MYSTERY AUTHOR FRANCES SCHOONMAKER ON DEVELOPING A MIDDLE GRADE HISTORICAL FANTASY MYSTERY

Old Shep

A former classroom teacher, Frances Schoonmaker is Professor Emerita from Teachers College, Columbia University. The Last Crystal, the third book in her The Last Crystal Trilogy, won the 2019 Agatha for Best Middle School/Young Adult Mystery. Learn more about Frances and her books at her website.  

Years ago, an uncle told how he and his little brother made a Kansas City to Sacramento train trip every summer to visit grandparents—alone. Their father worked for the railroad. It was an affordable way to keep the family close. The idea captured my imagination. What kind of mischief might two boys get into on a train trip? Who kept an eye on them? What if the train broke down? What if…?

I had the beginnings of a story. Still, it didn’t seem fair for two boys to have all the fun. I knew that if there were two boys, there had to be two girls.

The busy life of wife, mother, elementary school teacher, and graduate student took precedence over writing. By the time I retired, I knew the story was to be a wilderness quest with room for facts, fantasy, and mystery. I wanted the four children to be real, ordinary kids, not superheroes. Intuitively, I wanted them to learn that one can act heroically while shaking in their boots and that sometimes you do what has to be done because it’s right, not because you think you can do it or have any chance of accomplishing it. I wanted the least likely of the characters to step up to the challenges they faced, too. 

After more than a dozen years as an elementary school teacher and another dozen plus as a teacher educator, I know a lot about kids. Circumstances change, but people are driven by needs and wants that have existed since the beginning of time. So I planted four children I barely knew into my quest, starting on the famous Santa Fe Chief a couple of years after the outbreak of World War II. 

I gave the eldest a family name. From that moment, I knew J.D. would be the standard bearer. He’d protect, lead, and keep the others from giving up hope. Mary Carol emerged as a caregiver, responsible, an organizer, imaginative, and bossy. Robert developed with the contents of his rucksack. They needed the rucksack if they were to survive in the wilderness. So Robert became a kid who is always prepared. He has all the answers because he’s read about the questions. From the first, Grace was the kind of protected, manipulative, darling little girl you’d like to give a good smack. 

Underlying the events that shape the lives of the four children, is a struggle between immortal twins C’lestin and Celeste, charged with care of seven crystals set aside for the care and healing of the earth. Forfeiting her immortality to be the most beautiful woman who has ever lived, Celeste steals the crystals and uses them to sustain herself, down to the last one. Leave it to say that their development made me realize that when I finished The Last Crystal, I wasn’t done.

I kept wondering how the last crystal came to be where it was. Why were these particular children on a quest for it? Again, context led my characters. The children start out on the Santa Fe Chief train. What if the quest actually began on the Santa Fe Trail a hundred years earlier with another Grace, protected, privileged, probably equally bratty? Before I finished answering back-story questions, I had The Last Crystal Trilogy.

I didn’t follow a story formula or make a chart of protagonist, antagonist, and secondary characters. I created an evolving time line with settings as close to real as possible, meeting characters along the way. “Who?” “How come?” and “What if?” drove me. Some characters changed as I refined the story. Old Shep is a good example.

Old Shep was Grace Willis’s faithful dog on the Santa Fe Trail. The fourth and fifth graders in schools where I piloted The Black Alabaster Box fell in love with him. They didn’t love my switch from trail life to quest. Thankfully, they were still engrossed in the story. I realized they needed advance notice that magic was afoot. Old Shep was promoted to time traveler, mysteriously appearing in chapter one of The Black Alabaster Boxwith an important role in The Red Abalone Shell. I couldn’t leave him out of book three. I had to find a place for him.

All this is to say that in The Last Crystal Trilogy, character development was a messy, recursive process where circumstance and characters interacted to tell a story.

  

The Last Crystal

The Last Crystal Trilogy, Book 3

When they board the Santa Fe Chief in Kansas City, bound for L.A., the four Harrison children have never heard of the Last Crystal or the magic surrounding it. They are concerned about their father, who has been injured in World War II, and dread having to stay with their boring, old Uncle James. But before the train is half way to L.A., J.D., Mary Carol, Robert, and Grace discover that staying with their Uncle James is the least of their worries. They cross paths with a Nazi spy. One of them is kidnapped. Then, without warning, the four find themselves off the train, magically drawn into a quest for the Last Crystal. To get home again, they must cross two thousand miles of wilderness and find the Crystal with nothing to guide them but their wits, each other, and an old map that only the youngest can read. 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--ROMANCE AUTHOR CATHLEEN ROSS ON ARRANGED MARRIAGES OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Multi-award-winning romance author, English teacher, and editor Cathleen Ross describes herself as a quirky writer living on Sydney Harbor who often gives psychic predictions to family and friends. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

When I started my research for An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord, I read an excellent biography on Mary Wollstonecraft by Claire Tomalin and Mary’s own book, The Vindication of the Rights of Women. Although Mary Wollstonecraft passed away in 1797, both books helped me prepare for the mindset of being a woman in Regency times in 1811 in Scotland. Women had to toe the line in Regency times to be marriageable or risk being shunned socially. Arranged marriage was still the norm for wealthy aristocrats in order to keep property in the family.

Against this backdrop, I developed a heroine from an ancient Scottish line, whose father had passed away and who had enough money and independence to do what she wanted—an usual lady for the times. 

Lady Crystal Wilding is appalled by the lack of education for women in Scotland. Read between the lines here—I was appalled—most working class and lower middle class women couldn’t sign their own names on their marriage certificates, one of the most important days of their lives.

Lady Crystal sets about to change this, but she needs allies, which she finds in Lord Aaron Lyle, Marquis of Lomond. Aaron is in a difficult position, too. His father, the duke, is building the family seat and including every new innovation possible—something that will eventually bankrupt the family unless Aaron marries well.

I worked for an organization when I was younger and most of the adult students I interviewed were in arranged marriages. It’s hard to believe that this is still going on in modern times. Most of the women I interviewed said that they didn’t like their husbands, though it isn’t something that they would say publicly. Imagine that! Their comments have stayed with me, so it was easy to imagine the loathing that men and women must have felt when forced into marriage with someone they didn’t like in order to keep property in the family.

Something that is almost unimaginable today is that in Regency times, when a woman married, everything she had became the property of her husband. It seems to me that women had everything to lose and nothing to gain by marrying. This certainly is the attitude of Lady Crystal and it makes for an explosive, passionate book.

I hope you will enjoy reading An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord. 

An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord 

A Scottish Lords and Ladies Book

Lord Aaron Lyle has one hell of a choice: a bankrupt dukedom, or marriage to some simpering society miss so his spendthrift father can get his hands on her huge dowry. He won’t do it. He has a reputation to maintain, and besides, he’d rather run naked through the streets of London than marry anyone at all. Surely, there must be a third option.

Then Lady Crystal Wilding walks into his life, a bluestocking, full of subversive thoughts, who hates the notion of marriage even more than he does. He is intrigued...and suddenly he has an idea. He invites the totally unsuitable lady home on the pretext of presenting her as a possible match...but in truth, Aaron has something far more pleasurable in mind. For her part, Lady Crystal has her own reasons for going along with his harebrained scheme. 

Imagine their shock when his highly proper family loves her and starts planning the wedding. Good lord. Now what?

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AN INTERVIEW WITH ROMANCE AND YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR ASHLYN CHASE/ELISABETH LOROW

Today we sit down for a chat with adult contemporary, light paranormal romance author Ashlyn Chase, who also writes young adult or magical realism as Elisabeth or EB Lorow. Learn more about Ashlyn and Elizabeth and their books at their respective websites.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

I prefer writing novellas, but I’ve had to write longer to satisfy print demands. That’s not what you asked, is it? Okay, I came to writing later in life. I went to art school, nursing school, and didn’t begin writing seriously until I took a screenwriting course in the late nineteen nineties.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication? 

From dabbling to epublishing, about three years. From there to traditional publishing with advances, another four years.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? 

Hybrid. I'll admit, it's easier to let a publisher take care of all the details and put their money on the line, but it's becoming harder and harder to get those contracts now. Covid 19 has negatively impacted the print publishing world. Big time.

Where do you write? 

I dictate my books on a handheld recorder with a background noise-canceling feature, so the answer is: Anywhere! When the weather is nice, I like to dictate on my balcony while I gaze at the ocean. 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind? 

Silence--or the sound of the waves only, so I can hear the voices in my head.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular? 

I believe it was Thomas Wolfe who said, “Every novel is an autobiography.” I get that. But sex with vampires and werewolves? Um, no. My characters are never based on real people…unless maybe subconsciously. They come straight out of my imagination.

Describe your process for naming your character?

Mostly I just let a name come to me. (If you haven’t noticed yet, I let my muse do a lot of the work.) I try not to duplicate names. If I come up with a name that isn’t right, the character lets me know. Names come with a personality, especially first names and nicknames. I’ll change the name until I get the right personality. Speaking of that, my young adult pen name was wrong, so I changed it from Liz to Elisabeth or EB Lorow. It just didn't 'feel right' before.

Real settings or fictional towns? 

Real. That’s one of the reasons I like Magical Realism. Previously I set a lot of books in Boston. Sometimes my characters travel, mostly to the Caribbean. I’ve spent a lot of time in both places. 

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

My nursing days have provided me with loads of health challenges for my main characters, but if you’re talking about something just plain weird, one of my secondary characters in the Strange Neighbors series, Nathan, a shapeshifting Raven, admitted he had a thing for women's armpits.

What’s your quirkiest quirk? 

Ha! I should have seen that one coming, but I didn’t. Okay, let me think… I love the ocean, but I won’t swim in it—ever since watching the TV show Dexter. 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

Outlander. Because…Outlander!

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

Not to marry my first husband. I’m glad I have his daughter, but I wouldn’t have married nor lived with him. 

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

People making fun of my accent. Yes, I have a Boston accent. Sheesh! It’s not that funny. There are nine dialects of Boston accent, and I was lucky enough to get one of the classier ones. What drives me nuts is when someone (not from New England) comes right up to my face and announces “Wicked Pissah,” like I would ever say that. Ugh. Never have I uttered those words and I never will. 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

A library, a fully stocked restaurant with electricity, and a Genie.  

What was the worst job you’ve ever held? 

Waitress at a French restaurant chain in Boston. La Crepe. We called it Le Crap. 

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

The Big Book of AA. No explanation needed (I hope.)

Ocean or mountains?

If I can’t have both, Ocean wins. 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

Small walking city. 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I wish I knew. Or not. That would take the excitement and adventure out of life. But there is one thing… I'm giving all my royalties to my daughter. She picked this really unfortunate time to start her own small business… And I can write for the joy of writing again. Trying to sell, sell, sell really gets in the way!

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I started writing erotic romance, so my early stuff is hot. I removed one or two nasty words and I was mainstream enough to be traditionally published. Now that I’m writing YA as Liz Lorow, there’s no sex. You can find your comfortable heat level whatever that may be. 

The best way to keep updated on my career is to sign up for my newsletters. I hold giveaways and contests for my subscribers. Find links at my websites.  

Don't Mess With This Witch 

The Witches You Were Warned About Series, Book 1

Teen witches in magical juvie, because they really messed up!

Genevieve Howe, a 16 year-old witch, is not a bad kid, she’s just a really lousy witch. Sometimes her random thoughts unintentionally turn into actual spells, causing all kinds of trouble.

Now the administration needs Genevieve’s help to find a student/inmate who escaped. Why her? Because even though there’s something ‘wrong’ with Genevieve, she seems to be able to do what others can’t. If she can find Logan, will she turn him in, join him on the run, or find some other way to help without violating the code of honor among magical misfits?

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR CAMILLE MINICHINO/ELIZABETH LOGAN COOKS UP CHERRY CHEESECAKE MOUSE AND A NEW MYSTERY SERIES

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace aka Ada Madison aka Jean Flowers aka Elizabeth Logan) is a retired physicist. When her inspections of commercial nuclear plants post-Three Mile Island became boring, and her book on nuclear waste management wasn’t very popular, she turned to writing mysteries. She’s the author of twenty-eight mystery novels, plus many short stories and articles. Her latest series, written as Elizabeth Logan, is the Alaskan Diner Mysteries. Learn more about Camille, her nom de plumes, and all their books at her website. 

Moose and Mousse and Murder

Culinary mysteries abound, and there’s reading pleasure for every taste. What’s your addiction? Chocolate? Soup? TexMex? Tea? Donuts? Did I mention chocolate? Or how about cherry cheesecake mousse, the recipe I offer here.

Let’s face it, cozy mystery sleuths have time to eat and drink. Sure, they typically solve a mystery in about a week, but in general they’re not rushing to abort the assassination of a world leader or keep greater Los Angeles from falling into the Pacific. Can you imagine an action hero in a cave, ready to face an army of villains, pulling a spinach and cheese soufflé out of the oven? Or stopping at an outdoor café to order a double espresso or herbal strawberry tea?

 But cozies, or traditional whodunits, are designed for comfort, with nothing too graphic to deal with. Simply give the sleuths a good puzzle to figure out, snack break, and justice for all in the end.

  

Sophia Loren, nee Scicolone, said, "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." I doubt it. Not with that body, but let’s humor her.

 Food and drink are the writer's friends, setting-wise. They hit all the senses and immediately establish the ambience. We feel the textures in a mouthful of cracker and avocado dip, see the array of colors in a fruit salad, breathe in the aroma of fresh baked bread, and taste everything. We can hear the bubbles of sparkling water and the sizzle of a burger on the grill. A few food words—coffee and an almond bear claw, French toast with thick multi-berry syrup—and we've got the reader salivating.

Menu choices are also a giveaway device to identify characters. We build expectations about the person who orders the shrimp salad as a main course vs. the one who craves a steak and baked potato. In life, the same person may enjoy both at different times. But in fiction, it works better to nail down a food trope.

I did my first protagonist, Gloria Lamerino, a favor by giving her a love of garlic. I’m allergic to it and fortunately, don’t like the taste. All my life I’ve had to answer the question, "How can you be Italian and not like garlic?"

In my defense, I've come up with Italian G words that I do love: Galileo, Ghirlandaio, Ghirardelli, Gilda in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, maybe even Garibaldi. (But not Garofalo, though I think she'd be great as Gloria in the movie version I've dreamed up.)

There also seem to be gender roles with regard to food in books and movies. Men make pancakes; women make salad. Men carry six-packs home from grocery shopping; women have a baguette sticking out of the bag. Men take a big bite out of a donut; women pick off a few molecules of a muffin or a mini-sip from a pan of sauce and utter "Mmm." And of course, with some celebrity exceptions: men are chefs; women cook.

The mousse in the photo, however, was made by two women, me and a good friend. Only one of us really knows how to cook. I’ll let you guess which one.

Cherry Cheesecake Mousse

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh pitted sweet cherries, fresh or frozen   

1-1⁄2 tsp unflavored gelatin

8-oz. package cream cheese 

1⁄2 C powdered sugar

4 oz. white chocolate baking squares, melted

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 C heavy whipping cream

Chop cherries in food processor or blender. Pour into saucepan; stir in gelatin. Let stand for 1 minute. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until gelatin is dissolved. 

Pour into bowl. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.

In separate bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, melted chocolate, and vanilla. Fold in cherry mixture. 

Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipping cream into the cherry-cream cheese mixture. Pour into large dessert bowl or separate dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate about 3 hours, or until set.

Mousse and Murder

Alaskan Diner Mystery, Book 1

 A young chef bites off more than she can chew when she returns to her Alaskan hometown to take over her parents’ diner. 

When Chef Charlotte “Charlie” Cooke was offered the chance to leave San Francisco and return home to Elkview, Alaska, and take over her mother’s diner, she didn’t even consider saying no. For the past year, she’s built a comfortable existence, spending her days making sure the restaurant runs smoothly and that her cat, Eggs Benedict, is appropriately pampered. But soon life at the diner starts feeling a little one-note. 

Determined to bring fresh life and flavors to the Bear Claw Diner, Charlie starts planning changes to the menu, which has grown stale over the years. But her plans are fried when her head chef Oliver turns up dead after a bitter and public fight over Charlie’s ideas—leaving Charlie as the prime suspect.

With her career, freedom, and life all on thin ice, Charlie must find out who the real killer is, before it’s too late.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH SPENCER KINGSLEY FROM ROMANCE AUTHOR LAURA HALEY-McNEIL'S BEAUMONT BRIDES SERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Spencer Kingsley from Laura Haley-McNeil’s Beaumont Brides series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings? Uncomplicated. I’m the heir to Hollywood Royalty, so the doors open wide for me. Though I worked hard, my career was set―choice of scripts, top billing in every film. Nothing was missing. 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself? 

I like people. I like being around people and I like helping people. Hollywood can be a great place to meet and be with people. My life is good. Why not share it with others? If I can give someone a boost in their career, that’s a good feeling. Being a Kingsley means I didn’t have to struggle through the ranks like most who come to Hollywood, so why not open the doors for someone who has the talent, but just needs a break?

What do you like least about yourself? 

My reputation for helping others is far and wide and some people take advantage. I learned the hard way that not everyone sees past my pedigree. My first love was on that list. I had thought we’d marry start a family, but she had other ideas. That’s when I built that wall around my heart. Now relationships are strictly a business deal. Wish I remembered that when background actor Addison Duvall walked onto the set. I knew she was trouble and the walls went up. Funny how she knew what she wanted and how to get it. Even funnier, unlike other women, her plan didn’t include me.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you? 

I have to set my grandmother straight. During her Hollywood heyday, Mirabelle La Marr Kingsley was once America’s Sweetheart. That doesn’t mean she’s a guru when it comes to love. I’m careful and my life is exactly what I want it to be. When I’m on location in Mozambique and the set is rained out, who suddenly wants to video chat with me and let me know Addison’s latest social postings? I didn’t put 15,000 miles between Addison and me for nothing. But leave it to Gran to teach me technology can make me want the woman I successfully put out of my mind … and heart. If I hadn’t seen Addison, I’d be fine.

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about? 

I had everything figured out until Addison appeared on the scene. She wasn’t like the other women. She came to Hollywood with her musical laugh, her bouncy enthusiasm and her forthrightness. She speaks her mind, no matter the consequences. I kind of like that … a lot. 

What is your greatest fear? 

When I realized I had it all―a great career, a beautiful woman on my arm when the cameras click, the mansion on the hill. Is that all there is? What about sharing what I have with someone else? And not just anyone. I know there are plenty of women out there who would gladly share my life, but if I share it with someone else, it has to be with someone special. Whenever I think that, I see Addison’s bright face, smell her subtle scent and hear her delightful laugh. What if I spend the rest of my life without Addison being a part of it? Can I be happy with just things? I may have to try.

What makes you happy? 

Did I know true happiness before Addison walked onto the set? I had a great life. I was about to announce my engagement to supermodel Daisy. I was the envy of everyone in town, but what is that warmth rising in my chest whenever I’m near Addison? I knew being married to just anyone wouldn’t make me happy. That’s why I avoided marriage. When I’m with Addison, pure joy washes over me like waves on the beach. 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why? 

That night Addison and I strolled along the beach. I knew what I felt for her, but I couldn’t deny the past. Another woman had made me happy, but when she had attained the fame she sought, she moved on. If I answered the yearning in my heart, and let Addison inside, what would be the risk? She wanted a career and I’ve known what women who want to be stars can do. If I hadn’t walked away that night, I’d open myself up to pain. I promised myself I’d never do that again. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why? 

Gran thinks that everyone should be as happy as she was when Pop was alive. She doesn’t understand that was a different time, back when there was innocence in Hollywood and true love wasn’t just a happily ever after ending in one of her films. Times have changed. Try telling that to a Hollywood legend. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why? 

Gran knew pure happiness. She and Pop adored each other. Even after fifty years together, they still flirted and laughed like a young couple in love. Their love endured all the heartache Hollywood dished out, but they devoted themselves to each other and their children. I’ve never seen a happier couple.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog? 

Laura Haley-McNeil has two books scheduled for later this year. The Billionaire’s Christmas Gift is Book 1 in the Christmas Billionaires Series. Then it’s back to the Crystal Creek Ranch with Book 8 and a chance to meet Josh and Lily and get a taste of the rodeo circuit. Catch up with Laura at her website. 

What's next for you? 

Addison’s blended family always has something going on. Her five sisters and six stepbrothers are setting off to make their mark in the world, but sometimes the best laid plans have a way of letting you know they aren’t that great. Try as the Duvalls and Lowes might, they can’t seem to avoid that crazy little thing called love. Keep an eye out for Book 4. Logan’s about to discover his getaway vacation takes him on a trip that was definitely not on his agenda.

Call It Love

Beaumont Brides, Book 3

A kiss isn’t just a kiss …

Struggling actress Addison Duvall hustles background acting jobs at the Hollywood studios in hopes for her big break. When she’s cast as the stand in for the lead actress in a blockbuster spy film, she can’t believe her luck. The surprises rush in―her first test shot is with Hollywood heartthrob Spencer Kingsley. Her even bigger surprise is when the director yells, “Action!”  and Spencer presses his lips to hers in a kiss.

Behind Spencer’s Hollywood façade hides the secret pain no one suspects. He’s the first to take a risk except when it comes to his heart. He can’t deny he and Addison have chemistry―chemistry onscreen and off―and he’s  tempted to lower his guard. She seems real, not like the women he usually meets. 

Once Addison’s star rises, so do Spencer’s doubts. She’s no different than the others looking for the connection to catapult their careers. He won’t let another woman damage his heart. His decision made, Spencer wishes her success. 

But it’s already too late. How does he heal this Addison shaped hole in his heart? Should he risk more heartbreak for another chance at love?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR MAGGIE TOUSSAINT ASKS IF WRITING IS ART OR SCIENCE

Somehow Maggie Toussaint survived her Mary Poppins reenactment of jumping off the carport with an umbrella and of riding horses in sleeping bags as a preteen. She applied her acrobatic skills to mystery writing and has been juggling plots ever since. A friend to animals, Maggie’s motto is  “Seas the Day,” which is coincidentally the title of her newest culinary cozy release. This book demanded to be written after the “Trouble with Horses” appeared in the Trouble with Cupid short story anthology. Learn more about Maggie and her books at her website. 

Is Writing an Art or a Science?

Welcome, everyone. I hope you’re staying safe from the virus and encouraging your loves ones to do the same. Seems like more and more of my time is dedicated to survival tactics. I, for one, am thankful for stores that have hours just for seniors early in the morning.

With that said, the weight of the pandemic is hard to escape, even if you have a book to write or to launch. I’ve been focusing on completing a list of tasks each day because that helps me stay on track. I hope you’ve found ways to deal with any stress our global situation may be causing you.

So, on to my topic for the day. It is always a heated discussion when writers who go strictly by an outline meet up with writers who go with the flow to discuss plotting. Each is sure there way is great, and it is to them.

Not all writers are alike, same thing for readers. We need the space and freedom to do things our way and in our own good time. My personal journey led me to combine the two methods, though I have written using both styles of plotting before.

It worried me that my composition style changed, but I’ve changed. I’m not the same person I was in the 1990s when I was first starting out. Further, the world has changed in 25 years. So I want to reach out to others who worry about change in any aspect of their life and encourage you to re-navigate how you do things. I’ve had to do that often in my writing career.

For me, I need a framework to have that sense of structure and purpose, but I also need the freedom to let scenes and characters go where they may. In that way, writing is both an art and a science to me.

I’ve always been drawn to creative projects, and yes, I still own a big box of crayons (for my grandkids is what I tell everyone). Arts and crafts are a lifelong hobby of mine, and I’ve enjoyed embroidery, counted cross stitch, sewing clothes, reupholstering chairs, and more in the Fabric Arts category. My collection of gel pens for adult coloring keeps calling my name, so I need to get those out again. My grandkids love to do arts and crafts, too. Last year we made tie-dyed shirts, and that was so much fun.

Music is another favorite means of self-expression for me. I sing in a church choir and occasionally play my guitar. I love music almost as much as I love reading and writing. So now we’re back to the Literary Arts. I love it when an author’s style rises above the pages and stays with me. When that happens, I know the author is a true literary artist.

The scientist in me always tries to analyze how they achieved that effect. I often reread books and try to take the craft apart. It always works out that the sum is greater than the whole, as in no matter how you break it down, you can’t treat it like a scientific experiment because often the “it” factor is the art of how the author used their words.

So for me, writing is both an art and a science; further, in looking at how I manage each day, I see a similar pattern. I have a to-do list but it doesn’t matter how and when things get accomplished for the most part. By using creativity in daily activities, I stay inspired for writing.

Seas the Day is the title of my new book, and in my seaside lifestyle, I embrace the coastal atmosphere every day. I hope you’ll try this new cozy culinary mystery that I consider a work of art.

Seas the Day

A Seafood Caper Mystery, Book 1

Caterer River Holloway has talents beyond her to-die-for cooking. She is also known among friends and family on Shell Island as a “finder” of things. Which is why a desperate mother begs River to track down her grown son, Chili Bolz, who’s seemingly vanished.

Deputy Lance Hamlyn, a newcomer to Shell Island, has hit a dead-end in trying to locate the missing man. Familiar with River’s reputation, he attempts to team up with her, hoping that her inside track with the locals might aid his investigation. But the simple missing person case begins to boil over into something far more frightening when Chili’s mother falls victim to a brutal assault. Worse, her dying words to River seem to incriminate more than one of River’s friends in both kidnapping and, now, murder.

While Deputy Hamlyn conducts the formal criminal investigation, River uses her time between catering events to do some sleuthing of her own. Her efforts are hampered by the unexpected return of her absentee boyfriend, who has his own reasons for wanting her to stay safely in the kitchen. With the number of suspects growing longer than her food shopping list, River soon finds herself caught in an unsavory recipe for disaster. She must locate the missing Chili and discover who killed his mother before her own goose is quite literally cooked! 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR LIESE SHERWOOD-FABRE OPENS THE CASE FILES OF YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES

Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD from Indiana University, she joined the federal government and had the opportunity to work and live internationally for more than fifteen years. After returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career and has recently turned to a childhood passion in the tales of Sherlock Holmes. A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays on Sherlock and Victorian England are published across the globe and have appeared in the Baker Street Journal, the premiere publication of the Baker Street Irregulars. Learn more about Liese and her books at her website.https://www.liesesherwoodfabre.com

Constance Straton, a fourteen-year-old girl, has recently become a good friend and partner of thirteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes, and has been enlisted to help him solve the murder of the village midwife, Emma Brown, and save his mother from the gallows. Today we sit down for an interview with Constance.

Good morning, Constance. Can you tell us how you met Sherlock Holmes?

I met his father first. I was arrested for liftin’ something from the village store. Milk for the baby. He was the magistrate what put me in gaol. That’s how I met Sherlock. In gaol. Although I didn’t knows he was the magistrate’s son. He spoke to me, and I hugged him, found a roll in his pocket, and lifted it. It was the best bread ever.

And how did you come to be friends?

He saved my life. In more than one way. I’ll let readers learn more about that when they’s read the book.

Everybody wants to know: what is Sherlock Holmes really like?

Lors, he’s quite a clever one. Knows a lot about a lot of things. Speaks all sorts of languages. I think his mother had a lot to do with that. She’s quite smart herself. Of course, he doesn’t know everything. That’s how’s we became friends. He wanted me to teach him how to be a good pickpocket. That’s one of my specialties. I can knick somethin’ from a man’s pocket without him never feelin’ it. I also have a good voice. Can sing like a bird. I makes money that way too.  Singin’ on the street. Sherlock and I, we make a good pair in so many ways.

You’ve mentioned Sherlock and his mother, what about the rest of his family?

They’re nice enough. Squire Holmes, he was the one what sent me to gaol. But I did steal the milk. And he has an Uncle Ernest. He’s clever too—in his own way. So’s his brother Mycroft, but that one’s a bit stuck-up. Not half as nice as Sherlock or his mama.

What’s a secret you can share with readers?

I wants to be singin’ on the stage. Get dressed up all fancy and have people adorin’ my voice. You can makes good money that way. That’s why I practice singin’ in the streets, hopin’ to be discovered.

Thanks, Constance, for your insights into this first case of Sherlock Holmes.

First? What? There’s more?

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife

The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes, Book 1

Before Sherlock Holmes became the world’s greatest consulting detective, scandal rocked the Holmes family. 

Arthur Conan Doyle provided few details on Holmes’ boyhood. His ancestors were country squires, his grandmother was the sister of the French artist Vernet, and he had a brother named Mycroft—seven years his senior. Recently, a cache of documents has been discovered detailing, in Sherlock’s own hand, his early forays into criminal investigation.

Only weeks into his first year at Eton, Sherlock's father calls him and his brother back to Underbyrne, the ancestral estate. The village midwife has been found with a pitchfork in her back in the estate's garden, and Mrs. Holmes has been accused of the murder. Can Sherlock find the true killer in time to save her from the gallows?

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