From Ballroom Crime Scenes to Expat Insights
Award-winning author Andrea Barton shares the inspiration behind her Jade Riley Mysteries, her international influences, and advice for aspiring writers navigating the thrilling world of crime fiction.
Andrea Barton brings a rare blend of global insight, technical precision, and narrative flair to her writing. An award-winning author and seasoned editor, she is best known for her Jade Riley Mysteries, which deftly entwine amateur sleuthing with the emotional pulse of contemporary life. From the glittering intrigue of ballroom dance halls to the moody streets of Melbourne, Barton’s stories offer readers sharp suspense, complex characters, and a touch of cultural richness drawn from years spent living across continents. In this exclusive interview, Andrea reflects on the inspirations behind her acclaimed novels, the evolution of her courageous protagonist, and how her international experiences have shaped both her fiction and her voice.
Andrea Barton’s fiction pairs page-turning intrigue with emotional depth, earning her acclaim and multiple Literary Titan gold awards.
In ‘The Godfather of Dance’, you intertwine the worlds of ballroom dancing and crime. What inspired you to blend these two seemingly disparate elements?
I have a passion for ballroom dance and love mysteries, so combining the two seemed logical. Dance is a visceral and emotional artform, which lends itself to sensory writing. Crime adds grit. To merge the two story elements, I devised a fictional money laundering scheme that drew the dance studio into a broader criminal scheme.
‘A Killer Among Friends’ shifts the setting to Melbourne, Australia. How does this location influence the narrative, and what made you choose it?
I chose Melbourne, Australia, because it’s my home country. As the city and surrounds are so familiar to me, I could choose a range of settings: a jazz club, cafés, restaurants, the Ellwood pier and south-eastern suburbs. I also gave Jade side trips to Sorrento and the Strathbogie ranges.
Melbourne is Jade’s hometown, too, so setting a book here allowed me to dive deeper into her backstory, family and friendships. The murder victim is one of her close friends, which makes the case deeply personal.
Jade Riley, your protagonist, is a rookie journalist with a knack for solving mysteries. How did you develop her character, and does she draw from any real-life inspirations?
I wanted to create an amateur sleuth, an everyday hero. Jade evolved over many years of writing and trying different aspects of her personality. Even her career changed as I developed her. She was initially a psychologist, but after editing advice, I turned her into a journalist to give her more agency for getting involved in different mysteries over the course of a series.
Jade isn’t based on a specific person, she’s more like the person I’d like to be in terms of her courage and ambition. But she’s not perfect. She has flaws and makes mistakes, at times pushing beyond her capability and drawing herself and others into danger. She’s also dealing with the loss of her best friend, which mirrored the loss of my mother.
Both of your novels have received gold awards from Literary Titan. How has this recognition impacted your writing journey?
More than anything, it allows me to state I’m an ‘award-winning author’, which lends some credibility. It’s hard to gauge how much difference it makes to sales. Are people more likely to buy a book that’s got an award? I hope so.
Your background includes time spent in various countries, such as Nigeria, the USA, and Qatar. How have these experiences influenced the themes and settings of your books?
I’ve written a book set in each country I’ve lived in. They aren’t all published yet, but that is my goal.
I chose the crimes carefully for each setting. In Houston and Australia, I tackled financial crimes; in the Middle East, I looked at workers’ rights; and in Nigeria, I tackled human trafficking. For all, I overlayed universal truths such as motives of sexual jealousy, money and power.
Wach book also explores a theme relating to expat life, real issues I’ve struggled with: finding my feet in a new country, finding my voice, loneliness, repatriation and issues related to following one partner’s career over the other.
You’ve also co-authored anthologies about expatriate life. How does writing non-fiction compare to crafting mystery novels?
I find fiction far more liberating. In non-fiction, you must stick to the facts, which might or might not suit the narrative you have in mind.
Every good story has conflict at its heart. If there isn’t any story-worthy conflict in your life, it’s going to be a boring book. If there is, you need to be willing to expose it to public scrutiny.
Further, if you’re writing about your own life, you’re also writing about friends and family. I’m too worried about offending people to be able to tell the ungilded truth.
Can you share any insights into what readers can expect from Jade Riley’s next adventure?
In The Man in the Dam, Journalist Jade Riley finds a guest dead in a dam the morning after hosting a dinner party in Mansfield, gateway to the Victorian High Country.
The Man in the Dam, was initially slated for release September 2025. Unfortunately, my publisher, Wings ePress, is closing down at the end of 2025, so they aren’t publishing any new works. I’m now back to the drawing board to find a new publisher, who will decide whether to pick up my backlist and continue the series, or to start again and rebadge the next book.
As an award-winning author and fiction editor, what advice would you offer to aspiring writers looking to publish their first mystery novel?
Take writing courses and develop your craft.
Develop a strong protagonist, a cracking crime and multiple suspects. Don’t worry about a series unless the first book takes off. Write book one and while you’re pitching it, start a second standalone mystery. You can always reconstruct it as book two, but it’s easier to have separate books to pitch than a series.
