1) Welcome to Allbookreviews! First, we want to ask you about the beginning of your writing career, and how was the whole process to become a published author?
Thanks for inviting me!
My writing career really began about seven years ago. Before then I'd written stories, on and off, and even had some of them published and won a few prizes. However, that was when I decided to go for it and write and self-publish a whole book.
I decided to self-publish my first book as it was a book of short stories, and I figured it was unlikely to be taken on by a publisher. I didn't have strong feelings about independent versus traditional publishing at that point, but I enjoyed the process of self-publishing so much that I decided to stay with it. Ironically, a publisher approached me a few years later and now looks after that book and a few others for me!
2) If you want to address young writers, what would you say to them; what's the main advice you'd like them to take?
Great question! I would say 'Write a lot. Don't worry if your writing isn't perfect - that's what editing is for. Concentrate on getting your story out and then you can tinker with it. Just keep going.'
3) Coming now to your book "Sherlock and Jack chronicles". What can you tell us about choosing Sherlock Holmes to reintroduce among the modern readers?
I've actually written three different Sherlock Holmes short series, but it all began for me when I reread A Study in Scarlet. That's the introduction to Holmes and Watson, and the thing that stood out to me, rereading it as an adult, is how well looked after they both are. They don't have to worry about meals, laundry, tidying or housework. It's all done for them by Mrs Hudson and her staff. I began to wonder what Sherlock Holmes's life would look like from the perspective of one of the people who looks after him, and that was where the idea for A House of Mirrors, my first novel, came from. It's told from the perspective of Mrs Hudson, Holmes's landlady, but as it turns out, she has a story of her own to tell..
4) Writing a mystery story seems to us a fun thing to enjoy reading. For you, how hard it is to create such an interesting storyline?
I love writing mysteries. Sometimes I begin with a setting, or a puzzle. Quite often, though, I think about what would stretch my protagonist. I like to write series where the main characters develop and grow.
I generally write an outline beforehand. However, sometimes one of my characters decides that they won't do what I have in mind for them and heads off in a different direction. I don't mind, so long as the mystery is solved!
5) Finally, we'd like to ask you about your future projects, what you're working on?
Right now, I'm editing the first in a new contemporary cozy mystery series written with my friend Paula Harmon (we wrote the Caster & Fleet historical mystery series together a few years ago). Murder for Beginners is set in an English market town and brings together two new characters. Fi Booker runs a floating bookshop and Jade Fitch, is the new owner of a crystals and magic shop. And when they meet, it's murder...
You can keep up with what I'm doing at the following places:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LizHedgecockWrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizhedgecock
Website: https://lizhedgecock.wordpress.com
Amazon book page (global link): http://author.to/LizH
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