Tears of Pearl

Just about finished with the 'Jade del Cameron' mystery and about to start Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander. Ms. Alexander wrote her first Lady Emily mystery at the local Starbuck's here in Franklin, TN. Interview copied from Thriller Writers website. Jodie and I love this fun series!

Tears Of Pearl by Tasha Alexander

By Joe Moore | Permalink

In TEARS OF PEARL we find Lady Emily and Colin now married. Who changes the most?

They're both steady individuals, and wouldn't have gotten married if they thought it would change them. It took a lot to persuade Emily to get married again--she's not about to give up freedom for a husband and isn't willing to compromise herself, a position that can be difficult for a Victorian woman. Any tension between them comes from the dangers inherent in the investigative work they do. But in TEARS OF PEARL, they've just embarked on their honeymoon--they're happy and romantic and not planning on getting embroiled in intrigue. The best laid plans....

This is the fourth book in the Lady Emily Ashton series. As a writer was it more challenging to grow the lead characters and how did you work with growing them?

Characters grow as you write them--it's what keeps the work interesting. And it happens naturally. The longer you're friends with someone, the better you know her---the same is true with characters. Put them in more situations, you learn more about them.

How did your trip to Turkey impact your writing of this book?

Going to Istanbul was absolutely essential to writing TEARS OF PEARL. The city is so very different from what we're used to in the west--it would be impossible to adequately capture it without experiencing it firsthand. Maps and pictures can tell you where things are and what they look like, but cannot give you a feel for the atmosphere.

This is your first book with St. Martin's Minotaur. Can you touch on the transitioning process of working with a new editor on your fourth installment of the series?

Leaving HarperCollins was a very difficult decision--and one I thought about carefully. I loved working with everyone there, but I'm beyond excited at the direction Minotaur is taking me. My editor, Charlie Spicer, is a dream to work with, and Andy Martin has a focused vision that makes him an amazing publisher.

If you could give a piece of advice to a debut novelist about development of lead character for a series what would it be?

Don't write yourself into a corner--leave as many options open as you can. You don't want to limit yourself. It's impossible to predict while writing Book One where you're going to want to take your protagonist in Book Five. I made Emily young (but was vague about her age) and keep the time that elapses between books to a minimum because I don't want to all of a sudden realize she's ten years older than I was imagining her.