JS Savage
What made you decide to become a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed reading murder mysteries that are fairly clued, and I like to challenge myself, so I began to wonder if I could plot the hardest type of mystery to write – a locked room mystery. When I first began imagining different scenarios where a victim could be killed inside a locked room it was only a bit of fun, I didn’t seriously consider writing it. But then lockdown happened in 2020 and although I continued working throughout as a “key worker” I found my free time at home in a flat with no garden in North London to be torturous – I needed something wholesome to occupy my mind. That’s when I decided to give it a go – write the book I’d been thinking about. Of course, I knew the plot and locked room element to be quite clever, but I had no idea if I had any talent as a writer, and it’s so hard to be a fair critic of one’s own work. For this reason, I didn’t tell anyone (except my girlfriend) that I was writing a novel. I thought that if it was rubbish, I could toss it on the scrap heap, and no one would be any the wiser. Even when I finished it, some days I’d read a bit and think it was quite good but, on another day, I’d read the same paragraph and cringe. It was only a year or two later when I began entering short story competitions and received positive feedback and made a few shortlists that I became confident in my writing and began thinking about publishing my novel.
How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite? Why?
I’ve published two and written the first draft of a third. My first novel The Mystery of Treefall Manor is set in a fictional English village in 1926, it’s a classic country house type murder mystery. I decided to experiment a bit with my second novel Sun, Sea, and Murder. It’s set in the present day at a Spanish holiday resort and again is a locked room mystery but it’s very different to Treefall Manor as that book was written in third person narration whilst Sun, Sea, and Murder is first person through the diary/journal entries of four holidaymakers. My third novel, which I hope to publish in October 2024 features the same lead detective as my debut, Inspector Graves. It’s also set in 1926, this time at the Tower of London around Guy Fawkes night. A few ravens and a couple of beefeaters come a cropper and Inspector Graves is sent to investigate. Although it’s not a locked room mystery, there is an impossible crime element to it.
Out of the three, I think Sun, Sea, and Murder might be my favourite because the characters were so much fun to write and because I found it a bit easier to write than my first – I had more experience and had learnt some lessons in novel writing.
Tell me more about your favourite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense…
Sun, Sea, & Murder is a fun mystery, it’s not what I’d call cosy crime but it’s not gory or violent. The characters have real problems and I think are relatable. So many books these days are filled with unlikeable characters, and I really don’t understand why. Throw in one or two for balance sure and maybe kill one but I think readers want someone they can root for, often an underdog. In my book this would be Marley. She’s fun and smart but she lacks a bit of confidence and comes from a family where she’s expected to put her studies on hold to help with her mum’s ailing health condition because she’s the only girl – she has three brothers who do nothing and aren’t expected to lift a finger.
The ‘detective’ in the story is called Penny Haylestone. She’s recently retired and is there to see her friend Russell who is the hotel’s owner. Russell is soon killed inside the locked gym and Penny decides to investigate when she’s unimpressed by the local police inspector who becomes a bit of a rival. The other standout character is Terry who is holidaying with his long-suffering wife. Terry unwittingly provides the humour in the book – one reviewer said they “couldn’t decide whether I loved to hate him or hated that I loved him.”
Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?
When I decided to write Sun, Sea, & Murder, I went on holiday to Portugal with my girlfriend – two birds, one stone and all that. I took a notebook and jotted down little details to incorporate in the book that would make the reader feel as though they were on holiday – the smell of suncream, the gritty feeling of sand between your toes, the inexplicable tiredness when you’ve spent all day relaxing. As the hotel is a fictional one, I wasn’t bound to accuracy in any particular regard, however, for my new book which I’ll probably call The Riddle of the Ravens, research has been important as all the action takes place within the Tower of London. Luckily, there’s the Channel 5 TV show Inside the Tower of London which helps keep me right, as well as visiting the Tower itself which is easy for me as I still live in London. I also bought books, including a rare one, The Tower from Within written in 1919 by a former Tower resident which gives in-depth info about the history and the traditions of the place.
Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?
I love writing and find it therapeutic, the only time this isn’t true is when something isn’t clicking. I usually aim to write 1000 words every time I sit down but if I’m struggling to reach 200 and my coffee is stone cold then it’s a bad day and can be stressful. The other thing to mention is that while writing can be joyful, editing can be a nightmare. I’m awful at cutting sections out and not seeing where to improve things. Luckily, I’m quite a clean writer; my first draft isn’t usually a million miles from where I want it to be in terms of plot, structure, and execution, but I’d be lying if I said I enjoy writing more than three drafts before I send my manuscript to Kathryn.
How do you market your books?
I am active on social media ( X/Twitter: @J_S_Savage_ Instagram: j.s.savage_author) but find it difficult to market myself. I know I should invest more time in marketing and read more about it, but with a full-time job, a young family, and books to write something would have to give! I do follow blogs though, and sometimes I make my works known to certain reviewers if I think they would enjoy my books. One particular blog, In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel, chose both of my books as its ‘Book of the Month’ beating some well-known authors and bestsellers to the prize.
Links to reviews and my novels below.
Sun, Sea, & Murder: A Locked Room Mystery eBook : SAVAGE, J.S.: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
The Mystery Of Treefall Manor (2023) by J S Savage – In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Sun, Sea and Murder (2024) by J S Savage – In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
