Today, I bring you a great interview with author John. J Delaney. A Dangerous Fossil is John’s first novel and features sassy fossil hunter ‘Jurassic’ Jemma Thorne. A tale of discovery, greed and murder set on Dorset’s Jurassic coast. Lets find out more.
Tell me about yourself
I’m a chartered accountant who retired in September 2024 after forty five years with the same firm. I’m married with two grown up children and I love writing, travel and music.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve written since I was eight or so (I still have that first poem!) I started writing seriously in 1999 when, after a speculative approach, I was offered a publishing contract to write plots for boxed murder mystery party games. I wrote ten games for the boxed market and it was great to see my games on the shelves at Toys’R’Us and stores like Hamleys in London.
I wrote another thirty games for the downloadable market and they are all still on sale at www.playmurdermystery.com. It’s amazing that with over 100,000 sales and an average game size of ten players, over a million people have played my games.
I then went on to write three musicals, two of which have been staged. I also co-wrote an opera which gave me a number one on the iTunes classical chart. (This Mortal Man sang by Grace Davidson)
I started the Jurassic Jemma Trilogy in 2021.
What was your favourite book / books as a child?
My favourite books were by Enid Blyton (Secret Seven and Famous Five books) and also books by Gerald Durrell (My Family and Other Animals and Catch me a Colobus)
Are you a plotter or a panster?
Definitely a plotter. If I spend a lot of time working on the plot (using yellow post-its on a large board) I find that the whole writing process flows much easier as I know roughly what should be happening in each chapter. Using post-its means that I can adjust things as I go along.
Tell me about your published titles in The Jurassic Jemma Mystery Series.
In A Dangerous Fossil Jurassic Jemma Thorne and her dog Dino find an incredible fossil on a stormy Dorset beach. She hoped that the find would help save the local museum but it led to a trail of greed, jealousy, theft and murder. As the guilt of her past comes back to haunt her, Jemma has to fight to protect her family and herself. Can she overcome her demons and escape from the danger surrounding her?
In Jurassic Jemma and the Mysteries of Time, Jemma is filming a live episode of The Rock Detectives covering the excavation of a fossilised Spinosaurus on the Isle of Wight. Things don’t go to plan as she makes an unexpected discovery. The find sets off a chain of events that threatens her freedom, her family and her life. Somebody is after revenge. How far will they go to destroy everything that Jemma holds dear?
In Jurassic Jemma and the Trail of Tears, Jemma’s life seems perfect but she doesn’t know what is around the next corner. With a loving husband, two lovely children and a new grandchild, her life is complete but evil is watching from afar with envious eyes.
After one excavation solved an old family mystery, her next discovery ended up with death on a Dorset cliff. Jemma has to embark on an international quest in pursuit of the evil that threatens her family life.
What inspired these books?
The hero of the Jurassic Jemma Trilogy, Jemma Thorne, was inspired by nineteenth century palaeontologist, Mary Anning. She discovered and identified the first ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast but, as she was female and working class, she received little credit for her scientific work until very late in her life. Many of her finds are in the Natural History Museum in London.
I wanted to create a contemporary version of Mary Anning and so Jurassic Jemma came into being as the sassy fossil hunter and university lecturer.
Which one of your characters do you relate to most and why?
That would have to be Jemma for her love of fossils and fossil hunting. In A Dangerous Fossil Jemma is asked why she loves fossil hunting so much. She answers that when you split open a 200 million year old rock and find a fossil inside, you know that you are the first person to ever see it.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
As I have just completed the Jurassic Jemma Trilogy I am taking a break from novel writing and concentrating on some marketing for the series
What’s the best piece of writing advice you have been given?
Get the first draft finished and worry about editing it afterwards.
What writing goals do you have for 2025?
I am planning to go back to song writing. I perform at some local open mic nights and I would like to increase my repertoire of original songs.
A big thank you to John for sharing with us on the blog. What a powerhouse. If you would like to check out John's work, clock on the link below.
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