Friday, August 14, 2015

Celebrating an Interview by Chrys Fey

It's Friday again, with new things to celebrate on this blog hop co-sponsored by Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog . (You can go to any of these sites to get all the links and add your name to the links.) Do click around, explore them, and connect. 

Today I'm celebrating an interview about writing and about my book by Chrys Fey on her fascinating  blog, Write With Fey .  (Chrys is the author of Witch of Death, a mystery involving a detective who is a witch.) Mosey on over to her blog and read the interview HERE

Hope you all are enjoying your Friday and that you have a great week-end. But not before sharing what you are celebrating. Please leave a note.


Saturday, August 8, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things

I'm not so sure that what I'm celebrating today is small. I'll tell you in a minute, but first hats off to co-hosts for this blog hop,  Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog  You can go to any of these sites to get all the links and add your name to the links. 

Yesterday I didn't have time to post because I was running around doing errands in preparation for a coming trip. I also was without my computer for most of the day because I took it in for diagnosis and possible repairs at a place called Core Care. My computer had been slowing down, which sounded like possibly hard drive problems. Nope. A few little software hitches that were tweaked, and that was all. I know this is blog hop is called "Celebrate the small things," but  -- not needing a new hard drive and extensive repairs? And possibly not being without my computer for a few days while in the middle of a rewrite? For me, this was HUGE.

What are you celebrating this week? Are you pretty dependent on your computer?

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Book Review: The Detective and the Woman, A Novel of Sherlock Holmes



 I seldom have time to read a book more than once, but this was such a satisfying mystery, I had to read it twice—the first time for the story, the second time for the sheer pleasure of the writing. The detective of the title is Sherlock Holmes. The woman is Irene Adler, who outsmarted him in A Scandal in Bohemia (lingering in Sherlock’s mind ever after, according to Dr. Watson, as “the woman”.)

Story setup: Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, sends him to Florida after coming across an enigmatic message signed Barnett to someone in Florida named Sanchez. The message refers to Miss A, newly widowed and sailing for Florida. The tone of the message suggests her life may be in danger. The Holmes brothers have figured out “Miss A” is Irene Adler.

When the book opens, Irene has arrived in Florida and is on tour, re-starting her singing career after her husband’s heart attack freed her from an abusive marriage. Sherlock attends a performance and visits her backstage. He shows her the cryptic note, convincing her to team up with him so they can track down Barnett and Sanchez and foil their plan. Disguised as Bernard James, a British investor, and his American wife, Lavinia, they take a train to Fort Myers. (Sherlock has learned Alberto Sanchez from Central America has a profitable citrus grove outside of the town.)

These are not the only false identities they will assume. And, as the plot thickens, it turns out quite a few characters are not who they seem. Meanwhile, Thomas has done her research and creates a convincing Fort Myers of the late 1890’s, from hotels and rooming houses, to migrant workers in citrus groves to mansions of the few wealthy residents. (Thomas Edison and his wife are their host more than once, and a reader is treated to a description of what it was like to view in his lab a  Kinetoscope, an early device to show moving pictures.)

The story unfolds through alternating viewpoints that work very well—first person for Irene Adler, a stage performer who sings with emotion and passion; distant third person for Sherlock Holmes, always emotionally somewhat removed, while his intellect tries to unravel the plot against her. The plot has lots of turns and twists to keep a reader immersed—and surprised—with a believable resolution.

The relationship between Irene and Sherlock, suspicious on both sides at the beginning, develops into one of mutual admiration and respect. They find they work well together, which is good news for the reader: More adventures are to come: The Detective and the Woman, A Novel of Sherlock Holmes, is the first of a series.




Amy's books are available at:
and all good bookstores and e-bookstores worldwide including in the USA AmazonBarnes and Noble and Classic Specialities and in all electronic formats including Amazon Kindle , iTunes (iPad/iPhone) and Kobo .


She also blogs on The Baker Street Babes, a fun site full of all things Sherlock.
Visit her on Facebook