Jane Brookwood is the author of the new novel The Hanged Man. She also has written the novella The Raven's Familiar. She lives in British Columbia.
Q: What inspired you to write The Hanged Man, and how did you create your characters Fiona and Rosie?
A: The inspiration came from a combination of factors. Years of studying tarot collided with a period of great loss and upheaval in my life. It was born out of the presence—and eventual absence—of one remarkable ginger cat, right on the heels of my best friend sitting down to write and publish her own memoir.
Fiona is who I aspire to be, and she lives the way I wish I could. Although I don’t know her all that well yet, I’m hoping we’ll have more than a few more books to really delve deep.
And Rosie, well, she is based on a real cat! She was a rescue who “worked” alongside her brother at the construction company I was with. When her brother passed away, she came home with me, and she was the most perfect real-life introduction to the feline world I could have ever imagined. Prior to Rosie, I genuinely thought I was strictly a dog person. It turns out, I’m a cat at heart.
Rosie was an exceptional example of a feline—regal, delicate, completely self-aware, and incredibly sweet when she wanted to be. She lived with us for a few years before choosing to move on to another home in our neighborhood.
While her departure left a big hole in our lives, I deeply respected her decision; she was simply living her best life, which is exactly what her character does in The Raven’s Familiar.
A year after she moved on, we adopted another female ginger cat named Poppy, who is much more content to stay close to home. She is my best friend and roommate.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Fiona and Rosie?
A: There’s a definite “buddy cop” vibe going on between those two. Deep down, Fiona knows Rosie comprehends way more than she lets on but she forgets – Fiona’s only human after all.
Rosie on the other hand, knows exactly what’s going on, whether she cares about everything Fiona considers important – that’s another question entirely. Rosie’s got the “sight” and her priorities are informed by what she picks up intuitively, which doesn’t always align with our human fears and feelings.
Q: How did you create the setting of Pineridge Hollow?
A: It comes from living with five decades of rain in the Pacific Northwest. At some point early on I remember telling myself that I just better get used to the rain or I’d never be happy again. I think it informed my love for the promise in a grey, overcast day, the smell of damp moss on the forest floor, and the mystery shrouded by a rain-soaked night.
Q: You’ve also written a novella about Rosie, The Raven’s Familiar--can you tell us more about how the two books connect?
A: About four revisions into The Hanged Man, I realized that there are A LOT of books out there and I wasn’t sure if the book would get any kind of exposure. It got me thinking of writing a prequel that I could use as an introduction to the world. Something short and easy to read.
It turns out that I really like writing “around” things. I fleshed out the idea and after finishing my fifth rewrite on THM I decided to write The Raven’s Familiar, although it was just called Rosie’s story for the longest time. Rosie just walked straight onto the page. It was such an interesting exercise given the angst that came with THM.
While I really struggled at first to get her voice just right it really revolutionized my writing style. I stopped explaining what was happening and just let the action drive the story. Instead of conceptualizing I was able to trust myself and the reader more.
When I came back for the final fixes of THM post editing, I found this new sense of freedom. Rosie continues to teach me things, how to be a better writer, and a better human.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’ve just submitted The Raven’s Familiar: Part Two to my editor. This is the mystery portion of the book and where Fiona and Rosie really learn to work together.
Although it will be released post THM, it takes place prior to it. Fiona’s ex returns on the scene, and Rosie immediately recognizes what he’s after. Fiona, though, she’s blind-sided by his charm and seeming sincerity and the little girl he’s brought with him.
Rosie, who’s just found her forever home, realizes in an instant that she needs to get to the truth before he destroys everything she’s worked so hard to find. Not only does she investigate him, but she does it with a group of unlikely allies she finds in her new community of Pineridge Hollow.
I’m also feverishly working on The Fool, which is Book 2 in the series. I’m really hoping to have it released beginning of December as a Christmas novel.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: There is a layer to the Raven-verse that extends beyond the page. Hidden in each book is an Easter egg that can be used to unlock bonus content in a secret corner of my website – The Raven’s Vault.
And for my ARC readers of The Hanged Man, they have an exclusive unlock that relates to Elsie’s discovery at the end of the book. It’s a nail-biter, if I do say so myself.
The whole series has been inspired by the larger architecture of the Major Arcana in the tarot. Twenty-two archetypes exploring the nature, folly, and paragon of humankind around which each story will be built.
The card’s archetype informs everything; the mystery, the villain, the lesson both Fiona and I are wrestling with. It echoes the underlying secrets beneath Pineridge Hollow’s idyllic surface, and it’s much larger than any single murder.
These sub-stories run like dark rivers beneath the forests to emerge unbidden into the light. Fiona, Rosie, and her ragtag bunch of friends are the only things standing against it.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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