Beatrice
Stubbs and her European Eggcorns
It wasn’t supposed to become a habit. I thought I’d try it once and could stop anytime I liked. Fifteen books later, look at the state of me.
The
Beatrice Stubbs Series erupted out of a sense of frustration. A neighbour, due
to relocate to Singapore, offered me her crime fiction collection for twenty
francs. Bargain, said I, and carted home four boxes of hardbacks. Around the
fifth book, I became frustrated. By the seventh, I was flinging them against
the wall.
Why is so
much crime fiction so horribly clichéd? Why are there no better roles than rape
victim or dysfunctional pathologist? Where are the real women, with other
interests than being discovered knickerless in an alley? Where are their
families, partners and friends who drink too much rosé?
It IS
possible, I vowed, to write a well-rounded character and a crime story that is
neither ‘cosy’ nor violently misogynistic. I researched further and discovered
a whole lot of crime writers who eschewed obvious tropes to write thoughtful,
deeper novels. One of whom is our esteemed host, who I would describe as a
mentor. Others would be Sheila Bugler, Gillian Hamer and Abbie Frost.
Enter
Beatrice Stubbs, a 50+ detective with an irrepressible appetite, a long-term partner
she refuses to marry, a gay wine-merchant neighbour and a constant battle with
bipolar disorder.
Occasional reviewers attribute these to authorial
error, but Beatrice fans email me every week with fresh suggestions for her
#bealines.
Then
there are the locations. I’m a passionate Europhile having lived/worked in France,
Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland. Where
better to set a serial killer of Fat Cats than Zürich? Wine fraud on in
industrial scale? Rioja country. A psychotic stalker in the dead of winter? The
remote island of Sylt on the German/Danish border.
One of
the best things about the research is that a gang of writing mates often come
with me to ‘assist with the research’. Or to put it more accurately, drink wine
and eat cheese.
Today,
I’m sitting in the garden plotting the twelfth in the series, having written
three other novels in the interim.
As I said, I can stop anytime I like. I just don’t want to.
Bio
Jill grew up in Wales, Africa and the Middle East, where her curiosity for
culture took root and triggered an urge to write. After graduating in English
Literature and Theatre Studies, she worked as an actor, teacher, writer,
director, editor, journalist and cultural trainer all over Europe.
Now in Switzerland, she writes crime and literary fiction to entertain
readers with enthralling stories and endearing characters.
Her Beatrice Stubbs crime series topped the Amazon best sellers in
“International Mystery & Crime” in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.
Connect
https://www.jjmarshauthor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jjmarshauthor
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