Interview with Author Phyllis Gobbell by Jacqueline Seewald

I’m interviewing Phyllis Gobbell who, like me, writes a little bit 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. She is an associate professor of English at Nashville State Community College, where she teaches writing and literature. On any Tuesday night, you will find her meeting with her writers group that began thirty years ago. She plays the piano and tennis. She is co-author of two true-crime books based on high-profile murders in Nashville: A Season of Darkness, with Doug Jones, and An Unfinished Canvas with Mike Glasgow. Her narrative, “Lost Innocence,” appeared in the anthology Masters of True Crime. Turning to traditional mysteries, she released the Jordan Mayfair Mystery Series in Spring 2015. Pursuit in Provence was first in the series. Secrets and Shamrocks has just been released. It has received excellent reviews like the previous novel:

“Gobbell’s enjoyable sequel to 2015’s Pursuit in Provence takes Savannah, Ga., architect Jordan Mayfair and her travel writer uncle, Alex Carlyle, to Ireland. Jordan’s keen knowledge of architecture and history comes in handy in her efforts to uncover the truth. Fans of travel cozies will find plenty to like.” --Publisher’s Weekly

“A visit to the verdant Irish countryside is marred by murder. The second in Gobbell’s travel series is filled with delightful descriptions of Ireland and offbeat characters…”--Kirkus Reviews

Question: What is the title and genre of your novel? Why did you select them?

Secrets and Shamrocks is a cozy or traditional mystery or amateur sleuth mystery, whichever you prefer. Jordan Mayfair is on another adventure with her travel-writer uncle in a small town in Ireland. In some of the promo, I say that “secrets are as plentiful as shamrocks,” and that about sums it up. Shamrocks come into play, also, as one of the Irish legends resonates in the present day mystery.

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

It is the second in the Jordan Mayfair mystery series. First Jordan and her uncle, Alex, traveled to Provence, where I’d been on a couple of occasions, and I chose Ireland for the setting of this one because I spent three weeks teaching in Thurles, the same little town featured in the book.

Question: Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine of your novel?

Jordan Mayfair is an architect from Savannah, Georgia, who had just turned fifty in Pursuit in Provence. She had raised five children as a single mother, and the last of her children had just left for college. Her travel-writer uncle had his first book deal and needed Jordan to go along with him on the trip to Provence, so she did, stretching herself, and in some ways re-inventing herself. Now she and Alex are visiting friends from long ago in Georgia, Colin and Grace O’Toole, who own a B&B where a cast of eccentric characters are staying. And everyone seems to have a secret, plus there is a murder, of course. Jordan can’t keep from getting involved! And Paul Broussard, the charming patron of the arts from Pursuit in Provence, makes another appearance.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels or work?

Besides Pursuit in Provence, I wrote two true-crime books about high-profile cold cases that were solved in Nashville, one after ten years, one after thirty years. Mike Glasgow and I collaborated on An Unfinished Canvas and I wrote A Season of Darkness with Doug Jones. After those true-crimes, with all the meticulous research that they involved, I was ready for something much lighter, and I’m having fun with the Jordan Mayfair Mystery Series.

Question: What are you working on now?

I’m almost finished with Treachery in Tuscany, the third in the series, and – you guessed it – it’s set in Italy, mostly in Florence.

(How exciting! My younger son and his family vacationed there this summer and loved the area)

Question: What made you start writing?

It seems I’ve been writing my whole life. I remember cutting out the words in the “speech bubbles” of comic strips and filling in my own words. Maybe it’s because I’ve always had something I wanted to say! I tried to write a novel when I was in the 6^th grade and got about 30 handwritten pages before I realized how awful it was. My first published works were articles for family/parenting magazines when my children were young. I also wrote a children’s book at that time, The Magic Click, about seatbelt safety. I had short stories published later. My passion is fiction – though I’ve found it harder to get published than non-fiction.

Question: What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?

Write what you love to write. I don’t have good advice about publishing, but hard work and perseverance do seem to pay off. If you have something you want to say, the act of writing, the process and the result will give you a good feeling (maybe not money in the bank, but satisfaction). I tell my creative writing students that I read everything I write out loud, and if I don’t love it, it’s not ready for anyone else to love.

Question: Where and when will readers be able to obtain your novel?

Secrets and Shamrocks is available on Amazon in hardback and e-book. 

Readers, you can request this lovely novel at your local libraries as well.

Comments and/or questions for Phyllis are appreciated.

Interview With Author Phyllis Gobbell by Jacqueline Seewald

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

www.phyllisgobbell.com - Website

www.amazon.com/author/phyllisgobbell - Author Page on Amazon

Note: Phyllis is available for comments and questions. Don’t be shy!