Jennifer Chase: On Continuing a Detective Series

Jennifer Chase is a multi-award-winning and bestselling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells.

In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists, and member of the International Thriller Writers. You can find her at her website authorjenniferchase.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bookouture.

Jennifer Chase

In this post, Jennifer discusses adding new elements to her detective series with her new novel, The Rose Girls, her advice for other writers, and more!

Name: Jennifer Chase
Book title: The Rose Girls
Publisher: Bookouture
Release date: 2/6/2023
Genre/category: Crime Thriller
Previous titles: Detective Katie Scott Series: Little Girls Sleeping; Her Last Whisper; Flowers On Her Grave; Last Girls Alive; The Fragile Ones; Pretty Broken Dolls; Silent Little Angels; Three Small Bones
Elevator pitch for the book: Detective Katie Scott, a cold case detective, an ex-army K9 explosive handler, tracks down killers in a rural California mountain town.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I wanted to write a detective series with a character having a history of being through two military tours as part of an army K9 team, which complements many of the future cold case investigations. The Rose Girls integrates small town components and the difficulties of working a homicide in this setting.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I began with an overview of the story and organized the outline—total time about four months to publication. It took about two months to finish the first draft and then another approximate two months for editing and getting ready for publishing.

The original idea was more simplistic, and I decided to incorporate another interesting character with more of the town's background, which gave the storyline another level.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Writing every book seems to have learning moments. The challenges of writing a story that can be a stand-alone, but still a part of a series can be tough. It's something that I keep in my mind with every book.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I write an outline, but it's more of a road map of sorts. There are always a few surprises of where I'm going to take the protagonist and where the killer ends up. I wrestle with these things, but in the end, the characters win.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

My hope is that readers will pick up the book to enjoy the crime thriller ride. I love to incorporate interesting tidbits of forensics and K9 training into every story in the hope that readers will appreciate as well.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

When asked this question, I always tell other writers and authors that you should always write what you want to write—what moves you and what makes you excited. Not what you think you should write. Stay true to your vision and write, write, and write.

Have an amazing story idea, but need to learn the basics of how to write a book? Creating a story that is dynamic and engaging takes a lot more than just setting aside an hour every day to write. This course will take you through all of the basics of writing a novel, including how important it is to choose a great setting, how to build characters, what point of view you should choose, how to write great dialogue, and more.

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