BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Duplicity: Julia Gooden Mysteries [2]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Jane Haseldine to talk about Duplicity (28 March 2017, Kensington Publishing, 352 pages), a Mystery, book two in the Julia Gooden Mysteries series.

“Haseldine has a gift for atmosphere, setting, and suspense, and the many twists and turns will keep readers guessing.” —Library Journal

“Haseldine uses her experience as a crime reporter to bring authenticity to this exciting and gritty tale.” —Kirkus Reviews

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome to crime journalist and author Jane Haseldine; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

Here at BooksChatter we love music, so Jane has shared with us her music playlist for Duplicity (songs two, three and eight are also referenced in the book) - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for Duplicity?

"Like my main character, Julia Gooden, I was also a crime reporter, so I tried to infuse my personal experience covering the beat into Duplicity. As a journalist, one tenet I lived by was to dig deep to uncover the truth. For Julia, this is a lifelong personal mission since her older brother, Ben, was abducted when they were children. While his case remains unsolved thirty years later, Julia becomes a newspaper reporter to give others the answers she was never able to find for herself

One key motivator for Julia is this insatiable quest for the truth. In this book, I asked myself, what if she uncovers a truth that is almost too painful to bear?

Another inspiration was personal. A bombing takes place in Duplicity that is both a horrible tragedy for the city of Detroit, but in turn, brings its residents together. I spent many years living in Boston—and I grew up on Boston’s North Shore in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Boston Marathon was a staple in my life. It was always around my birthday, and my family and I would go watch it pretty much every year. Boston is a resilient, proud town. The Boston Marathon Bombing was such a horrible, grievous attack, but in its aftermath, the city showed that it was “Boston Strong,” beyond a doubt. Detroit plays a key role in Duplicity, and I thought about how its residents would react, and come together, in a tragedy.

Finally, as a former newspaper reporter who also worked in politics as a deputy director of communications for a governor, I’ve been on both sides. I wanted to cast a light on the push and pull between the media and politics, which is a theme in the book."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"Julia and I share a few similarities on the surface. We are both mothers of two young boys, and we are both journalists. Julia covers the crime beat, as I did. But I think Julia is a lot tougher than I am!

She is driven, relentless when it comes to finding out the truth, and she’s a very strong female character who had to learn to survive after her older brother was abducted. Julia definitely has a fighting spirit.

She is a good mom, an ethical, yet driven reporter, a loyal sister who never gave up on finding out what happened to her brother, and she is fearless when it comes to keeping her children safe. I think she’d be a very loyal friend. If I were ever in trouble, I’d want her in my corner!"

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Duplicity - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I can’t take credit for the cover! I wish I could. My publisher came up with the concept. Truth be told, I’m terrible with anything art-related. If either of my kids has an art project for school, my husband has to do it with them!
I’m thrilled with the cover Kensington designed. It’s a bright green/blue hue with a few scattered blackbirds perched on dark tree branches that crest the cover’s edges. Blackbirds make a few symbolic appearances in the novel. They appear briefly in a few scenes as omens to Julia that danger is near. Julia is a practical woman, but she wonders at one point in the book if the birds are somehow tied to her brother, who vowed to Julia as children that he would always keep her safe."

Why should we read Duplicity and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I’m a huge mystery/thriller/suspense fan, and I love action in my novels. I tried to keep the book action-packed, and Julia Gooden leads the action as a strong, yet flawed, female character.

Julia, I believe, is compelling. She is both equal parts hard and soft. She still harbors guilt over what happened to her brother since she was in the same room with him when he was kidnapped, but she was asleep and can’t remember any events of that night. Because of the tragedy, Julia is extremely overprotective of her own children, but when their lives become endangered in this novel, Julia will risk everything to protect them. Think Wonder Woman minus the lasso and bracelets with a few ghosts from her past haunting her."

Can you tell us something quirky about Duplicity, its story and characters?

"The city of Detroit is a character in the book. It is scrappy and trying to rise up from its many challenges, just like the main character, Julia. There are many Detroit landmarks that are found throughout the story: Eastern Market, the Packard Plant, and a quirky cool store in the Corktown neighborhood called Hello Records.

As for characters’ names, I named Detective Raymond Navarro, who is Julia’s best source, after my best source on my former crime beat. My real life friend, Ray Hansell, is a retired police detective these days, and he graciously helped out with background for the book."

Who would you recommend Duplicity to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast-moving, layered, suspense novel with a strong female lead.

In my opinion, Duplicity would get an “R” rating. There are some sex scenes (nothing too erotic) and violence, (nothing too graphic). Put it this way, I’d let my mother read it."

If you could / wished to turn Duplicity and the Julia Gooden Mysteries series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"The only thing I’m sure of, the movie would have to be shot in Detroit."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I got completely hooked on mysteries when I was eleven. My mother took my siblings and me to the public library every Saturday growing up. When I was eleven, I had read every single book in the children’s section, and I told my mom I wasn’t going to go to the library anymore. That day, my mother checked out And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie for me. I was smitten with mysteries from that day forward.

So as a reader and author, mysteries and suspense novels are my go-to genre."

What is your writing process?

"I have two young boys, so my writing process is carving out time to write. I mostly write late at night after my boys are asleep, in-between writing articles for a magazine I work for, and on the weekends when my very nice husband takes our boys out for a few hours to give me time to write.

I also write an outline/synopsis before I start a book, and I’ll cobble out the main points of each chapter prior to writing them. Sometimes, of course, the story might take me in a different direction, and I follow its lead."

What is in store next?

"Book 3 in the Julia Gooden mystery series, Worth Killing For, comes out in April 2018, and I’m currently wrapping up book four in the Julia Gooden series, Strange Magic."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I’ve attached a picture of myself with my two boys, Nash, who is eleven, and Beck, who is six. My kids are my world, and I picked their unique names since my name, Jane, is the plainest name in the world (although my mother gave me the middle name, Eyre, after the character, Jane Eyre, which I think is pretty cool)."