome Ms. Thompson to our slice of mystery heaven.

What's new in the series?
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue is the Gaslight Mystery readers have been waiting for! Frank and Sarah finally get married. Of course they solve a mystery first and it’s a dandy, but then they finally do tie the knot.

What took them so long? The answer is that I had been a romance writer for 20 books before I switched to mystery. When I switched, everyone told me (and told me!) that mystery readers don’t like romance in their mysteries. My editor and my agent and other mystery writers all warned me. This is why I put so many barriers between Frank and Sarah. They could never get together, so I made it impossible for them to get together.

Then a strange thing happened. I started getting fan letters. They would say something nice about the book and oh, by the way, when are Frank and Sarah going to get together?” Everyone wanted to know about a romance between Frank and Sarah. So obviously, mystery readers don’t mind a little romance in their mysteries at all! And after fifteen years of keeping them apart, the fans were getting angry! So I knew something had to happen. The problem was that I’d put up so many barriers between them, I couldn’t figure out how to get them married without ruining the series. Fortunately, one of my writer friends, who had never read a single one of the books, came up with the perfect solution, which I won’t mention in case somebody hasn’t read that book yet.

Fans are already asking if this is the end of the series, and the answer is: Not at all! In fact, the next two books are already written, and I’m contracted for at least one more after that. Frank and Sarah will keep solving mysteries as along as readers keep buying the books. What I want to know now is, were all those people right or wrong to warn me against putting a romance in my mysteries? Tell me your opinions.


THANK you Ms. Thompson for joining us today!

Ms. Thompson has contributed to the award winning writing textbook MANY GENRES/ONE CRAFT. Victoria teaches in the Seton Hill University master's program in writing popular fiction. She lives in Indiana with her husband and a very spoiled little dog. You can find Victoria at www.victoriathompson.com. Follow her on Facebook at Victoria Thompson.Author or on Twitter @gaslightvt.