Jess Armstrong is the USA Today best selling author of the Ruby Vaughn Mysteries. Her debut novel, The Curse of Penryth Hall, won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition. She has a master's degree in American History but prefers writing about imaginary people to the real thing. Jess lives in New Orleans with her historian husband, two sons, yellow cat, speckled dog, and the world's most pampered school-fair goldfish. And when she's not working on her next project, she's probably thinking about cheese, baking, social media, or some combination of the above. Her latest novel is The Secret of the Three Fates and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for The Secret of the Three Fates?
This one really came together in pieces. I distinctly recall walking my dog one day after sending off The Curse of Penryth Hall to my editor at Minotaur Books and heard Ruby's voice in my head muttering "I was going to murder Mr. Owen." I knew then and there that line was going to be the first sentence in the second book; I just had no idea why Ruby was so mad at Mr. Owen! I even sent myself a voice memo while I was walking in case I forgot before I got home.
The Secret of the Three Fates was the first time I'd ever written a second book in a series, so I was figuring out a lot of the craft side as I went along. There never was one single "ah hah!" moment of inspiration—but rather a series of images and scenes that really stuck in my mind that I built a mystery around. For example, I knew all along that I wanted to set it in Scotland and that we (and Ruby) would discover more about Mr. Owen's past. I also knew that the mystery would revolve around a murdered medium. Beyond that, it was one big puzzle that I had to figure out as I went along.
In our last interview, for The Curse of Penryth Hall, you said, regarding characters, that you start with a "vague biographical sketch of who my characters are, where they're from, and particular likes or dislikes." Did you know prior to writing The Curse of Penryth Hall about Mr. Owen's past? Or did you develop that for The Secret of the Three Fates?
Yes and no. I definitely had some pieces of Mr. Owen's back story fleshed out in my mind by the time I finished The Curse of Penryth Hall. Mr. Owen was always very cagey about his own past, and I knew there was some darkness to his history that he was avoiding. Even in the first book, Ruby was aware that there were big parts of Mr. Owen's past that he concealed from her—but neither she (nor I) knew exactly what those secrets were until I started figuring out the mystery of the second book.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters, scenes, or stories that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
Oh gosh, this book changed a lot in the revision process. All of mine always do, but The Secret of the Three Fates took multiple drafts to get the pacing and character arcs just right. It felt like once I got one part how I wanted it, it shifted another part—so it really took a lot of finessing to get the balance right.
So far, I haven't had any regrets about scenes that don't make the final cut for the book—usually if a scene gets chopped out it's for a reason. Though one of my favorite changes has to do with the current iteration of Lady Amelia (a secondary character in the book). She didn't have a name for the first three drafts. Even after I turned in the manuscript the first time, she remained this very minor character. However, in the last revision pass, I named her and gave her a more integral role in the plot. Lady Amelia is roughly the same age as Ruby was when Ruby was sent away from America and the girl serves as a lens into Ruby as a character. Even in early drafts, Ruby was always kind to her, but in giving them more time together on the page, it really underscores the effect Ruby's early traumas had on her as a person.
Did you have to do a bit of research about séances? If so, what was the most interesting or surprising thing that you learned during your research?
I did do some research into seances, particularly into the spiritualism craze of the 19th century and the resurgence of it after the First World War. It was intriguing learning about all the tricks and techniques used by fraudulent mediums at this time—some of it rather clever. At first, I thought the seances in The Secret of the Three Fates would be fraudulent ones like the ones I was researching—but then I came across a story that really sparked my curiosity. It was about a woman named Helen Duncan, a 20th-century Scottish medium, who had been in trouble off and on for conducting fraudulent seances. Still, in 1941, she revealed the sinking of the HMS Barham at a séance—before the disaster was made public knowledge. Helen wasn't supposed to know about the ship being torpedoed and was later arrested for it. Regardless of how she came across that information, the whole idea of it got me wondering—what would happen if a fraudulent medium wasn't actually a fraud? And what was worse, what if she revealed something she shouldn't? Those questions really stuck with me when I was working on the novel.
Have you ever attended or participated in a séance? If so, can you tell us about it?
I have not and don't think I would unless it is with someone I have complete confidence in. I have a healthy respect for the supernatural world and try not to mess around with things I don't fully understand. One of the characters in the book cautions Ruby against calling to the dead because you don't know who will answer—and it's definitely been my approach to it.
Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had an encounter with something paranormal?
I definitely do, as you can probably guess from my answer to the last question. When I was in college I worked as a tour guide at the local historical society giving tours of some of the historical houses in town—two of the four were very haunted, one wasn't scary at all—but the other was downright terrifying at times. There were several incidents in the latter house. The sound of furniture scraping across the wood floors, occasionally you'd hear voices, but mostly it was a general sense of unease, being watched, the sound of wood scraping and footsteps following you around—that sort of thing.
One morning, a colleague and I went to open up the one house for the day, and the motion alarm was going off, telling us there had been a break-in, but the regular alarm wasn't. It was really odd, and everything looked normal, but then we heard men's voices coming from behind a locked storage room door. We stepped back out of the house, locking the basement door, followed procedure and called the police. We waited outside until the police got there and then we had to walk through the museum with them. There was no sign of forced entry, and the house was completely normal. Nothing missing, nothing disturbed. But as we started up to the attic, we all heard the sound of footsteps following us up the stairs. Once I heard the footsteps, it dawned on both me and my colleague that we'd called the police on a ghost. I felt so silly. I honestly thought someone had broken in. There are a ton of other stories about that place, but that one is probably the most memorable. That house made a believer of many a skeptic. It was a very unhappy place.
Your biography says that when you aren't writing, one of the things you may be doing is thinking about cheese. What is your favorite cheese? A favorite recipe including cheese?
All of them? But seriously, my current favorite cheese right now is a traditional Farmhouse Wensleydale which is really hard to get your hands on in the US. Our local cheese monger has started getting Yoredale this year. It's a variety of craft Wensleydale by Curlew Dairy. I couldn't be more thrilled about it! I literally just bought almost a pound of it as a Christmas gift to myself and have been slowly eating it.
As for recipes, I like a good gratin—something like a cauliflower gratin with a little bit of blue, some good English cheddar and a hit of nutmeg. Pretty sure that is on the menu for later this week too! You also cannot go wrong with gougères (more or less a choux pastry with gruyere; they're so good).
Both The Curse of Penryth Hall and The Secret of the Three Fates would make marvelous films or series. If they were being adapted, who would your dream cast be?
Oh my gosh, isn't that the dream? Ruby, in my mind, has always been Liv Lisa Fries. I started watching Babylon Berlin when I was drafting The Curse of Penryth Hall and from the moment I saw her, she was exactly who I imagined Ruby would look like. For Ruan, it took me a little longer to pin down who I think would play him well, but I think I have to go with Aidan Turner. He has the vibe. Mr. Owen is even harder for me, but I think James Cosmo would make a really good Mr. Owen.
Honestly if I am ever fortunate enough to see these characters on the screen, I'd just love seeing how it translates and how other people see my characters. One of the coolest experiences I've had thus far in my writing career is when readers tell me who they see as my characters. I was at a book club once, and they all went around the room with their "head casting" of who they imagined playing the characters on TV, and it was so interesting! I loved it!
What’s currently on your nightstand?
Right now it’s Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I feel like I'm a little late to the game on this one. I bought it a few months back but then got pulled back into revisions and haven't had a chance to start it. I fully plan to treat myself to a weekend reading binge very soon.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
I've been really hooked on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' new album Wild God. It came out earlier this year, and it's just so quietly evocative. Every time I listen to the album, I get a little something more out of it. It's just a really, really great album.
What are you working on now?
I'm finishing up with edits on the third Ruby Vaughn Mystery, The Devil in Oxford, which comes out later this year. Mostly, I'm just catching my breath after a very hectic December with the publication of The Secret of the Three Fates and turning in the third book in the series all in the span of about two weeks. Mostly, I'm refilling my creative well before working on my next project.
