1. What
was your first job? Did you like or dislike it? Why?
My first job was working as a Saturday girl for the newsagents W H Smith in Southampton. It was a dream job for me because I was a total bookworm and W H Smith was one of my favourite haunts. Although I worked in the news and magazine department on a Saturday, during the holidays I worked longer hours upstairs in the book department. When I left school I went to secretarial college and my first ‘proper’ job was working for Social Services - a real eye opener. It certainly widened my perspective on life.
2. Do you
have a pet peeve? If so what is it?
People who use power tools on a Sunday morning.
3. Do you
spend more time researching or writing?
Definitely writing. My novels have contemporary settings
and I’ve used locations on the south coast of England I know very well. I weave aspects of local history into my
novels and that does require some research, but I tend to look things up as I
go along. My first novel, The Theatre of Dreams, was born after I discovered a
plaque commemorating the site of an art deco seaside pavilion on the seafront
at Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire. The pavilion had been demolished back in the
early 1970s. I grew up less than ten miles from Lee, but I had no idea this
building had ever existed. I did become a little obsessive about it afterwards,
and I’ve learned quite a lot about art deco buildings since!
My heroine in that book was a dance teacher; my daughter trained as a dance teacher so that didn’t require in depth research. However, in my latest mystery series, one of my leading ladies was an air hostess during the early years of commercial flying, the other is a championship golfer. Neither is a profession I know anything about, so I did have to do some digging around on the internet for some background information before I started writing.
4. Tell
me about the Puzzle of Pine Bay and where you got your inspiration for it?
The Puzzle of Pine Bay is the second in a series of cosy mysteries (with an on-going romance) set on the Isle of Wight. My amateur sleuth is former professional golfer Eliza Kane, who is aided and abetted by her grandmother, Lilian, a pensioner with a somewhat dubious past. I came up with the idea of the series during a mini-break on the island a few years ago. With one of the warmest climates in the UK, the island is a popular holiday destination. I felt there would be plenty of material to draw on for a series of mysteries revolving around the island’s tourist industry, both present day and historically. Although part of a series, The Puzzle of Pine also works as stand-alone.
5. How much
of your book is realistic?
I use real places on the island in my novels but the realism stops there. I have a very vivid imagination. Having said that, although I fabricate specific events, The Puzzle of Pine Bay features a cast of characters who once worked together at a holiday camp in the island, and I have definitely drawn on my own memories of childhood holidays for this part of the story. The first book in the series, A Crisis at Clifftops, involved a vintage mystery in the island’s aviation industry – not many people know that commercial airlines used to operate on the island pre and post WW2, so that part of the story is definitely based on fact. Nowadays you can only reach the island by ferry.
6. What are
your ambitions for your writing career?
I’m currently self-publishing which has given me the freedom to write the stories I want to write. The main drawback of self-publishing is reaching a wider audience of new readers – I would love more people to discover my writing!
7. Who is
your role model and Why?
In the literary world, it’s Joanne Harris; she weaves magic
with words and I admire her writing so much. I heard her speak at the
Winchester Writer’s Festival at the very start of my writing journey and she
was inspirational. She refused to bow to commercial pressure when trying to
find a publisher for Chocolate (one of my all time favourite reads) and stuck
to her guns to ensure the book was published just how she wanted it.
I knew I was taking a chance when I created the character of amateur sleuth Eliza Kane because sporting heroines are few and far between in commercial fiction. I wanted a strong female lead who was original and unique, but who had also overcome adversity to enjoy a successful career. Eliza has had to be diligent and determined to reach the top her game – even more so in golf which is such a male dominated sport. These skills make her the ideal detective, but she also now wants to use her own success to encourage others. She is the perfect role model!
8. Share one
fact about yourself that would surprise people.
I wish I did have some hidden talent or superpower, but I
think most people who don’t know me are simply surprised to hear I write books!
Blurb The Puzzle of Pine Bay
Injury has forced sporting
heroine Eliza Kane into premature retirement. With a house to renovate and a
romance to rekindle, she moves back to the Isle of Wight, eager to start the
next chapter in her life.
Her plans unravel when she discovers a stash of
stage props abandoned in the cellar of her new home. Drawn into a search for a
charismatic magician who hasn’t been seen for the last twenty years, Eliza’s
enquiries amongst his former fellow entertainers at the old Pine Bay holiday
park hit a wall of silence. When she finds herself threatened and in danger,
she starts to question whether there is something more sinister about the
missing magician’s vanishing act than a simple trick of the eye…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZV7GL7R/
Rosie Travers Bio
Rosie Travers grew up in Southampton on the south coast of England. She loved escaping into a good book at a very early age and as a teenager scribbled many stories and novels, none of which she was ever brave enough to show anyone. After many years working in local government, Rosie’s big break came when she moved to Southern California after her husband took an overseas work assignment. With time om her hands she started a blog about expat life which rekindled her teenage desire to become a writer. On her return to the UK she took a creative writing course and the rest is history.
The Puzzle of Pine Bay is Rosie’s fourth novel and the second in a series of humorous cosy mysteries/family dramas set on the Isle of Wight. Rosie currently lives on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire with her husband Neil and her cat Ed.
Website: www.rosietravers.com
Twitter: @RosieTravers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosietraversauthor/
Instagram: rosietraversauthor
Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosie-Travers/e/B07CVZ2CQ5/
RNA: https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/rosie-travers/
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