by Lorie Lewis Ham

We are doing something a bit different this week, we have an interview with mystery author Jill Johnson together with a giveaway of her latest book The Woman in the Garden. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

KRL: How long have you been writing?

Jill: I wrote my first short story when I was six. It was called: A Day in the Life of Jill and described a typical day den building with my best buddy Kahu on the army base in New Zealand where we were living. I re-read it recently. It actually wasn’t bad!

KRL: When did your first novel come out, what was it called, and would you tell us a little about it?

Jill: My first novel came out in 2018. It’s called The Time Before the Time To Come and is a historical fiction novel spanning six generations of one family, beginning in pre-European contact New Zealand. The book is based on my M?ori heritage and tells the stories of the many strong women in my family.

Jill Johnson

KRL: Have you always written mysteries/suspense and if not, what else have you written?

Jill: No. The Time Before the Time to Come was historical fiction, although there is a strong element of mystery within it because my protagonist goes on a quest to discover her M?ori heritage and lineage and makes many interesting discoveries along the way.

KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book/series?

Jill: The Woman In The Garden is the first in The Professor Eustacia Rose Mysteries series, and is set in London, England. I chose London because of its huge variety of locations, so the book has scenes right in the centre of London’s West End with all the restaurants, bars, theatres and famous tourist attractions, and also in the ancient woodlands of Hampstead Heath. I love the juxtaposition of these two settings and they way they create different moods for the reader.

I have two passions; writing and plants and so creating a protagonist who is a botanist came naturally to me. I also wanted to write a crime thriller which meant someone had to die, preferably by a plant and who better to solve the murder than a botanical toxicologist?

KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to experience from your work?

Jill: I write mostly to entertain but with The Woman In The Garden, I’d also like to educate readers about the dangers of poisonous plants. Not in a preachy way but in a humorous, slightly tongue-in-cheek way that still gets the message across.

KRL: Do you have a schedule for your writing or just work whenever you can?

Jill: I have a day job as a medical researcher which means my writing has to fit around a nine to five. I write whenever I find the opportunity. Early mornings, weekends, holidays, on the train…

KRL: What is your ideal time to write?

Jill: Mornings. I write best with strong black coffee and I only drink coffee in the morning. If I have a deadline, I will keep writing until I meet it. I’ve been known to write solidly for a week at a time!

KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

Jill: My agent insists I write an outline so she can pitch the book to publishers. Every time, I hope to get away with a few lines and every time she pushes me for more until the outline ends up being a couple of pages.

Actually, I’m a “panster.” I write by the seat of my pants with no plotting. Generally, I have an idea in my head and start writing and see where I end up. Once I have the first draft down, I dive in to play with the structure, then my agent dives in after me to fine-tune, then it goes off to the editor to be polished.

KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?

Jill: The Woman In The Garden went out on submission at the beginning of 2020. It was due to be highlighted at the London Book Fair that March. My agent, who was based in Barcelona came to London with back-to-back meetings to promote the book at the fair. The day after she arrived LBF was cancelled because of COVID, she got home the day before Spain closed its borders.

After being mothballed for two years, the book has now sold to British and North American publishers, and also as Polish, French, Czech, Russian, and now German translations. Compared to those dreadful two years when the whole world was frozen with fear, my book being mothballed seems insignificant, but at the time and on top of the dread, it felt like my dreams of The Woman in The Garden ever being published were gone forever.

KRL: Most interesting book signing story-in a bookstore or other venue?

Jill: The one and only time someone came up to my signing table and said, “I saw you on TV, so I had to travel across the country to come meet you in person.” It was an Oh, Wow, Wow, Wow! moment.

KRL: What are your future writing goals?

Jill: The second Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery came out in the U.K. this week, July 11th 2024. I have a further two book deal in the U.K. to write two more Prof Rose mysteries. My future writing goals are to finish and publish these two books and then, who knows, if readers want more Professor Rose, maybe I’ll keep going with her.

KRL: Who are your writing heroes?

Jill: Oh gosh, this is a tricky question as I have so many! My greatest writing heroes have to be Iris Murdock and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Iris for her spare, matter-of-fact voice and Gabriel for the complete opposite.

KRL: What kind of research do you do?

Jill: Lots! I have hundreds of books about plants because of my Horticulture degree. I used them extensively when I was writing The Woman in The Garden and of course, I had to go to my local bookstore to order many more.

KRL: What do you like to read?

Jill: This has changed throughout my life. I’ve always enjoyed reading the classics, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens etc. Thomas Hardy is a particular favourite. I’ve since moved on to books in translation. Also, prize-winning novels, and international books by people of colour. At the moment, I’m reading a lot of women’s fiction. There is an award in the U.K. called The Women’s Prize for Fiction. I read the shortlist for this every year.

KRL: What are your favourite TV shows or movies?

Jill: I love thrillers. There’s a British spy series I’ve just finished watching on Apple TV called Slow Horses. I recommend it if you want to see a slice of grimy London life wrapped around a great thriller. I also loved Beef with Ali Wong on Netflix. Just when you think things can’t get any worse!! The most recent film I loved was The Menu with Anya Taylor-Joy. No spoilers but… oh, my goodness!

KRL: Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

Jill: Yes, the best advice I was given – when you get to the end of chapter three, keep writing. Don’t stop and go back to polish chapter one, keep writing. Don’t endlessly play around with chapters two and three, keep writing. Keep writing until you’ve completed a messy, nonsensical, structurally impossible first draft because, as the cliché goes – you can’t edit a blank page.

KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

Jill: I was going to say that people might be surprised to know that my M?ori father was a specialist jungle tracker in the New Zealand and British SAS. But that’s not really about me. I suppose people might be surprised to learn that I used to own Gosh! Comics and a graphic novel publishing house in London.

KRL: Do you have any pets?

Jill: Yes. A very good girl called Charlie. She’s a Miniature Labradoodle and has been my partner in crime for the past twelve years.

KRL: Where can our readers find you online?

Jill: You can find me on
Instagram @jilljohnsonwrites
Twitter/X @writerJJohnson
Website jilljohnsonwrites.com

About The Woman in the Garden:
Eustacia has always been better with plants than people…

Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is quiet, her schedule is unchanging, and her closest friends are the specimens she tends to. But she does have one other hobby: watching her neighbors through her telescope, taking extensive notes on their lives for “research.”

When Eustacia hears a scream one evening, the temptation to investigate proves irresistible. Through her telescope she catches a glimpse of her extraordinarily beautiful new neighbor, Simone, and soon becomes obsessed with her and her life. But who are these four men that orbit Simone? And why does Eustacia get the feeling she needs to protect her from them?

One day, Eustacia comes home to find her precious garden destroyed, and learns that someone close to Simone has been murdered with a rare poisonous plant. As she is drawn deep into the crime, Eustacia’s closed-off life begins to crumble, forcing her to break free from the walls of her secret garden and take matters into her own hands. So on, she’s forced to realize that the world is filled with people who are just as toxic as her plants…

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of The Woman in the Garden, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “garden” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 27, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.