DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Elementary She Read
by Vicki Delany
Read the first chapter here.
Elementary, She Read: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery
by Vicki Delany
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (March 14, 2017)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683310969
Kindle ASIN: B01MT6H7O1
Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop–located at 222 Baker Street–specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.
The highly perceptive Gemma is the police’s first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare books expert, the dead woman’s suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it’s a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.
Interview with the Author:
What initially got you interested in writing?
Reading! I read a lot and one day I thought, “I could do this…”
What genres do you write in?
I write crime novels. In the past I’ve written modern Gothic thrillers, psychological suspense, historical mysteries, and police procedurals. But now I’m concentrating on cozy mysteries as well as novellas for adult literacy.
What drew you to writing these specific genres?
I read mystery novels most of all, so that was naturally what I wanted to write. I love the variety of crime books today, and I like to play with different moods and styles.
How did you break into the field?
I took courses in creative writing at my local community college. It took me four years to finish my first book and a couple more to write the second. I sent out letters to agents and publishers, hundreds of them probably. I just kept trying. The first book went nowhere, but I was lucky enough to have my second manuscript, a standalone suspense novel called Scare the Light Away, accepted by the highly-regarded Poisoned Pen Press.
What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?
Now that I’m writing cozies all I want them to take from my books is a sense of fun. Just have fun with something like Elementary, She Read, sit back, have a cup of tea (or a glass of wine) and (hopefully) a chuckle. The adult literacy novellas (Blood and Belonging, coming in April) are a good deal more serious and have something to say about Western interference in developing countries.
What do you find most rewarding about writing?
The people I’ve met and the places I’ve been to. I meet readers all the time, and I travel quite a bit on book tours or to conferences. Book people really are the best.
What do you find most challenging about writing?
Just putting words on paper. The first draft is always an enormous slog. I have to have a set time every day to write, otherwise, it wouldn’t get done.
What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?
Read. And read a lot.
What type of books do you enjoy reading?
I love the British style police procedurals and modern Gothics.
Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?
I live a very simple life in a small house in the country, but when I leave that house, I love to travel.
What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?
Thank you for asking. I am at www.vickidelany.com, Facebook at facebook.com/evagatesauthor or Twitter at @vickidelany or @evagatesauthor. (Eva Gates is the pen name I use for the Lighthouse Library series)
Vicki Delany
is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of twenty-three published crime novels, including standalone Gothic thrillers, the Constable Molly Smith series, and the Year Round Christmas Mysteries. Under the pen name of Eva Gates
she is the national bestselling author of the Lighthouse Library cozy series.
The first in Vicki’s Sherlock Holmes bookshop series, Elementary She Read
, will be released in March 2017 from Crooked Lane Books.
Vicki lives and writes in Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada.
www.vickidelany.com Facebook: Vicki Delany & Eva Gates and twitter: @vickidelany and @evagatesauthor
Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 13 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – REVIEW
March 13 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf – SPOTLIGHT
March 14 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
March 14 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – REVIEW
March 15 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW
March 15 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW
March 16 – Rainy Day Reviews – REVIEW
March 16 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST
March 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
March 17 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT
March 18 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW
March 18 – Girl with Book Lungs – GUEST POST
March 19 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
March 20 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
March 20 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
March 21 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
March 21 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT
March 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 22 – Carole’s Book Corner – REVIEW
March 22 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW
March 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 23 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
March 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
March 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
March 24 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 25 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW
March 25 – Island Confidential – spotlight
March 26 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW
March 26 – Girl Lost In a Book – REVIEW
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Celia Fowler
Elementary, She Read sounds like a wonderful book, and I can’t wait to read it! I enjoyed your interview with Vicki — she is one of my favorite authors!