#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Smita Harish Jain

I’d like to welcome my fellow Virginia is for Mysteries author, Smita Harish Jain, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: My kids, my cats, chocolate

Things you need to throw out: Essays I wrote in junior high school

Things you need for your writing sessions: One cup of coffee, two cats, complete quiet

Things that hamper your writing: The Internet, the Internet, the Internet

Things you love about writing: Telling stories, research, connecting with readers

Things you hate about writing: Deadlines, imposter syndrome, rejection

Favorite beverage: “Toddler coffee” (one cup of half-caff mixed with one cup of chocolate milk)

Something that gives you a sour face: Brussel sprouts

Last best thing you ate: A triple-layer chocolate fudge cake.

Last thing you regret eating: A grape, dark chocolate, and almond bar that sounded better than it tasted.

The last thing you ordered online: An Apple Pencil – now I can handwrite drafts more easily, which I sometimes like to do.

The last thing you regret buying: Yet another purse I’ll never use.

Things you always put in your stories: A twist.

Things you never put in your stories: Deus ex machina.

Things to say to an author: I love everything you write!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I could write, too, if I didn’t have a partner/kids/job/life …

Favorite books (or genre): Crime fiction (mystery, thriller, suspense)

Books you wouldn’t buy: Advice books from people who haven’t reached a certain age.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Spelunking

Something you chickened out from doing: Skydiving

About Smita:

Smita Harish Jain has short stories in several anthologies and magazines, including Mystery Writers of America, Akashic Noir, Chesapeake Crimes, Virginia is for Mysteries, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and several more coming out in 2022. When she’s not writing, she’s a university professor of communications and negotiation. She is a member of the Chesapeake and Central Virginia chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Guppies, Crime Writers of Color, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

The Church Hill Train Disaster and VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES 3

My story, “Derailed,” appears in the third edition of Virginia is for Mysteries. In it, sassy, private investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, gets more than she bargains for when sleezy strip club owner and her best, cash-paying client, Chaz Smith, hires her to find out who’s blackmailing him and his buddies. She and her partner, Duncan Reynolds, have to find out what happened one summer evening twenty years ago and what it has to do with the Church Hill Tunnel cave-in. While trying to figure out the connection to the spooky, abandoned site where the train and several victims lie buried beneath a busy Richmond neighborhood, Delanie discovers the origin of Chaz’s mysterious teardrop face tattoo.

I have been fascinated with the Church Hill Disaster for years. The train and several of the crew were walled inside the tunnel when it became too dangerous to continue recovery efforts. It lies beneath the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond. Both ends of the tunnel have been sealed, and you could drive by them and not ever realize what lies within. Today, one end is in the courtyard of an upscale condominium community, and the other, several miles away, is in an overgrown, forgotten area covered in weeds, debris, and standing water.

The events of 1925 have spawned all kinds of ghost stories, legends, and theories. People who live atop the hill talk about the characteristic “Church Hill Lean” that some of the structures have because of shifts in the tunnel below, and there have been cases of building collapses through the years.

In my story, I added another body to the tragic memorial. In my fictious account, readers learn how sleezy strip club owner, Chaz Wellington Smith, III acquired his infamous, teardrop tattoo.

Virginia is for Mysteries III launches February 16, 2022. It is available for preorder in paperback, hardback, or ebook.

Behind the Scenes - The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

When we launched the Virginia is for Mysteries anthology, one of the requirements was that the stories needed to have a Virginia landmark. This was my first published short story, and I chose the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel that runs from Chic’s Beach (Virginia Beach) to Cape Henry on the Eastern Shore.

I grew up there, and it was always Chic’s Beach, though over the years, I’ve seen the spelling vary from Chick’s to Chix. As locals, this is where we went to avoid the hoards of tourists that descended on our city every summer. It’s a quiet neighborhood on the bay near the bridge. I was always fascinated with the bridge and what was on the other side of the bay. The bridge is really a series of bridges and tunnels that cross the Chesapeake Bay and spans about 23 miles. My parents’ first apartment when they were newlyweds was nearby, and my dad patrolled the bridge’s construction site as a young police recruit.

And it was the perfect setting for “Washed up.” The title takes on several meanings in this mystery, but the obvious is when a suitcase with a shriveled hand and a rusty gun wash up on the beach outside a struggling bar. The notoriety from the media exposure does wonders for the bar’s bottom line. But like in real life, not everything is as it first seems.

We live in Central Virginia now near a lake. It’s beautiful, but it’s not the beach that always holds a special place in my life. The restaurants and neighborhoods have changed through the years, but bridge tunnel is a constant. And I try to sneak in a visit every few months.

Check out “Washed up” in Virginia is for Mysteries.

Behind the Scenes - The Mill Mountain Star

When we were planning the second volume of Virginia is for Mysteries, I looked at the map in the front of the book and realized most of the stories in the first volume centered around Coastal and Central Virginia. The requirement for stories in the mystery anthology was to feature a historic or popular landmark from the Commonwealth of Virginia. I wanted to set my story in the western part of the state.

My mother grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, and I remember her and my grandmother talking about the star on the mountain top. I finally got to see it when I was in the third grade and later as an adult when we did a book signing in the downtown area.

The neon star beautiful and big enough to be seen from miles around. I did some research on the history, and it became the setting of my story, “Spring Cleaning.” In the story, it's a symbol for Douglas Weimer, who is having issues at work. He laments that he’s been demoted and forced to give up his office with a view of the neon star that’s been atop the mountain since 1949. Douglas, a medical records manager, gets more than he bargained for when he’s moved onto a new team and receives a project with a drop-dead delivery date. His assignment in Roanoke, Virginia, gives new meaning to work deadlines.

Check out Visit the Blue Ridge for more information on the star that started out a Christmas decoration commissioned by the local Merchants’ Association. The City of Roanoke’s website also has some history on the star and its lighting over the decades. At one time, the town used the color of the star to indicate fatal traffic accidents in the valley. The star can be lit red, white, and/or blue.

Volume three of Virginia is for Mysteries is slated for publication this fall. Look for my story, “Derailed,” about the Church Hill Tunnel disaster in Richmond, VA.

Check out Virginia is for Mysteries and Virginia is for Mysteries Volume 2 at your favorite book retailer.

How Much of Your Mysteries are Based on Truth?

Recently, I was asked, "How much of your mysteries are based on real events or places?"

I do a mix of real and fiction in my short stories and novels. All of my city settings are real places. I tend to set my works in Virginia cities and counties because I write what I know.  If a crime occurs, I make up that location's name. I wouldn't put a horrific or violent event at a real restaurant or store. But if you've been to the real cities, you'll recognize landmarks and street names.

I get ideas for crimes and capers from real cases, but I usually take liberties with the details. In my short story, "Washed up," a beat up suitcase washes up on Chick's Beach, and it's filled with some mysterious contents. Back in the 80s, there was a real case where suitcases filled with body parts did wash up on beaches on the East Coast. In my story, I thought it would be interesting for beachgoers to find something old and sinister in an unexpected place.

I carry a notebook with me wherever I go, and I am always jotting down names and interesting tidbits that might one day make their way to a story.

I base some of my characters on combinations of real people. I blend characteristics of several real people to make an interesting fictional person. And phrases that family and friends say frequently appear in my stories. I have two co-workers who keep asking me to make them villains. I haven't done that yet, but I do hint from time to time that unruly team members will end up in a dumpster in a future story.

I use friends and family member's names for minor characters. In Secret Lives and Private Eyes (out May 2016), my sleuth, Delanie Fitzgerald, gives herself all kinds of aliases in her investigations. These are usually names of friends and family. And every once in a while, you'll find police, EMTs, or FBI agents named after my favorite authors, rock stars, or actors.  

One of my oddest writing moments happened when a woman with the same name as one of my main characters followed me on Twitter. What a fun surprise!

One of my favorite mugs...

"Spring Cleaning" and The Secret of Mill Mountain

I'm blogging today over at VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES. Stop in and see why I chose Mill Mountain in Roanoke as my story's location.

Thanksgiving Snuck up on Me...How to Balance Your Writing Life with the Holidays

I have been so busy lately with reviewing ARCs for our anthology (Virginia is for Mysteries Volume II - February 2016), doing the preliminary work for my debut novel, Secret Lives and Private Eyes (May 2016), my day job, preparing to moderate two panels, doing a book signing, and well, just life. I'm still wondering where June went, and Thanksgiving has come and gone.

And now it's time to think about decorating and presents. As a kid, it seemed to take years to get through the year to Christmas. Now, I blink and it's the holiday season again.

My normal day starts at 5 AM, and I'm at work by 7:15. I tend to work 9-10 hour-days and then write and do all the other things that come along. I don't want the holidays to fly by without enjoying them. Here are some ideas to help your writing life stay on track during the craziness that is this time of year...

1. Write blog posts in advance and schedule them. You can schedule Facebook posts and tweets too.

2. Get your holiday shopping and decorating done early. I'm doing a lot of online shopping this year. I hope to be done by the first week in December.

3. I use my TV time to do my social media updates. I also do quick updates in the morning during breakfast.

4. Take a good look at your free time. Are there time sucks? If you cut down on TV, game time, or perusing the Internet, you make free up some chunks of time.

5. I use my lunch hour at work to write and edit. That's five hours a week of extra writing time.

6. I record the shows that I like to watch on TV, so I can speed through the commercials. It does save some time.

7. I have a 35-45-minute daily commute twice a day to work. I listen to a variety of news programs on my satellite radio during the ride, so I don't usually have to catch up on news later. in the evening.

8. Look at your schedule and the activities that you've committed to doing. Are there things you can cut back on or jettison? I had to cut down on some of my volunteer work when I committed to writing.

Holiday wishes and happy writing!

The Edits Came Today...

The edits for Virginia is for More Mysteries arrived today. We are getting closer to having book two in print.

We also had a wonderful day yesterday at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival. The group signed lots of books and presented two workshops to standing room only crowds.

l-r: Heather Weidner, Jayne Ormerod, Maria Hudgins, Teresa Inge, and Vivian Lawry