All books are published with the R.J. Koreto byline. I have three books published: Two in my Lady Frances series: "Death on the Sapphire" and "Death Among Rubies," and one in my Alice Roosevelt series: "Alice and the Assassin." A third Lady Frances book, "Death at the Emerald," is coming out in November. A second Alice Roosevelt book is in manuscript form.
What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening, etc?
Like many authors, I have a "day job," as a business and financial journalist. Fortunately, I work at home, so at the end of the workday I can shift gears quickly and write fiction. I'm a night owl, and can happily write into the small hours, with a glass of diet Coke by my side and the TV softly droning in the background. On most weekdays I try to write 500-1000 words a day. If I devote a whole day to fiction, I can write up to 5,000 words in one day. The late mystery writer John Creasy wrote some 600 novels before he died at age 65. He is my hero!
What made you select a female protagonist in this era to use as your main character?
I had been writing novels with male protagonists, which were not picked up by a publisher, but one reader said she so liked my female characters, I should try a mystery with a female sleuth. Meanwhile, I was long fascinated by the early 20th century, before World War I. In many ways it was as old-fashioned as the 19th century in terms of social attitudes, but women were agitating for change, class differences were slowly eroding, and new technologies were changing the world. So Lady Frances was born, followed by my fictionalized Alice Roosevelt. What I love doing is showing that although women didn't even have the vote then in Britain or the U.S., many women still found ways of grabbing power and building lives for themselves separate from husbands and fathers.
How do you research your books?
I spend a lot of time online! I'll pore over images of outfits to make sure my characters are accurately dressed. What kinds of handguns were available in 1906? What motorcars were in production? (Lady Frances rides in the first Rolls Royce model!) I'm also checking protocol sites: How do you address an Anglican archdeacon? The second son of a duke?
That's the concrete info. Looking at historical attitudes is more complex. How did the wealthy think about the servants in their homes? How did everyone talk to each other? There's a lot to be gleaned from reading period fiction. Arthur Conan Doyle populated the Sherlock Holmes books with everyone from beggars to dukes, so he's a great primary source. H.G. Wells is also helpful. Sometimes it can be hard to research subtle or controversial attitudes, like Edwardian attitudes on homosexuality, and I need to do a lot of poking around: what were the laws, for example, and how strictly were they enforced?
Do you plot the entire book first, then write or plot as you go?
Plotting is hard! With my first novel, I just wandered, and found myself down a lot of blind alleys. I would lose track of where I was going. It was fun, but I wasted a lot of time. So now I rigorously lay out my plots before I write the first paragraph. It may change—a scene may not work as I want, or I see another twist adds more tension. But then I stop and go back to the outline for the long view. I may spend a week or more on outlining before starting a new book.
Do you use real people and places as models for your books?
My daughters got me a T-shirt for Father's Day that said "Be careful or I'll put you in my novel." Certainly real people are inspirations. Lady Frances is—like me—a Vassar graduate, and I knew dozens of young women like her when I was there.
Sometimes I invent a place: The Caledonia, the apartment building where Alice Roosevelt lives with her aunt, is based on the real-life Dakota in New York's upper west side. Inventing a place gives me more creative freedom, and works as long as I don't stray too far from reality.
One character—I won’t say who or in which story!—is based on a girl I knew when we were 16. I wonder if she'd be upset or amused.
Who is your favorite author?
That's a tough one. Although I write mysteries, two of my favorite authors are in other genres: Isaac Asimov and J.R.R. Tolkien. Among mystery writers, there are three I rely on for inspiration: Agatha Christie for plotting, Rex Stout for dialog and character, and Georges Simenon for setting a scene.
Do you write with pen and paper or a computer?
I think I've forgotten how to use a pen. I learned to type on a manual typewriter when I was 12 and now work on a laptop.
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