Happy New Year! I hope the festive season was
fun and safe
and that 2017 is an excellent year for you all.
It is great to be back into the swing of things and I am very pleased to introduce my first special guest for this year, Dr L J M Owen (aka LJ). LJ escapes dark and shadowy days as a public servant by exploring the comparatively lighter side of life: murder, mystery and forgotten women’s history. A trained archaeologist and qualified librarian with a PhD in palaeogenetics, LJ spends as much time as possible creating her cosy crime series, Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth. She is on a nine-book mission for the series and currently has two instalments out, Olmec Obituary and Mayan Mendacity.
Sandi: Please tell us about your first published book.
LJ: The first book I published, Olmec Obituary (Echo, 2015), was also the first book in my archaeological mystery series: Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth. It is part cosy mystery, part forensic investigation – think Bones the TV series meets Midsomer Murders.
I wrote Olmec Obituary with the aim of creating a classic crime novel, reminiscent of lighter works from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, where the reader pits their deductive reasoning skills against the fictional sleuth of the hour. Given my academic background I’ve undertaken significant research on the archaeology, ancient history, forensic science and library services described in the series.
I’ve cast the protagonist, Dr Elizabeth Pimms, as a skilled archaeologist, knowledgeable Egyptologist and reluctant librarian at Australia’s Mahoney Griffin Library (a fictional version of the National Library of Australia). Curious, intellectual and a touch naïve, Elizabeth is dedicated to the exploration of ancient civilisations.
In Olmec Obituary, Dr Pimms’ first outing as an intermillennial sleuth, Elizabeth investigates skeletal remains from a royal Olmec cemetery discovered deep in the Mexican jungle. Through Elizabeth’s eyes, and those of Ix, a 3,000-year-old female player of the deadly Great Ballgame, the reader is introduced to the Olmec obsession with corn, fertility and ritual blood-letting.
With a warm cosy setting in the modern storyline, including Elizabeth’s multicultural family, delicious meals, a rambling house and glorious gardens, Olmec Obituary is suitable for older YA and up.
Sandi: How many books and years ago was that?
LJ: I published Olmec Obituary in 2015, and followed up last year by publishing the second book in the series, Mayan Mendacity (Echo, 2016). In Mayan Mendacity, as Elizabeth continues to deal with personal challenges, she explores the society of the ancient Mayans of Guatemala, including their political system, practice of human sacrifice, and the life of Lady Six Sky: a documented seventh century Mayan princess caught between the ancient Mesoamerican superpowers of Calakmul and Tik’al.
Sandi: Was it the first novel you’d written?
LJ: Yes, Olmec Obituary was the first book I wrote. Initially, I planned nine stories for the Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth series, then sat down and wrote Book One, Olmec Obituary. While each novel in the series will have a standalone archaeological mystery, storylines from Elizabeth’s private life will run from book to book.
Sandi: What are you currently reading?
LJ: The latest book to emerge from my TBR pile is The Tomb in Ancient Egypt by Aidan Dodson and Salima Ikram (Thames & Hudson, 2008). It’s a detailed non-fiction exploration of royal and private sepulchres from pre dynastic Egypt all the way through to Roman era burials. For avid fans of Dr Pimms, it may contain clues as to whose bones Elizabeth will encounter in Egyptian Enigma, Book Three in the Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth series.
Sandi: Do you write in the same genre as your first book today? And what is your latest project?
LJ: My writing projects at present could all be categorised as women’s history, historical fiction or crime fiction, or a combination of the three. In addition to a number of long-term projects, I’m currently working on Book Three in the Intermillennial Sleuth series, Egyptian Enigma. I’m excited to write this instalment as Elizabeth will explore the ancient libraries, secret societies and burial practices of the Pharaonic period. I can’t wait to finish it!
Egyptian Enigma will pick up where Mayan Mendacity, Book Two in the series, left off. So I don’t give too much away for those who haven’t read it yet, here’s the blurb for Mayan Mendacity:
Dr Elizabeth Pimms has a new puzzle. What is the story behind the tiny skeletons discovered on a Guatemalan island? And how do they relate to an ancient Mayan queen?
The bones, along with other remains, are a gift for Elizabeth. But soon the giver reveals his true nature. An enraged colleague then questions Elizabeth’s family history. Elizabeth seeks DNA evidence to put all skeletons to rest.
A pregnant enemy, a crystal skull, a New York foodie, and an intruder in Elizabeth’s phrenic library variously aid or interrupt Elizabeth’s attempts to solve mysteries both ancient and personal.
With archaeological intrigue, forensic insight and cosy comfort, Mayan Mendacity takes readers back into the world of Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth. Really cold cases.
At the moment I’m also finalising outlines for the remaining six books in the series. Elizabeth will be exploring the ancient civilisations of Mongolia, Persia, India, China, Britain and Europe. There are more long-buried family secrets to be revealed – and tasty recipes, of course.
Sandi: What are your top tips for aspiring writers?
LJ: Nike it. Seriously, just do it.
I thought about writing this series for years. I had plot ideas, I could see the characters and the storyworld. Yet I did nothing. Not a single finger to keyboard.
Finally, one Christmas, someone sat me down and said they wanted to see a draft of something by the following Christmas. No more delays, no more excuses, just get on with it. That was enough for me to take up the challenge. That’s when I started researching how to write fiction and, five years later, here we are.
That’s my advice to aspiring writers. Start writing. Ask questions. Go to courses. Learn to edit your work. The sooner you start the sooner you’ll hold your completed novel in your hands!
Sandi: How long did it take from when you began writing your first manuscript to the book launch?
LJ: I’d say about four years. I was working full-time at my day job the entire time, so that slowed things down significantly.
Sandi: Can you tell us about an exciting, surprising or stressful aspect of the lead-up to or after your first book launch?
LJ: Initially, after drafting Olmec Obituary, I opted to self-publish it. I’d heard demoralising stories of manuscripts languishing in the traditional publishers’ collective slush pile for years, so I decided to go the crowdfunding route.
In December 2014, to the strains of The Beatles’ Paperback Writer, I launched a project on Kickstarter to raise $10,000 for an initial print run of Olmec Obituary. Five days into the Kickstarter I received an email from Angela Meyer, the commissioning editor at Echo Publishing (Five Mile Press/Bonnier), saying that my novel looked interesting and asking if she could see a copy.
Now, as soon as you launch a crowdfunding project you’re bombarded by people offering to “help” – all for a fee, of course. I hadn’t heard of Angela or Five Mile Press at that point. I was hazy with exhaustion and almost dismissed her email as another scam. But something in the back of my mind said no, check it out, run down the company and the person who’s emailed you.
So I Googled “commissioning editor”. That checked out. Then I Googled “Five Mile Press”. That was also real. Then I Googled “Angela Meyer”. Jackpot! I suspect my happy dance that day looked something like Chandler from Friends meets Elaine from Seinfeld, so it’s probably best that there were few spectators.
I hadn’t intended to submit to a publishing company until I’d self-published at least three books, so to be picked up by a publisher after just five days on Kickstarter was extraordinary. That was the most surprising event in the lead up to the launch.
The launch itself, of course, was a dream come true. To stand in the cavernous marble foyer of the National Library of Australia, the inspiration for Dr Pimms’ Mahony Griffin Library; to be surrounded by family, friends and the clinking of champagne flutes; to sit beneath Leonard French’s glorious stained glass windows and sign books for over an hour; it was both marvellous and surreal.
Sandi: What was a standout experience or moment in your early days as a published author?
LJ: My first piece of fan mail. It was an email from a lady in Queensland who had borrowed Olmec Obituary from her local library. She wrote to tell me about the aspects of the book that she loved and the facets she personally identified with.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, spurs me on more than an email or comments from a reader saying how much they loved Olmec Obituary or Mayan Mendacity, how they feel about the characters, who they identify with or are barracking for, or what they thought of the archaeology, history or recipes. Most of all, I love it when someone says they can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Thanks so much for sharing some of your incredible journey so far, LJ. I thoroughly enjoyed Olmec Obituary and look forward to reading more in your series.
Cheers,
Sandi
For more information about Dr L J M Owen and her books, please visit her website or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
