Four Questions with Mystery Author Amy Tector

We talk murder in the library

Twitter is often a hellscape but it can be a great way to meet people. For example, I met today’s featured author, Amy Tector, after seeing her tweets about Louise Penny, author of my beloved Inspector Gamache books.

Since we met online, I’ve learned that Amy is a talented mystery writer in her own right. Her first book, The Honeybee Emeralds, came out this past spring and the first book in her new mystery series, The Foulest Things, was just released on Tuesday. In addition to writing, Amy works at the National Archives of Canada.

Amy was kind enough to chat with me about her books and drawing inspiration from archives.  Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What was your path to writing and publishing?

I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen, but my adult trajectory was working as an archivist and a manager in the Archives. On the side, I was always writing. I wrote maybe three novels before writing one where I was successful in attracting a publisher’s interest. That was The Honeybee Emeralds, which came out this past spring.

It’s a light-hearted mystery set in Paris amongst the expat community. It’s about four women trying to track down the origin of this mysterious necklace they discovered. And, of course, the necklace has an amazing history. It’s tied to Josephine Baker and Mata Hari.

That was the first book to be published but it wasn’t the first I had written. I told my publisher about my previous books, and now they’re being published too. The Foulest Things was actually my first novel. I wrote it 15 years ago.

What an inspiration for everyone who has a novel in their desk drawer. What can you tell us about The Foulest Things?

It’s a murder mystery set in the archives. It centers on Jess Kendall, who is a young, new archivist at the Dominion Archives, my fictional version of the National Archives, Just starting her career. She’s insecure and unsure of her career path at the opening of the novel.

Very quickly, she, in doing her archival work, discovers some secret letters that intrigue her. She decides to investigate further and ends up in the art vault. There, she uncovers a body, which tumbles down from the stacks it was squished in. She becomes embroiled in this murder mystery while trying to solve the historical mystery she’s discovered in the letters, which we learned is tied to the murder.

You’re an archivist. How much of the book is autobiographical?

I wrote this in 2006 when I was a young archivist. So definitely some of that job insecurity, the imposter syndrome, the nervousness of who you are and trying to establish relationships in early adulthood — I was coming from a place close to that. And I did infuse my understanding and love of archives into the book.

So that’s autobiographical, but I’m not that person anymore. I’ve been in my career long enough that I remember those worries but I don’t feel them anymore. I have other worries, but that kind of early career fear is gone.

I do want to make it clear that though it is set in archives, it is not the place where I work. None of my colleagues are murderous — as far as I know.

Any books you want to read?

So many! I’ve been reading a lot of debut authors because I’m a debut author. I really enjoyed Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann. It’s fantastic. Dava Shastri’s Last Day is also a great one (ed. Obviously I agree). The author, Kirthana Ramissetti, is such a great positive force.

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My fellow writing group member, Wayne Ng, has a new YA novella out, called Letters from Johnny, that’s getting a lot of praise.  It's a really cute, charming, quick read about a young Chinese boy in the ‘70s in Toronto, and there's a little mystery. It's a really great book. It’s up for the Ottawa Book award — I’m so happy for Wayne.

Thanks to Amy for chatting. Here are links to follow her on Twitter and Instagram, subscribe to her newsletter and buy her books. And you can check out her essay on Notes From Three Pines.

I’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday.

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