“Off the Page” with Duchess Jacqueline Xavier by The Wren (Sarah E. Burr)

A Note from Sarah Burr: I’m handing the blogging reins to Winnie Lark, the main character in my Book Blogger Mysteries. Winnie runs a popular bookish website called What Spine is Yours (think Metacritic for the literary world). However, she manages it anonymously, and the online community only knows her as “The Wren.” She often interviews guest authors through their characters, and that’s the focus of today’s feature. Enjoy!

Greetings, bookish friends! The Wren, here. On this month’s “Off the Page” feature, I’m doing more than going back in time—I’m journeying into a whole new world. My character guest is Duchess Jacqueline Xavier, the sleuth and sovereign from Sarah E. Burr’s genre-bending Court of Mystery series. Duchess Jacqueline embarks on her final adventure in the fictional Realm of Virtues in Eternal Empire. Eternal Empire is the fourteenth book in the Court of Mystery and launches this week on November 19^th.

Duchess, thank you so much for stepping away from your duties to answer my burning questions.

Greetings, Wren. Please, call me Jax. I am delighted to be with you today.

Where to begin? I’ve never interviewed royalty before. How did you find yourself solving mysteries when you have the problems of entire nations to deal with?

I often ask myself the very same thing. However, my desire to right the wrongs of the world ultimately came about when my parents perished in a carriage accident. It was so sudden and so jarring. To grieve their deaths while being thrust onto the throne of Saphire was an experience I would not wish upon anyone. To make matters even more dire, my court physician discovered that my parents’ demise was no mere accident. They had been poisoned, and the scene had been staged. Determined to unmask their killer or killers, I had to begin questioning people within the palace who had pledged their lives in service to our duchy. It made for a lonely and frightening investigation in my first case, The Ducal Detective. Thankfully, that loneliness did not last long, for I soon found myself surrounded by a group of companions whom I could trust with my life, and they have gone to the ends of the realm with me on many adventures.

What an incredible journey. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to juggle all those emotions and responsibilities.

My father, Duke Richard, taught me from a very young age how to calm my focus and approach situations with a logical and practiced mind. I call it “putting on my Duchess mask.”

You’ve mentioned a place called Saphire. Can you tell us about the world you inhabit? It sounds very different from my hometown of Copper Bay.

Indeed, it is a remarkable place. I rule several duchies—similar to your states or nations—on a continent called the Realm of Virtues. The Realm of Virtues was founded on the ideals of humility, kindness, bravery, and intelligence, and those principles guide people throughout the land. The realm is made up of thirteen duchies; I will not spoil for your readers how many of those are under my protection.

The world is made up of fantastical flora and fauna, some of which I encountered for the very first time during my many adventures. I suppose I straddle what you might call “historical fantasy” to give your readers a more definitive idea of my homeland and time.

How do you travel across the realm?

For my official engagements, I use a carriage, but there is nothing I love more than riding my horse, Mortimer, when the Ducal Guard allows me the freedom to.

Allows? Aren’t you in charge?

I am, to some extent. The Ducal Guard—or, more accurately, the Captain of the Ducal Guard, likes to think he has the final say when my security is involved. Most of the time, I permit him to make such decisions. Although I will freely admit, I sometimes put my foot down or go behind his back and do whatever I want anyway. The poor man…it is amazing he has lasted this long!

You mentioned that your first investigation was quite lonely and isolating. Why? And what changed?

When my parents were killed, it became quite clear early on that someone inside the palace had betrayed them. I did not know who I could trust. Everyone was a suspect, even those who had served my family since I was a young child. And honestly, it took me a while to lower my guard around those who continually proved their mettle to me. Once I realized who my true friends were, though, I was able to open my heart to them, and it was the most freeing thing I have ever done. I would not be here, on the cusp of solving my fourteenth mystery, if I had not welcomed such dear and devoted friends into my life.

Eternal Empire is said to be your final adventure. How did you arrive at that decision? Why is the Court of Mystery series ending?

It has been something my author, Sarah, and I have been toiling over for a while now. I have covered a great deal of ground in fourteen books (and four short stories), and throughout most of those adventures, there has been a greater goal I have been working toward. That goal—which I will not spoil for your readers—is so close to being achieved that it felt like such a conclusion would be a good place for me to rest. There is much to be done in the Realm of Virtues, after all, and I really need to turn my focus to governing my holdings rather than gallivanting around the continent, solving whatever mystery lands at my feet.

However, and hopefully, my author will not be dismayed that I am revealing such a secret, this is not the end of adventures in the Realm of Virtues. In the future, readers will be able to revisit the world through the eyes of some of my dearest companions.

Holy bookmarks! Does this mean there is a spin-off series in the works?

You are quite the detective yourself, Wren. Yes, there are plans for a “spin-off.”

How wonderful. While your story may be ending, I’m thrilled to learn we’ll be able to return to the Realm of Virtues at some point in the future. Jax, thank you so much for sharing your fascinating world with me and my readers. Congratulations on reaching the conclusion of your story in Eternal Empire—an epic accomplishment!

Thank you, Wren. May the Virtues watch over you.

 

The Court of Mystery series is available at your favorite bookish retailer. Eternal Empire, book fourteen in the series, releases November 19^th on eBook and paperback. Special eBook preorder pricing is available ($2.99) until launch day.

Learn more about The Wren, Winnie, and the Book Blogger Mysteries at www.saraheburr.com.