Final Draft

Great conversations is a look at some of the fantastic authors and writers we feature every week on Final Draft. It’s not always possible to use the full conversation live to air so this is your chance to discover more secrets and hidden gems about the books you love…

Today’s Great Conversation is with M.J. Tjia. M.J. Tjia is the pen name of Mirandi Riwoe and She Be Damned is her debut novel. Emerging from the seeds of her phd thesis exploring the Chinese diaspora in Victorian Era London, She Be Damned is an exciting spin on the detective genre. Mirandi expands her fictional world to create a story both timely in its discussion of sexual power dynamics and gripping in its horror and suspense.

She Be Damned opens on Victorian London in its heyday; as the city expands and the population booms London is a city divided. Society doyens need never bother themselves that women are being brutally killed and mutilated across the river in Waterloo. Heloise Chancey lives with a foot in both worlds. Styling herself a courtesan, she works for her intellectual pleasure as a private detective and is drawn into the gruesome murders when the daughter of a gentleman goes missing. So begins what promises to be a new series exploring the world of Victorian London through the eyes of a fantastic new hero Heloise Chancey. Resisting the weight of expectation that she neither strong enough, nor suitable to the detecting trade, Heloise Chancey defies convention wading headlong into danger.

Mirandi joined Andrew Pople to discuss our enduring fascination with murder in Victorian London and the ways power dynamics play out between men and women.

She Be Damned is out now from Pantera Press

Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople

Looking for more Great Conversations? Check out 2ser.com/final-draft