An Interview with author Patricia Sargeant
Interviewed by Jina DuVernay
You can learn more about Patricia Sargeant at https://patriciasargeant.com/
Immersed in yet another rabbit hole while Googling Mahogany, the Black movie content arm of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised to have stumbled upon a promotion for Patricia Sargeant’s latest book sequel, Murder Out of Character: A Peach Coast Library Mystery. The Peach Coast series is about Marvey, a Black New Yorker who has moved to a small town in Georgia for her new librarian job. Marvey, who is no stranger to research, uses her skills to find out whodunit!
Jina
Thank you so much for speaking with WOC+lib!
Patricia
Thank you so much for your invitation and for your interest in my work. I’m honored.
Jina
You write cozy mysteries as well as romance novels. Can you tell our readers what makes a mystery cozy?
Patricia
This is an excellent question. LOL! As you’ve probably noticed, the publishing industry thinks everyone understands our terminology. Just because we eat, sleep and breathe it doesn’t mean everyone else does as well. Ha! Mysteries that do not include descriptions of sex or violence are considered cozies. These stories also are devoid of spicy language, including the words that rhyme with “hitch,” “spam” and “swell.” Popular examples of cozy mysteries include the TV shows Father Brown and Murder, She Wrote. Agatha Christie and Barbara Neely are two of the better-known cozy mystery authors.
Jina
I was intrigued to recently learn of your Peach Coast Library Mysteries series! Murder by Page One: A Peach Coast Library Mystery, is book one in the series that you have authored under the pseudonym Olivia Matthews. In it your Black woman protagonist is a librarian! Please tell us what inspired this character, particularly her profession?
Patricia
I love libraries. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Libraries helped me find joy in learning. However, over the years, I’ve realized a lot of people don’t understand the value libraries bring to communities. The books, periodicals, and DVDs libraries make available are invaluable. But as you know, library services go far beyond lending materials. During the pandemic, communities received free tests and face masks from libraries. Libraries offer students homework help and adults job search assistance. Around elections, libraries offer nonpartisan information on ballet issues. During tax season, they offer free tax forms and instruction booklets. Some libraries have social workers on staff to assist community members in need. The list of services community libraries offer is so very long. I wanted to use my Peach Coast Library Mysteries to help promote these services and to encourage people to support their local libraries not just with donations of money and material, but also by using library services to demonstrate their support to public officials who set libraries’ budgets.
Jina
What would you say is the main difference between your romance protagonists and your mystery protagonists? Would you say that the mystery genre allows Black women characters to show a range that they do not often display in other genres?
Patricia
That’s an excellent question. I believe it depends on the author. I believe, regardless of the genre—mystery, romance, science-fiction/fantasy, whatever—the characters and the situations into which they’re placed, is a reflection of the author. Some romance authors put their protagonists through the wringer. They go through some stuff before they get to their happily-ever-after. Conversely, some mystery authors seem to go for the easy out. It’s almost as though they’re wary of challenging their protagonists.
Regardless of whether I’m writing romance or mystery, I drag my protagonists to the edge before I help them back to safety. But as you’ve pointed out, romance and mystery use different tools to challenge characters. In mysteries, for example, protagonists go against flesh-and-blood villains. In my romances, my protagonists confront inner demons (distrust, insecurity, fear).
Jina
One more question, will there be a third book in the Peach Coast Library Mysteries series?
Patricia
Oh, Jina. I’m heartbroken to say there won’t be a third book in the Peach Coast Library Mystery series. Earlier in October, Hallmark Publishing announced it will be closing. In light of that, they canceled the contract to my third book. I really wanted to write this story. I’d titled it Murder Under a Pen Name. In this plot, Marvey’s being framed for murder. Perhaps if I get the rights back to the series, I could still write it. Fingers crossed!
Jina
Fingers crossed!
You can learn more about Patricia Sargeant at https://patriciasargeant.com/