RoguesAngels: The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 4 by Liese A Sherwood-Fabre

Please welcome Liese A Sherwood-Fabre author of The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 4

Liese A Sherwood-Fabre will be awarding a $20 Amazon, Apple or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 4

by Liese A Sherwood-Fabre

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GENRE: Non-Fiction

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INTERVIEW:

Interview Questions for Rogue's Angels

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

Oh, goodness! I’ve always written. I remember getting an A+ on a story I wrote in the second grade about Dick, Jane, and Sally (really dating myself here). I recall penning poems in elementary school. I even won some honorable mentions for stories I submitted to a college contest. I truly focused on my writing when living in Mexico. I had a subscription to Isaac Asimov’s science fiction magazine and one day, I thought “I can write a story like this.” I labored for several weeks to produce a 20-page short story quickly rejected by the magazine. I learned two things from that experience: 1) it was possible for me to complete a work, and 2) I needed to learn more about how to write if I were to ever be published. But that was enough to get me started, and I’ve continued since.

2. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

For my fiction, I play a lot of “what if?”

Years ago, I read Stephen King’s book On Writing, and was pleased to learn he used a process very similar to mine. I’m a pantser (write by the seat of my pants), and King could have been describing how I write when discussing his own approach. This starts at about page 164, if you want to check it out.

Both of us start with a situation (the “what if”), then add the characters involved, and shape the tale from the interaction between characters as they work toward a goal to be achieved by the end of the story.

For my nonfiction, the essay always centers on something that is mentioned in the original stories that is not familiar to most modern readers. My first essay was about the position of country squire, which Holmes says his ancestors were. In the most recent essay collection, you will find essays on gasogenes (early carbonation technique), the Pinkerton Agency, and early can (or tin) products.

3. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

I hold a PhD in Sociology and have been doing research and summarizing what I’ve found my whole career. This research isn’t as intense. There are no survey results to analyze. But I still do a lot of reading to find both interesting and solid information. I do several re-writes to make the final product fun to read.

4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I’m in a handbell choir and have been playing handbells since I was in junior high (before they invented middle schools). For those not familiar with handbells, this tradition goes back more than a century to assist the church bell ringers in practicing without disturbing the whole village. Each bell plays a particular note and ringers usually play two bells (notes) in a song—similar to having two keys on a keyboard. The musical score tells the ringer which note to play and when. A lot of practice involves learning when to play your notes. Here’s an example of a handbell choir in concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbVBRZkU2is

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I am continuing to write these essays and share them with various Sherlockian societies. After two years’ worth, I’ll publish another volume. As for fiction, I’m starting on a new series set in San Francisco and have the seed of an idea for case five for my Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series.

6. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?

Sure! This is the beginning of the first essay in the collection on the Pinkerton Agency

In two of Holmes’ cases, he meets Pinkerton agents: Edwards in The Valley of Fear and Leverton, who trailed Giuseppe Gorgiano from America in “The Adventure of the Red Circle.” By 1888, during the first encounter, the reputation of the Pinkerton Agency had been firmly established for almost 50 years and had already lost its founder, Allan Pinkerton. The Edwards character is said to have been based on James McParland, who had garnered fame in the 1870s for infiltrating and testifying against the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish mining society. Leverton’s fame also preceded him as “the hero of the Long Island cave mystery.”

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1819 and worked as a barrel maker there until immigrating to the US in 1842. He settled outside of Chicago and continued his trade. In 1847, he fell into his new profession when he was out collecting materials for his barrels. A particular island not far from where he lived had a plentiful supply of poles, and while gathering them one summer day, he came across evidence of someone else using the island. He informed the sheriff, and the officer investigated, capturing a large gang of counterfeiters. Later, local shopkeepers asked Pinkerton to help capture yet another counterfeiter. Based on these efforts, he was appointed as Chicago’s first—and, at the beginning, only—police detective. Shortly, he had five detectives working under him, and his reputation continued to grow.

7. Do you belong to a critique group? If so, how does this help or hinder your writing?

I have in the past, but COVID kind of did it in. I still am in contact with the group members and have leaned on them from time to time for help.

It’s always good to have a second opinion on things, especially from more experienced writers. At the same time, I also depend on my own instincts for whether I think something is working or not.

8. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

My first steps into submission were actually to contests. I entered a lot of contests at the beginning as a way of getting some objective criticism. When I came in second place in one and sold that story to the contest judge for publication (I got $10 for it!), I knew I had some talent.

9. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

I almost quit when I was taking a creative writing course at a university and the instructor made a remark about some people should have taken up gardening instead of writing in a one-on-one session. Maybe she wasn’t referring to me, but I took it that way. I was devastated. I contacted another instructor and asked her if she thought I had any talent. She encouraged me to keep writing. Thank goodness I didn’t listen to the other. I’m a terrible gardener.

10. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

When it comes to fiction, most writers will tell you they are either a “plotter” or a “pantser.” That is, some writers will develop extensive outlines before they begin writing. They know exactly where the story is going and how the characters will move through the plot—from beginning to end. I’ve even read of some who, given this approach, will be able to identify specific areas that need to be researched and complete that as well before writing the first draft.

I admire and envy such writers because I’m a complete pantser—someone who writes by the seat of her pants. I have no idea where I’m going until I get there, letting the characters lead me through the journey. I do know the end in a vague way. A mystery will have a solution. A romance, its happy ending. The world is saved in a thriller. I tend to write linearly—I start at the beginning and keep going. When I get stuck, I consider possible plot complications—the more perilous, the better. This requires me to stop at times to research something I never knew I needed to know about until then. At this point, I have to be disciplined to avoid the rabbit hole I mentioned earlier.

In the end, I have a hot mess (plot holes, too much/too little description, a plot thread that goes nowhere) that I have to organize into a coherent story—that’s where outlining and other techniques come in handy. But for me, the unexpected directions are just part of the joy of writing.

When it comes to nonfiction, I probably have a somewhat similar approach. Once I settle on a topic for the essay, I first describe where it appears in the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries. My next step is to research the subject, pulling out anything I think is relevant for the essay. Finally, I put this information in some sort of order. A few more revisions occur before the essay is to the point I think it is publishable.

16. Anything else you might want to add?

Thanks so much for hosting me! These short essays are a lot of work, but fun to write. They are also packed with trivia. As one Goodreads reviewer put it:

“I learned many things I had been eager to know more about in Victorian England and some things I didn’t know I wanted to know, which was interesting. If you like learning, if you are interested in history and if you enjoy Sherlock Holmes then this is the book for you.”  

BLURB:

Be as smart as Sherlock Holmes!

Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales include many references to everyday Victorian life that are no longer part of current readers’ world. What Holmes would have eaten from a can while searching for the hound of the Baskervilles, Watson's enjoyment of a yellow-back novel, or the proper use of a gasogene would have been common knowledge to the Victorian contemporary but compels modern readers to run to the nearest reference book. These twenty-five short essays pull such items from the past and expand on their significance in the story. As an additional bonus, this book contains an essay on the role of scandal in Holmes; cases, originally appearing in a collected volume of essays on feminism and agency. After enjoying these concise treatises on Holmes’ world, readers will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of both the times and the life of the world’s greatest consulting detective.

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EXCERPT:

The Intercontinental Reach of the Law

In two of Holmes’ cases, he meets Pinkerton agents: Edwards in The Valley of Fear and Leverton, who trailed Giuseppe Gorgiano from America in “The Adventure of the Red Circle.” By 1888, during the first encounter, the reputation of the Pinkerton Agency had been firmly established for almost 50 years and had already lost its founder, Allan Pinkerton. The Edwards character is said to have been based on James McFarland, who had garnered fame in the 1870s for infiltrating and testifying against the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish mining society. Leverton’s fame also preceded him as “the hero of the Long Island cave mystery.”

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1819 and worked as a barrel maker there until immigrating to the US in 1842. He settled outside of Chicago and continued his trade. In 1847, he fell into his new profession when he was out collecting materials for his barrels. A particular island not far from where he lived had a plentiful supply of poles, and while gathering them one summer day, he came across evidence of someone else using the island. He informed the sheriff, and the officer investigated, capturing a large gang of counterfeiters. Later, local shopkeepers asked Pinkerton to help capture yet another counterfeiter. Based on these efforts, he was appointed as Chicago’s first—and, in the beginning, only—police detective. Shortly, he had five detectives working under him, and his reputation continued to grow.

Beyond his detective work, he was also an abolitionist. He had been involved in radical politics in Scotland, which was why he was forced to emigrate. His shop served as a station along the under‐ ground railroad, and he raised funds to help transport eleven slaves freed by John Brown. In 1850 he left public services to form his agency. Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency advertised “We Never Sleep” with an unblinking eye as its logo. This image lies behind the term “private eye.” The company included Allan’s brother Robert, who was a railroad contractor. The organization specialized in the capture of counterfeiters and train robbers, but also provided private military contractors and security guards. By 1853, Pinkerton Agencies existed in all the major Union cities. The company hired the first female detective (Kate Warne) in 1856, and during an investigation of a railway case, uncovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Warned of the threat, Lincoln changed his itinerary and, under a disguise, passed through the area at night unharmed.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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, she joined the federal government and worked and lived abroad for more than fifteen years. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career, garnering such awards as a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination. A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays have appeared in scion newsletters, the Baker Street Journal, and Canadian Holmes. These have been gathered into The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes essay collection series. She has recently turned this passion into an origin story series on Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, the first book in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series, was the CIBA Mystery and Mayhem 2020 winner.

Writer links:

Website: www.liesesherwoodfabre.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liese.sherwoodfabre

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lsfabre

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Liese-Sherwood-Fabre/e/B00810INE6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5758587.Liese_Sherwood_Fabre

Book Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Sherlock-Holmes-Enlightening-ebook/dp/B0BJ7P1BH8

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-life-and-times-of-sherlock-holmes-liese-sherwood-fabre/1142375056?ean=2940185567104

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-life-and-times-of-sherlock-holmes-6

iBook: http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6443588533

Other: books2read.com/u/bOnezW