Stacy Juba: Twenty-five Years ago Today
Book Club Discussion

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

I was surprised to find out that this was your first book published since you wrote Face-Off for young adults. Where did this story line come from?

There was a large gap between the publications of Face-Off and Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. I was just 18 when Face-Off was published and it took me awhile to settle into my niche. Face-Off did very well and I received a lot of fan mail from readers, but for the long haul, I discovered that young adult drama wasn't my niche. My manuscripts weren't selling and I was struggling with the plots. Since I've always loved reading mystery novels, I decided to switch gears and try writing one. The storyline was inspired by my experience of working for a daily newspaper, my first job after college. I eventually became a full-time reporter, but when I started out, I was an obit writer and editorial assistant. In this role, one of my responsibilities was compiling the 25 and 50 Years Ago Today column from the microfilm. That sparked an idea: What if an editorial assistant stumbled across an unsolved murder while researching the 25 Years Ago Today column? What if she became obsessed with solving it as a way of redeeming herself for a mistake in her own past? I named my character Kris Langley and the story just flowed out. I found that I really liked the structure of writing mystery novels and that it was a more natural fit for me. It took several years and many rewrites to find a publisher, though, and that also contributed to the gap between books. Now I do a meatier outline before I start a book, which helps me to "get it right" in less drafts.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Greek mythology is incorporated in an interesting way. Did you ever study Greek mythology or was it something that you researched particularly for this book?

I had an interest in Greek mythology as a child, ever since I came across a collection of Greek myths in a used bookstore. I was intrigued by the stories of the gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus, with all of their quarreling and imperfections. I bought that book when I was around 11, and I reread it as an adult when I was writing Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. In my novel, the murder victim Diana Ferguson was a talented artist inspired by tales of Greek and Roman myth, and one of her paintings holds a clue to her death. I didn't have to conduct much research due to my past interest in mythology, however, I needed to refresh my memory on which myths would be most suitable to incorporate into her paintings.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Cheryl owned a small bookstore, and you described Kris' first encounter with it so well. Do you have a favorite local bookstore? What section would we find you perusing most frequently?

Cheryl's bookstore is loosely based on a bookstore that I loved as a child. It was in this huge old building with rows upon rows of bookcases stretching upward from the drab concrete floors. I spent hours hunting for treasures in the stacks and bought many Nancy Drew books from the 1930s, such as The Hidden Staircase, with the blue covers and yellowed pages. That's also where I found the collection of Greek myths. When I visited more recently, the store had a brighter, more modern look with couches and armchairs. While I was writing the bookstore scenes in Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, I combined my childhood memories with the newer version of the shop. I still love bookstores and find it hard to walk past one without stopping inside. I tend to peruse the mystery section and the children's books.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Dex was Kris' mentor at the newspaper. Who is/are your mentor(s) and why?

I've been fortunate to have had a handful of mentors over the years, starting in elementary school. My fifth grade teacher recognized and encouraged my talent for writing. As a result, I wrote several mystery stories that year and started my first "series." He predicted that I would be a mystery author someday and I always kept that thought in the back of my mind. Later, I had a couple of newspaper editors who acted as mentors to me. Both had worked in the news business for many years and they would call me over to their computer screens and show me why they were making certain edits. They saw that I had a knack for writing feature stories and gave me assignments that challenged me and allowed me to hone my skills. Author Erica Orloff was an influential mentor for my fiction novels. When the early draft of Twenty-Five Years Ago Today was rejected, she brainstormed with me on how to make the rewrite edgier and taught me a great deal about writing to sell in the process. Author and writing instructor Kris Neri has also been a big influence on my fiction. Her class Committing the Perfect Crime: Writing Your First Mystery, which I took through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, changed the way I plot a novel and develop my characters.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

I have to tell you that I loved this book and your writing style. Will there be a Kris Langley series?

Thank you! Several people have asked me whether Kris Langley will be a series character. Initially, I planned Twenty-Five Years Ago Today as a standalone, so another Kris Langley book isn't in the works at this time, but I'm certainly not ruling it out. Right now, I'm focusing on my work in progress, Sign of the Messenger, as it's halfway done and fully outlined. In this book, burned-out R.N. Deirdre Sheridan has quit her job to become a massage therapist, hands-on healer, and partner in a metaphysical center. As a result, she meets a client and new mother whose murder drives Deirdre toward bringing a killer to justice, even if it means exposing her hidden psychic gifts. This manuscript was a recipient of the William F. Deeck Malice Domestic Grant and the premise has a lot of potential to carry a series. Once I finish Sign of the Messenger, I'll decide whether to write about Kris or Deirdre in the next book.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba

I am eagerly anticipating your next book. Can you tell us what you are working on next?

Mainly Murder Press will publish my second mystery suspense novel, Sink or Swim, in December 2010. Here's a short description: When reality TV turns to murder, it's sink, swim or die. Not only has Cassidy Novak walked the plank and lost a hit action-adventure reality show set aboard a Tall Ship, she has also attracted a stalker who is masterminding his own twisted game. As her former competitors get knocked off one by one, Cassidy refuses to play by his bizarre rules. Soon, Cassidy must walk the plank once again; this time for her life. I'm really excited about this book as the reality TV show angle makes it particularly marketable and I think it would appeal to the audiences of these shows. However, being a fan of reality programs is certainly not a prerequisite for reading Sink or Swim. The book takes place after the show has ended its season and Cassidy has returned to her normal life as a personal trainer in a small New England town. Her appearance on the program triggered the mystery and it's part of Cassidy's characterization. What drove this normal young woman to slave aboard a Tall Ship and face elimination every week before millions of television viewers and how does she grow and change as a result of her celebritydom and its unexpected results? She had specific reasons for going on the show, and unfortunately Cassidy gets a lot more than she bargained for over the course of the novel.

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Stacy Juba