Like me, Phyllis Gobbell writes a little of
everything – books, short stories, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She has
received awards in both fiction and nonfiction, including Tennessee's
Individual Artist Literary Award. An associate professor of English at Nashville
State
Community College,
she teaches writing and literature. After co-authoring two true-crime books
based on high-profile murders in Nashville,
she has turned to fiction. Her first in the Jordan Mayfair Mystery Series has
just been published by Five Star/Cengage. Booklist
gave it a Starred Review, and it was also well-reviewed by Kirkus, Library Journal, and
Publisher’s Weekly.
Phyllis, let me congratulate you on the spectacular reviews
your first novel has received. We’re excited to welcome you to Author
Expressions.
Question: What is the
title and genre of your novel? Why did
you select them?
Answer:
Pursuit
in Provence – Traditional mystery/amateur sleuth
Pursuit in Provence is
the kind of book I have been reading for my own pleasure since I discovered
Agatha Christie many decades ago! I thought the title sounded like a
traditional mystery, and I’m hoping the idea of Provence
attracts readers.
Question: What
inspired this novel? How did it come about?
Answer:
I traveled in Provence
on two occasions, some years ago, and the setting – all of those historic sites
– inspired me. I actually had a draft of the mystery before I co-authored my
first true crime book. The two true crimes took about six years, all in all,
and they were not only time- and work-intensive, but also emotionally draining.
I went back to Pursuit in Provence to
do something fun.
Question: Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine
and/or hero of your novel?
Answer: Jordan Mayfair is an American architect who
has just turned fifty. She raised five children as a single mother, and the
youngest ones, twins, have just gone to college, leaving her an empty nest.
When her uncle, travel writer Alexander Carlyle, asks her to accompany him to Provence
so he can work on his first full-length travel guide, she is under the
impression that his doctor won’t let him travel alone and his book deal hinges
on the trip. Besides, she thinks, she’s due an adventure. She has visions of
the exquisite landscape, the magical light, incredible food and wine, and
perhaps an alluring Frenchman. Ah, yes, she experiences all of those things,
but she did not count on being pursued through the French countryside for
something she doesn’t have in her possession, and she doesn’t count on murder. A
former sorority sister, her prospective son-in-law, and a charming patron of
the arts are all part of the cast of characters, and Jordan
is trying to figure out if she can trust any of them.
Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published
novels or work?
Answer:
For many years now, I’ve published short works
– stories, creative nonfiction, and a few poems. But two high-profile cold-case
murders in Nashville were solved in
2006 and 2009, and these were stories that I wanted to tell.
I worked with co-writer Michael Glasgow to write An Unfinished Canvas, the story of Janet
March, who disappeared in 1996. She was a young mother and artist from a
prominent Nashville family; she and
her attorney-husband, Perry, had built a beautiful dream house and had two
young children. Suddenly, Janet vanished. Perry March was under suspicion from
the beginning. He took the children, moved to Mexico,
and started a new life. But Janet’s parents were tenacious in their quest to
gain custody of their daughter’s children and prove that Perry murdered her. An Unfinished Canvas is the story of the
ten-year investigation into Janet’s murder and the final arrest and conviction
of Perry March, even though her body has never been found.
A nine-year-old girl’s murder was the subject of A Season of Darkness, which I wrote with
Doug Jones. Marcia Trimble went across the street to deliver Girl Scout cookies
in 1975 and never returned. Her body was found in the neighborhood a month
later, and a teenage boy from the neighborhood was the prime suspect. For more
than three decades police tried to gather evidence to convict him, but in 2006,
new evidence came to light, and a man who had “slipped through the cracks” in
1975 was arrested and convicted of the murder. A Season of Darkness is about the thirty-three-year investigation,
with a focus on how Marcia Trimble’s murder changed Nashville.
Question: What are you working on now?
Answer:
I’ve finished the second book in the
Jordan Mayfair Mystery Series. In Secrets
and Shamrocks, she travels to Ireland.
I am expecting to have the edits on this one soon, and I’ll start a third book,
probably set in Italy
because I’m traveling to Florence
in June.
Question: What made you start writing?
Answer:
I can’t remember when I didn’t write. There’s just something about “story.”
When I first began to print words in first grade, I took the Sunday comics, cut
out what the characters were saying in the “speech bubbles,” and substituted my
own story. I tried to write a novel in the sixth grade. My friends thought it
was great, but when I read it again, I was so embarrassed that I threw it away.
Question: What advice would you offer to those who are
currently writing novels?
Answer:
Writing teachers say, “Write what you know,” and that’s fine, but I say also,
“Write what you like to write.” Chances are, someone else will like it, too.
Don’t underestimate the importance of improving your craft. Go to workshops and
conferences, not just to meet agents and editors, but to learn everything you
can that will improve your skills. Writing groups with other writers you
respect are great for getting good feedback on your work. When a publishing
opportunity comes, be ready with a manuscript that is as perfect as possible in
every way.
Question: Where and when will readers be able to obtain
your novel?
Answer:
The pub date was March 18. The book is available in hardback and e-book on
Amazon and in bookstores. ISBN 13: 9781432830267
Note: Phyllis is
available for comments and questions. Don’t be shy!
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