Jasmine Frame - Impersonator

It has been a challenging year for all of us, but we have striven to carry on the best we can and get through it. Our monthly writing group meetings have moved online via Zoom with members continuing to write stories and poetry to make us laugh, cry and sometimes keep us on the edge of our seats.

One of our members, P R Ellis has just published the fifth in their series of Jasmine Frame detective novels, so if you're pondering about a gift for the bookworm in your life, why not introduce them to Jasmine. To give you an insight of the talented author behind the series read on for my author interview.

When did you write your first book and what’s your advice for novice writers?

It depends a little on what you mean by book. I have always written – mainly SF stories. I wrote my first (unpublished) novella-length story when I was about 20. The first book with my name on it was published in 1990 when I was commissioned to write resources for schools. My first published novel was in 2009 under a pseudonym. I self-published the first Jasmine Frame detective novel, Painted Ladies, in 2013 and the latest, Impersonator, is the fifth in the series. I have also had four fantasy novels published by Elsewhen.

My advice would be the same as I have read and heard: Just write. Anything. If you want it published you must edit and polish, have endless patience but never give up. Oh, and read.

Which author has been the biggest influence on your own writing and why?

Difficult to say. There are a huge number of authors (mainly of SF) that I enjoy reading and admire and envy. They have all probably influenced my likes and possibly my style but I am not conscious of following any one in particular. However, I would point to Iain (M) Banks as my greatest hero as he was able to be successful in both literary fiction and SF. I admire his imagination and skill in writing.

Where did you get the inspiration for Jasmine Frame and your latest novel?

I started writing about Jasmine in 2001 although didn’t start writing Painted Ladies until about 2005. In 2001 I was working as a freelance educational writer (and teaching part-time) but decided I wanted to write fiction seriously too. For some reason I decided not to attempt SF even though it was my greatest love. I had read some crime and decided that was the genre to enter. At the time I was exploring my own gender (that’s the short explanation) and had just come out as trans to my wife. Having done a lot of research about transgender I decided that my character should be trans although not the victim. So Jasmine Frame was created. The first novel was set at an early stage in her transition (she is living full-time as female and just starting to take hormones). I realised that her transition would take years and that I could have a series on my hands. I did a brief outline of four sequels in which Jasmine moved on a stage in each and had a case to solve. In Impersonator I have reached the end of that original list and Jasmine has finished (?) her transition. Jasmine is not me, she’s younger and more attractive for a start. I have never wanted to go through the medical and surgical procedures that Jasmine desired. Jasmine is a transwoman. I have discovered, I am non-binary with elements of male and female in my identity.

Do you draw from real life people to develop your characters or do you create them to fit the storyline?

I create my characters for the story. I don’t think I base them on real people but of course they have traits which real people may display. There is a bit of an exception in Impersonator. A main character is a female impersonator. I did quite a bit of research into Danny La Rue to work out who my character, Kitty La Belle, was, but they don’t share personalities.

Have you got any background related to the police and if not how do you research something like that?

I have done voluntary work with the police since 2012, but had no contact with the police when I started writing about Jasmine. I did not want to write a “police procedural” and did not want to get tied up in police jargon and methods. Nevertheless, I hope there is nothing glaringly inaccurate. My only research has been watching crime/detective shows on TV and reading some novels. I think Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse) had the same policy, not that I claim to match his ability. I think a novel based totally on police work would be very long and boring.

Do you feature locations that are familiar to you or do prefer to make them up?

When I started writing about Jasmine I was living in Newbury so that is where I set the stories. I couldn’t decide whether it should be a real setting like Morse’s Oxford or fictional like Midsommer. I have ended up with a compromise. I call Newbury, Kintbridge, and have changed the names of streets and locations in the town. Nevertheless all the places exist. However, Newbury town centre changed after I left in 2009 but Kintbridge hasn’t. Of the other places in the books, some are real (names unchanged) and some are made up but based on real places. I consult maps and Google Streetview quite a lot. I chose the house that Jasmine shared with Viv from houses for sale in Newbury at the time.

Do you think there is a lack of diversity in characters in mainstream books?

Yes, but there is a lot of discussion/argument about whether authors are permitted to write characters outside their own experience; should men write as women, should a white person write as a black character. I think the argument is nonsense – a writer writes what’s in their head and they can do as much or as little research as they like. If what they have written does not read well (is inaccurate or implausible, sexist or racist) then people can say so or ignore it.

There has been an increasing trend for authors to write trans characters without understanding much about what it involves. I haven’t come across many characters which I think are realistic. To often they are just cardboard victims.

Are you planning another book in the series?

When I finished Impersonator, I thought that was it. I had achieved what I set out to do. But I didn’t kill Jasmine off and left her with her life ahead of her. Some people have said she must continue. I don’t intend self-publishing any more books (it costs too much to do it properly). If a publisher came to me wanting to pick up the titles I could be persuaded to carry on. In fact an inkling of a plot has come to me. . .

Kitty La Belle was the most famous and highly paid female impersonator of his generation, but his generation had passed decades ago. So, why was he receiving death threats now?

Jasmine Frame is leading the life of a housewife, her transition complete, but something is missing. Would a new pair of breasts make up for the lack of a career or was there a different solution? When her former buddy, DI Shepherd, invites her to investigate Kitty La Belle’s threatening mail, Jasmine finds that her life changes, and Kitty’s does too.

Impersonator is a stand-alone episode in the life story of transsexual detective Jasmine Frame. The events take place over a year after her last case, told in Molly’s Boudoir.

The complete series of Jasmine Frame novels are available on kindle. Impersonator is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle for £2.99 - https://buff.ly/347Co4h

Paperback copies are available directly from P R Ellis for £9.99 including post and packing and orders can be placed by contacting via paintedladiesnovel@btinternet.com