An Interview With Carol Pouliot

by Grace Topping

 

Murder at the Moulin Rouge

Paris, 1895. When a cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge falls to her death from the top of one of Montmartre’s highest staircases, the police dismiss it as an accident. But, Madeleine was one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite models, and the artist is certain she was murdered. Enter Depression-era detective Steven Blackwell and 21st-century journalist Olivia Watson who travel back in time to Paris to hunt down the killer. Before long, they learn that a second dancer—a ballerina and favorite model of painter Edgar Degas—has died. Two dancers dead in two weeks. Two artists grieving. Is the killer targeting young dancers, or does this case involve the enigmatic Paris art world?

From the moment Steven and Olivia arrive, Steven is out of his element. The small-town cop has no idea what techniques the French police use in 1895. Worse, he has no official status to investigate murder in one of the world’s largest cities. The sleuths soon discover disturbing secrets at the Paris Ballet. And when Olivia insists on going undercover to visit a suspect’s house alone, Steven fears he’s made the biggest mistake of his life.

Travel back in time with Steven and Olivia, as they enter the back-stabbing world of dance in one of the world’s greatest cities. Murder at the Moulin Rouge is their most daring and dangerous case to date.

 

To read a mystery requires us to suspend disbelief. But when the mystery involves time-traveling sleuths, one of whom lives in 1934 and the other in current day, we can forget about it reflecting reality. We just need to read it for fun. Carol Pouliot joins us at WWK to talk about her Blackwell and Watson time-travel mystery series where her two sleuths cross into each other’s time to solve crimes. 

 

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Carol.

 

What motivated you to make your detectives time travelers, with one of them a bit ghostly?

 

I've never thought of any of my characters as ghosts. I based the series on a theory that Ei​nstein had. He believed there was no such thing as past, present, or future but that all time happened simultaneously. He also thought time could fold over if conditions were right. That's what happened to my two main characters, Steven and Olivia, in the beginning of the first book in the series, Doorway to Murder. They've been catching glimpses of each other across a doorway for several days when, finally, Olivia speaks up and asks Steven if he's real. That leads to their discussion of what's happening to them and to each of them proving to the other that they actually do live in the time they say they do. Steven lives in 1934 and Olivia shares the same house 80 years later in 2014. I write the books as dual time periods that happen at the same time. 

When 21^st century journalist Olivia discovers that Steven’s ghost is inhabiting her house, she is shocked, but doubly so when she finds herself able to travel to his 1930’s time. What has been the greatest challenge you face writing about characters who can travel to different times and places? 

 

In the beginning, it wasn't difficult but as I continue to write the series, Steven and Olivia have gotten used to a lot of things in each other's time. Because of their jobs, he stays in the 1930s most of the time and she does most of the traveling into his time. I chose to write it that way because I'm more interested in writing historical rather than contemporary fiction. 

 

Coming back to your question, although it's a series, I write each book as though it were a standalone so someone can pick up any book and enjoy it. In each subsequent novel, I make sure that I explain enough of Steven and Olivia's backstory so the reader understands their situation. What's tricky is that, as the series progresses, Olivia spends more and more time outside the house in the 1930s and has gotten used to most aspects of life there. She's no longer surprised at things she sees and hears. I have to constantly remember to put in little notes that let the reader know it makes sense that she's used to certain things, and that she even uses some of the slang expressions popular at that time. 

 

Olivia and Steven live in times eighty years apart. How does Olivia account for her absence when she is with Steven in his time? Is Steven able to travel to Olivia’s time?  

 

Olivia doesn't need to account for her absence because she lives alone. She has already told her two best friends about Steven and the time traveling, and she owns her own business—a research agency. She has an answering machine in her home office and uses email to stay in touch with clients. When she needs to physically meet with a client, she is able to do that. She spends enough time in the 21st century to get her research done and turn in the projects that her clients have requested. Steven rarely leaves the house in her time, but when he has it's been on an evening or weekend. They get together inside the house in both her time and his most evenings. As a single man living alone, he doesn't have anyone to answer to either. He's home enough evenings during the week and on weekends to answer the phone in case of an emergency at work. (He's a cop.) 

Is there anyone else besides Olivia and Steven that know about their ability to travel to each other’s time and beyond? 

 

Olivia talked with her two best friends after seeing Steven several nights and after realizing she wasn't in danger. She didn't know what was going on and was afraid she might be ill. They discussed possibilities of what might be happening. When she discovered that Steven was real, she explained everything to them. 

 

Steven and Olivia ended up telling his partner in RSVP to Murder. I can't tell you why because it would ruin part of the story for people who have not read it yet. 

 

In Murder at the Moulin Rouge, what was it about 1895 Paris that drew you to setting a mystery there and then? Could it have been your journey on the Orient Express? 

 

Ha! I'd like to say yes because that trip was amazing. But it was an extra that I added in after I began writing the first draft.  

Murder at the Moulin Rouge was actually the first of my five novels where I followed the advice "write what you know." I taught French for 34 years, and incorporated art and history into my classes. I've always enjoyed the novels of Balzac, which take place in the 1800s, and I love impressionist paintings. I knew I wanted to write a book that involved Steven's late mother, Evangéline, an artist from Paris. I took all those things, did the math, and came up with a year when it made sense in terms of Evangéline's age and when Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas would have been in Paris. That's how I came up with 1895. 

 

Olivia and Steven enter the world of famous painters and dancers to solve murders. As visitors, what pulled them into investigating those murders? 

 

It turns out that Steven's mother was also a time traveler, something he never knew. She appears in his house on Christmas Eve and tells him she needs him to go to Paris. She explains why, and he is intrigued. It also happens to be approaching the one-year anniversary of her unexpected and devastating death. Steven is still having trouble getting over that, and he realizes that he has a chance of a lifetime to spend a week or so with her even though she is a young woman and not the older mother that he knew. Olivia is a free spirit and adventurous. She's always ready for anything. She doesn't hesitate a second before she says yes, she will go with him. 

After years of teaching and running your own business, what motivated you to write crime fiction?  

 

I had been retired about five years and wanted a mental challenge. At the time, I had a subscription to Victoria magazine, which had a monthly feature article called Chimes, a memoir. I had a treasured memory that I still could see as clearly as though it had been yesterday. I thought my memory would be suitable for that feature. When I sat down to write it, an incredible feeling of satisfaction and joy washed over me. I knew at that moment I had to spend the rest of my life writing. 

 

Do your characters arrive in your brain fully formed, or do they gradually reveal themselves as you write?  

 

I thought of Steven first, and he arrived fully formed. I knew him as though he had been in my life forever. I knew his worst fears and greatest desires. I did add two interests for him based on those that my grandfather had. Steven was born in 1901 and my grandfather in 1900, so they would have been contemporaries. I knew giving Steven an interest in cars and baseball was accurate for a man at that time. I wanted a partner-in-crime for Steven, so I created Olivia. I made her someone who was very much his opposite, yet I gave her traits that would allow them to get along. As for the other characters—victims, suspects, killers—I create them before I write the rough draft, although they all evolve as I'm writing that particular mystery. There have been a couple of unexpected characters who popped up fully formed as I was writing my first draft. That's always a lot of fun! 

How was your journey to publication? A smooth road or one filled with potholes?  

 

My journey to publication was not pretty. Ha! I had no idea what I was doing at first and thought I was supposed to get an agent. I queried several people. Most of them loved the story idea but said the manuscript still needed work. I had no idea what that meant so I continued working on it without really improving it for a couple of years. When I finally joined Sisters in Crime, I started to learn the craft and made the improvements that I needed to. I met Marni Graff at one of our chapter meetings and learned about the author co-op she is involved with. That group ultimately published my first book, Doorway to Murder. I always knew I wanted a traditional publisher so I continued sending out query letters but to publishers this time not agents. Finally, after a year, I signed a contract with Level Best Books. I'm still with them. I will say that I found it extremely difficult and stressful to send out a query letter and not hear anything for months...or ever! This business isn't for the faint of heart.

 

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned since you started writing?  

 

When I began writing, I had a very romantic idea of a writer—someone who sits alone in a particular setting writing day after day. Sort of like the classic writer in a Paris attic. The reality is we don't write in a bubble. The most valuable thing that I learned is that we need other people—writers who understand what we're going through at all the different and challenging stages of writing a book and getting it published, as well as people who can answer questions, whether it's about publishing or poison. The most wonderful thing that has happened to me since I became a published author is the incredible friendships I've made. It can be hard later in life to meet people who think and feel the way you do about things. I treasure the beautiful friendships I've made along the way.   

Where do you plan to take Olivia and Steven next? 

I'm working on book six right now, Death Moved In. It's 1935, and Steven and Olivia are back home in Knightsbridge, a small town in central New York near the Mohawk River and the Adirondack mountains. A local businessman is murdered in his bed while he sleeps one night. This is going to be a difficult case for Steven. At first, there are too many suspects. Then it seems that everyone with a motive did not have opportunity and everyone with opportunity had no motive. There are going to be seven books in my series so I'm also laying more groundwork for the end of the series. 

 

Thank you, Carol.

An Interview with Carol Pouliot

by Grace Topping

One of the benefits of attending mystery conferences is getting to meet other writers. After several years and attendance at a number of conferences, the subsequent conferences have become like reunions with those writers. One writer that I’m always happy to see is Carol Pouliot, who writes the Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mystery series. I had the pleasure of spending time with Carol recently at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Conference held in Dallas, and I was fascinated to learn more about her time-travel mystery series. 

Doorway to Murder

In a small New York town, secrets lurk and betrayal is just around the corner. The morning after the worst blizzard of 1934, Detective Steven Blackwell takes on a highly charged murder case. The investigation starts badly: one clue, lots of lies and alibis. To make things worse, Steven is seeing visions of a woman in his house. One night, she speaks. Her name is Olivia Watson and she lives in 2014. She believes time has folded over in the house they share. As their relationship deepens, Steven’s investigation intensifies. Soon he can no longer trust anyone in his own time. Can Olivia help crack the case—and catch a killer?

Welcome, Carol, to Writers Who Kill.

After teaching French and Spanish for over thirty years and running a translation business, what made you turn to writing mysteries?

Caroll Pouliot

First of all, thank you, Grace, for inviting me to do this interview. 

I’ve always loved reading mysteries, and I had an idea for a series that I couldn’t ignore any longer. As soon as I sat down at the computer and began to write, a sense of satisfaction washed over me, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I love creating the characters and figuring out how to incorporate the twists and turns in the plot. I enjoy the challenge of telling the story, dropping clues, and adding red herrings.

In Doorway to Murder, the first in your Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mystery series, your main character Olivia Watson sees a figure in her home late at night and at first thinks she is seeing a ghost, only to discover a time traveler. Have you ever experienced anything ghostly?

I actually have, but it’s quite a long story that’s better told in person. Suffice it to say that if you read Doorway to Murder, Olivia’s experience in Chapter One will give you an idea of what happened to me. I re-imagined my experience and used it as a jumping-off point. Einstein believed there is no past, present, or future—all time happens simultaneously. He also believed that time can fold over, revealing “another time.” This concept is fascinating to me and forms the basis for the time-travel aspect of my series.

Steven Blackwell is a police detective in the 1930s. What made you select that time period?

Like Olivia, my female protagonist, I am intrigued by the romanticized idea of the 1930s. I love the idea of the Golden Age of Travel—packing trunks, suitcases, and hatboxes and embarking on a long train or ship voyage. I am partial to train travel so the Simplon Orient Express would be my first choice. As a matter of fact, it’s number one on my bucket list. I also enjoy Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto movies. The 30s seem like a simpler time, although I am acutely aware that the Great Depression certainly didn’t make for easy times. 

Some of my favorite mysteries are Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories, many of which were written in the 1930s. I especially like the idea that the detective of that era had to pit his wits against the wits of the criminal because there weren’t a lot of tools at his disposal. No DNA testing, no computers, no GPS.  

Olivia and Stephen come to realize that things they do can affect the future. How do they deal with that in what they do or don’t do?

At the end of Doorway to Murder, Olivia is devastated by the results of her actions. She tried not to do anything to change what has already happened but, in the end, her efforts came to no avail. She and Steven decide that what happens is what was always meant to be.

That attitude allows me as the writer to create a story with twists and turns that grab the reader. Steven and Olivia do their best not to affect the future but just the fact that Olivia spends time in 1934 has an impact. If I were to keep “the past” pristine, there probably wouldn’t be a time-travel story.

With a background in languages and doing translations, have you translated any of your books?

No, it would take too much time away from my writing. Translating literature is a specialized field. I translated a variety of French projects but mostly technical Spanish for GE and RCA products. I stopped my translation work in 2000 at the same time that I closed my agency. 

Writing is such an isolated activity—especially for you living in Upstate New York. How do you connect with others in the mystery-writing community?

I belong to the Upper Hudson Chapter of Sisters in Crime, which meets monthly in the Albany area, about a three-hour drive from me. I have attended a number of writers and mystery conferences over the past few years and have met a lot of people from all over the country and in Canada. I have been lucky to have made some very good friends, with whom I keep in touch on a semi-regular basis. I also belong to The Wandering Wordsmiths, a local-author group in the Syracuse area. We do book signings together and are in constant touch. 

I’m thrilled to have a circle of writer friends that I can call, email, text, visit, or get together with to talk about writing issues, publication challenges, or issues that come up in the writing life. It makes all the difference knowing I’m connected.

How was your journey to publication? 

I consider myself extremely lucky to have found two wonderful publishers. It took me five years to get my first manuscript ready for publication. In 2016, I signed with Bridle Path Press, an author’s co-op. The people with whom I worked were wonderful−knowledgeable, generous with their time and advice, and understanding how overwhelming a writer’s first publication experience can be. Through them, I learned a lot, much more than if I had signed with a traditional press right away. I learned most of the aspects involved in getting a book published, the behind-the-scenes stuff that writers usually are not involved with. All of this informs me as I move forward.

I always knew that eventually I wanted to sign with a traditional press. I parted ways with Bridle Path in early 2018, although I’m still in contact with people there. I spent the entire year sending out submissions. I checked out over 463 traditional publishers and ended submitting to about two dozen. It was incredibly time-consuming. I spent months researching, preparing the submission materials (everyone wants something different), and, most of all, patiently waiting. Waiting and not knowing was the most difficult thing for me because most websites tell you not to contact them after you’ve sent the submission. They say if you haven’t heard anything in six months you should consider it a pass. I spent a year writing the second book then I sent it out into what felt like a big black void. 

In January 2019 I signed a 3-book contract with Level Best Books. In September 2019, Level Best re-issued Doorway to Murder, the first book in the Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mysteries, and published Threshold of Deceit, book two in the series. I’m currently writing book three, Death Rang the Bell, which is tentatively scheduled for publication in September 2020.

Having traveled extensively—five continents so far, have you ever considered setting a book somewhere other than in New York State? 

Yes, the fifth book in the series is going to be a Toulouse-Lautrec mystery and will take place in the late 1800s in Paris. I’m also considering setting part of book six in England, but I haven’t decided for sure yet. I love England.

Are you still traveling, or has writing and promoting your books cut into your travel time? Any upcoming trips planned?

Most of the travel I’ve done in the past few years has been book-related, and I’ll continue that−conferences and book signings. But, I am planning a trip to Prague next year with one of my friends. We’re also going to spend a couple of days on the Orient Express. I’m super psyched about that.

In Threshold of Deceit, Olivia does a little time travel herself. Did you have to do a lot of research about life in the 1930s?

It’s important to me to give my stories verisimilitude. I try to pepper the novels with enough details about life in the 1930s so the reader can picture where the scenes take place, the clothes people wear, and the cars they drive or ride in, even the smells that were different then.

I use a lot of sources to research the series. I read the magazines and newspapers that were on newsstands during the weeks when my stories take place. I study old photographs, watch movies from the 30s, read books that were written then, go to museums and libraries to examine original items such as menus, yearbooks, appliances, and cars. I’ve interviewed my father about his memories of 1934. I also draw on my own memories of my grandparents—things they enjoyed, expressions they used. I am constantly aware of anything that can contribute to the authenticity of the stories.

What’s next for Olivia Watson and Steven Blackwell? I hope we’ll see another book in the series.

Steven and Olivia have a long way to go. As I said earlier, Death Rang the Bell is the third book in the series. Olivia travels to 1934 and attends a Halloween party with Steven. Later that evening, she witnesses the murder of Benjamin Woolworth, the fictional son of F. W. Woolworth and heir to the family fortune. Olivia becomes entangled in the investigation, which, of course, puts her and Steven’s time-travel secret in jeopardy.

Book four ends the year (1934) with a Christmas mystery about a prodigal “son” who returns home for the holidays. Number five is a Toulouse-Lautrec mystery, as I mentioned above. I’ve spent a lot of time in what’s known as the artists’ quarter in Paris—Montmartre. It’s one of my favorite areas. I’m excited to go back and look at it in a new and different way, and to do the research. I’m still deciding on book six. I’m planning to wind up the series in book seven. I’ve been planting clues all through the books in preparation for what happens in number seven.

Thank you, Carol. I look forward to reading more books in your series.

You can learn more about Carol and her Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mystery Series by following her on Facebook or Pinterest and at https://www.carolpouliot.com/contact-carol-pouliot/

Threshold of Deceit

On a sunny spring day in 1934, local lothario Frankie Russo is murdered in broad daylight. It seems no one saw anything, but things are not always what they seem in this small New York town. Tackling the investigation, Detective Steven Blackwell discovers Frankie’s little black book, a coded list of dozens of flings, affairs, and one-night stands−and a solid motive for the widow. Soon, what appeared to be a straightforward case gets complicated. A witness goes missing, a second body turns up, the victim’s cousin disappears, and an old flame surfaces. Faced with conflicting pieces of evidence, lies, and false alibis, Steven creates a psychological portrait of the killer. He realizes he’s looking for someone wearing a mask. But the killer is not the only one in disguise.

  
Two months ago, Steven came face-to-face with 21st-century journalist Olivia Watson when time folded over in the house they share−80 years apart. They’ve experimented within the safety of its walls and proven Einstein was right: there is no past, present, or future. All time exists simultaneously. Now, Steven and Olivia test the boundaries of time travel, risking the exposure of their secret. Olivia travels to Steven’s time, where the community embraces her, unaware of whom she really is. She unwittingly falls in with Steven’s main suspect, an action that threatens her life.

Can Olivia outsmart a killer before becoming the next victim? Can Steven and Olivia solve the case of the poisoned philanderer in time to protect her true identity and their time-travel secret?