The Inside Scoop with Jane Cleland

Book Club

Feb 7

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At Sleuths and Sidekicks, we’re thrilled to feature award-winning writer Jane Cleland.

Not only has Jane penned fourteen highly successful books in the acclaimed Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, she has written and won awards for her non-fiction as well. But, this doesn’t paint the whole picture...when the pandemic hit and we were all stuck in our homes, Jane reached out to the mystery community. Beginning in the spring of 2020, she began offering a free, online writing workshop once a month. Those well-attended workshops were a lifeline to many of us. Jane kept us connected, inspired, and supported. Although we no longer need to quarantine, she continues to offer her wonderful classes. In addition to grateful fans of Jane’s mystery series, there are a lot of grateful mystery writers as well. Sleuth and Sidekicks is privileged to honor Jane Cleland in this month’s The Inside Scoop.

Carol: How did you become an author?
Jane: I've always been an author. I wrote my first novel when I was seven. It was a Nancy Drew story involving a cow who crossed a state line without a passport. (I lacked a certain worldly knowledge.) My first published book related to business communications, written to support my career as a corporate trainer. My agent said that I used so many examples and anecdotes in my writing, she wondered if I'd ever thought of trying my hand at fiction. Her question opened up a secret place in my heart and I started in on my first mystery. It took me 3 years to finish it.

Carol: What was the inspiration for your sleuth? How did Josie reach the page?
Jane: My first mystery was about a male private eye based in New York City. It didn't sell, but I must say, I got the nicest rejections. One of the nicest was from Ben Sevier who was, at the time, at St. Martin's Minotaur. He said that the narrative was weak, the plot convoluted, the characters derivative, "but she can write." I lived on that for a year, let me tell you!

He went on to say that male private eye novels set in New York City were not popular just then, so if I wanted to try my hand at a female amateur sleuth not set in New York City, he'd like to see it. I spent about 3 months thinking, learning, and writing three chapters, about twenty pages. I asked if I was on the right track. He said yes, write that book. It took about an additional ten months. The book sold in a week as part of a three-part deal.

Carol: How did Josie’s sidekick come to be?
Jane: An amateur sleuth needs an organic reason to conduct research. That's why I made Josie an antiques appraiser. She got to go to rich people's houses, museums, and so on. However to solve crimes, she needed more information, access she didn't have, from sources like financial records, phone logs, and the like. So I created Wes Smith, an eager-beaver cub reporter who was able to ferret out details Josie needed.

Carol: Tell us about The Wolfe Pack.

Jane: The Wolfe Pack is the literary society that celebrates all things Rex Stout’s legendary detective, Nero Wolfe. We meet several times a year for book club discussions. We read the opus in order, and when we're done, we begin again! The Pack also periodically goes on trips, to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, for instance, the model for the resort in Mr. Stout's classic, Too Many Cooks, or to Boston College, where Mr. Stout's papers are housed, for scholarly research.

We present two awards, the Nero, and the Black Orchid Novella Award (presented in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine). Mr. Stout wrote many novellas (stories 15,000 to 20,000 words in length). Our annual banquet is wonderful! We sing songs! We offer toasts! We complete fun quizzes! You can find more information here.

Everyone is welcome to join me at my free monthly webinars. Learn more here.

Carol: What books have inspired you?
Nightwork, by Irwin Shaw, where I learned the power of reinventing myself.
Cotillion, by Georgette Heyer, another story about reinvention, filled with charm and intrigue.
Murder by the Book, by Rex Stout, one of my favorites by one of my favorite authors.
On Writing, by Stephen King, an irresistible read.

What are you reading now?
Paula Munier’s Home at Night. Halloween in Vermont. A spooky house with a body in the library. What could be better?

Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir’s Reykjavík. Jónasson, Iceland's best-selling author, has translated many Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and his intimate knowledge of her plot-driven novels shows in this gripping, twisty mystery. Jakobsdóttir is the prime minister of Iceland, and together, they've written a terrific book

Jess Zafarris’s Words from Hell. I love entomology, and Jess Zafarris is the reigning queen of words.

Carol: Thank you for sharing with us, Jane. You’ve given us a lot to think about and read!

Jane K. Cleveland has written fourteen novels in the multiple award-winning Jersey Prescott Antiques Mystery series (St. Martin's Minotaur). In addition, Jane's nonfiction books, Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot and Mastering Plot Twists (Writer's Digest Books), both won the Agatha Award. Jane's newest book on the craft of writing, Beat the Bots: A Writer's Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI, will be published in December 2024. Jane is a member of the full-time faculty at Lehman College (CUNY), a contributing editor for Writer's Digest Magazine, and the chair of the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented by the Wolfe Pack in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Magazine.

Readers can learn more here and connect on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Mystery Masterminds, TikRok and TikTok.