Today I’m thrilled to have a guest post from Jennifer Young, author of The Running Lie. It’s second in an historical thriller series featuring archaeologist Max Falkland.
Exciting news! Mark your calendars now, because Jennifer Young will be holding an online launch party at 6pm BST on 13th of May on Zoom. Here’s the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rIRvPRPKTZC1laB8AXfOAA
Music in The Running Lie
Listening to music from the correct time period is hugely important to my writing process. When I wrote the first novel in the series, I listened to Rosemary Clooney’s ‘Tenderly’ over and over to get into a key scene, which helped me develop the characters. However, the accuracy of the period details are also important to me. So when I realised Rosemary Clooney released that EP in the UK much later than in the US, I had Max’s grandmother post it to her from New York.
For The Running Lie, I had a party scene which needed music. I started with Dean Martin – partly because his album A Winter Wonderland formed a huge part of my childhood Christmases! I found that ‘All of Me’ came out in the mid 40s, so they definitely would have had it in 1952. It became the first track Max hears at the party. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0RdLYqJ45I)
For John and Max’s first dance, I chose to reuse ‘Someone to Watch over Me’ by Ella Fitzgerald from Cold Crash. It had played when John asked Max out for the first time, so it seemed appropriate to have it play again. Ella Sings Gershwin came out in 1950, so it was definitely an album both Max and Emma would own. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEeAOTIQ2c)
I spent a lot of time at the British Library looking at period publications. I loved delving into What’s on in London, a weekly listings publication, somewhat like today’s Time Out. I found that in May 1952, four singles were released from Singin’ in the Rain. I decided Max would buy MGM 490, which had ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ) as the A side and Gene Kelly singing ‘All I Do Is Dream of You’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sYhiK_Lt3Q) as the B side. As it is one of my favourite films, I would have loved to have Max go see it at the cinema, but it was released in April, which was too early for The Running Lie.
If you are interested in music related to my first novel, Cold Crash, you might enjoy this Spotify play list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/24H6XcEtKBKRRpxIfiJQUC?si=VJ2hH8e_REmMDCUNTeiTqQ
About The Running Lie
In Cold Crash, when archaeologist Max Falkland, the Anglo-American daughter of a British peer, meets American John Knox in London in April 1952, her already troubled life takes on mystery.
As the Cold War thriller progresses, Max finds herself in increasing danger, but three weeks after the events of Cold Crash, the point at which The Running Lie begins, Max has found an archaeological dig in London and John Knox has entered her life. But even now, can he be trusted?
Max encounters both skulls and sexism on the dig site at the bombed out shell of St. Bride’s Church in London. A family request sends her to the Berlin International Film Festival, away from the dig and her growing relationship with John Knox. But after she sees John in Berlin with another woman, Max forces him to confess he is an American spy. When his current case collides with her family life, Max has to find a way to navigate layers of lies. As fireworks explode for the Fourth of July party, Max must make a dangerous choice if she wants to save both John and her family. The Running Lie is a page-turning Cold War spy thriller that reboots old school cloak and dagger Max Falkland is the James Bond of the 21st Century. (from Amazon’s blurb of The Running Lie)
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About Jennifer Young
Young was born in a small textile town in North Carolina, USA, and moved to the UK in 2001. She has since completed a PhD, become the daughter-in-law of a Catholic priest, and gained British citizenship. Her degrees are from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Cardiff University and the University of Southampton. She is the Head of Writing and Journalism at the University of Falmouth. Jennifer lives in Cornwall with her daughter. Her novel Cold Crash won the Cinnamon Press Debut Novel Prize. Follow Jennifer at www.maxfalkland.com
Twitter @maxfalkland
Facebook: ArchaeologyandEspionage
Instagram: maxfalkland
Buy the book!
Amazon UK: Amazon UK
Amazon US: Amazon US
The Telegraph Bookshop: The Telegraph Bookshop
Cinnamon Press: CinnamonPress.com
Waterstones: Waterstones.com