Regency Romance and Modern Mystery?

One of these things is not like the others.

I’ve decided that I’ve enjoyed my journey into indie publishing so much that I’m going to release another novel that has been hiding in a drawer for a year or two. This novel is completely different from Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it’s a modern mystery set in the Southeastern United States.

Odd, huh? Going from Regency England and country dancing to the humid streets of Georgia and gunplay sounds like a pretty big leap. But I’ve always seen lots of similarities in Regency manners and modern Southern etiquette. And besides, I don’t read just one type of book or watch just one type of movie. I’ve loved both historicals and mysteries since I was a little kid. I loved Anne of Green Gables and Agatha Christie. I love costume dramas and Remington Steele. I can’t count the number of nights I stayed up late with my dad to watch murder and mayhem on TV after my mom had fallen asleep. I’m probably the only person my age with season 1 of the Man from UNCLE on DVD.

I’d always been afraid that once I chose a genre to write I’d be locked into it forever. If I wrote a Regency, I’d never be able to write a mystery. That seemed to be how it worked. But the indie route gives me the freedom to try both.

And it’s not like it hasn’t been done before. Georgette Heyer, who wrote zillions of well-researched Regency romances, also composed mysteries (such as Why Shoot a Butler?) set in her time period.

So I would say that I’m inadvertantly following her footsteps. But that puts way too much pressure on me. Georgette Heyer is a big name. I don’t plan to be a big name. I just want to write books that make people smile and give them a break from their everyday lives. 

I’m looking forward to introducing you to my Southern mystery series, which features Julia Jackson, former cop turned fraud investigator. Turns out she’s been abducted….

Absolute Liability Excerpt

3 thoughts on “Regency Romance and Modern Mystery?

  1. Thank you, Kate! I haven’t set a date for the release of Absolute Liability yet. I’m kind of going with the flow right now.

  2. I love mysteries! I grew up watching them with my Mom . . . we are always plotting how we would carry off the perfect murder.

    I especially love Chandler (cause I am an Angelino!) and my secret wish is to someday be a hard-boiled detective writer.

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