Today we’re welcoming DEAD BELOW DECK author Jan Gangsei to the blog! Let’s start with learning a bit about you. Tell our readers a bit about yourself. Where you’re from, where you live? Is writing your full-time job?
I grew up in Vermont (though I was born in New Hampshire because the closest hospital to my house was across the Connecticut River!). After college, I worked as a journalist and photographer in northern Vermont, and then landed a job for a resort in Key West, Florida. That’s where I met my husband, a Coast Guard officer who was stationed there. After we got married, we moved several more times—to the DC area, New York City, Barbados, and Vermont. We’re now back in northern Virginia, where I write full time!
How long have you been writing?
Wow, as long as I can remember! I’ve been inventing and entertaining myself with stories since I was a little kid, although I didn’t start seriously pursuing publication until I was an adult (not counting my best efforts to win a statewide writing contest in fourth grade about the misadventures of Fluffy the cat).
What does your typical writing day look like?
Once my family is off to school/work and the dog has been walked, I’ll have some toast and a café con leche and dive into writing (with the dog curled up next to me—and occasionally on me, which complicates matters as he doesn’t make a great table ;). Typically, I’ll draft in the morning while my thoughts are fresh (and the coffee is working its magic!), and then I’ll focus on revision in the afternoon.
Tell us about your latest release? Where the idea came from? Perhaps some fun moments, or not so fun moments?
My newest book, Dead Below Deck, is a YA thriller told in reverse chronological order about a spring break yacht trip that ends (or should I say, begins) with murder. The story was inspired by a cruise my family and I took right before the pandemic hit. It was an amazing trip, and one that wound up being a stark line in the sand between the before Covid-times and after Covid-times. During lockdown, I found myself desperately wishing I could rewind time and be back on a boat in the middle of the ocean, blissfully unaware of what awaited our return. Maggie and Giselle’s story evolved from there.
Who has been the most difficult character for you to write? Why?
Answering this broadly to avoid spoilers! For me, I think the hardest thing—particularly when writing a thriller—is the fact that I grow to like my characters (even the difficult ones!), which makes it hard to kill them off or make them do awful things. That said, I prefer writing morally gray characters—so if it pains me a little to have my antagonist shove someone overboard, then I’m doing what I set out to do!
If you could be one of your characters for a day which character would it be?
I might like to be Giselle for a day, mostly so I could do something positive with her immense wealth that would make the world a better place. Not sure I’d like to be her for more than a day, though, because even though she seems to have everything, at her core she’s a pretty lonely person.
If you could spend the day with your character, what would you do? What would that day look like?
I’d definitely join Vivian on her (off-page) summer trip to France so I could eat all the food, see all the sights (and zip around the cobblestoned streets of Paris with Raphael on his Peugeot—well, if he’s real, of course!).
What’s your take on research and how do you do it?
I think it’s safe to say between my internet searches for Dead Below Deck and Zero Day that I’m on a watchlist (or three ;). But worth it, because I like to get the details of a story right! For Dead Below Deck, I did quite a bit of research online and kept a nautical map bookmarked for reference as I plotted the yacht’s location. I also talked to subject matter experts (aka my Coastie husband for all matters search and rescue!). And, luckily for me, I’ve lived in Key West and Vermont and have visited Nassau and Grand Cayman, so that was helpful when writing scenes in those locations.
Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write?
I grew up reading Judy Blume’s books and Nancy Drew mysteries and have always loved a good thriller. I’m also a sucker for stories that don’t wrap things up with a perfect little bow but leave something open for the reader to interpret. Newland Archer sitting on the bench at the end of The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite book endings ever. I have a number of auto-read authors, as well, including: Ruth Ware, Gillian McAllister, Tana French, Karen McManus, Tiffany Jackson, and Maureen Johnson, to name a few.
Do you have a secret talent readers would be surprised by?
I can wiggle my ears (which is not really a talent and serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever, but apparently only 10-20% of people can do it, and my kids found it hilarious when they were toddlers!)
Your favorite go to drink or food when the world goes crazy!
A grilled Vermont cheddar cheese sandwich on thick-cut sourdough bread with a warm chocolate chip cookie!
What is your writing kryptonite?
Probably my dog, who has a habit of requiring a walk right-this-very-minute whenever I get into a good writing groove. On the plus side, I do get time to brainstorm while he’s busy standing around intently sniffing a single blade of grass for ten minutes…
What is the one question you never get ask at interviews, but wish you did? Ask and answer it.
Nobody’s ever asked me to wiggle my ears (and to be honest, they really don’t need to, either. But if you have a toddler that needs a good laugh, hey, I’m game! ;).
Be warned, I will ask you to wiggle your ears if I catch you at a booksigning! Thank you so much for joining us today, Jan.Â
Reader’s here’s a quick look at Dead Below Deck
When an heiress disappears from her superyacht and security footage shows her getting pushed, the main suspect has to prove her innocence in this thrilling mystery at sea told in reverse chronological order, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Genuine Fraud.
It was supposed to be the best-ever girls’ trip: five days, four friends, one luxury yacht, no parents. But on the final night, as the yacht cruised the deep and dark waters between Florida and Grand Cayman, eighteen-year-old heiress Giselle vanished. She’s nowhere to be found the next morning even after a frantic search, until security footage surfaces . . . showing Maggie pushing her overboard.
But Maggie has no memory of what happened. All she knows is that she woke up with a throbbing headache, thousands of dollars in cash in her safe, a passport that isn’t hers, and Giselle’s diary. And while Maggie had her own reasons to want Giselle dead, so did everyone else on board: jealous Viv, calculating Emi, even some members of the staff.
What really went down on the top deck that night? Maggie will have to work her way backward to uncover the secrets that everyone—even Giselle—kept below deck or she’s dead in the water.
Jan Gangsei crafts a compulsively readable tale of privilege, family, and identity wrapped in a wholly original mystery that will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the final twist.
