M. Louisa Locke's Blog, page 2
January 25, 2021
Victorian San Francisco Stories: Volume 2
Over six years ago, I put out a collection of the four short stories I had written in my Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and since then, despite the fact that I give away this first volume of stories to anyone who signs up for my newsletter, I’ve sold over 4000 copies of the collection. At the time of publication, I wrote this post about why I enjoyed writing short stories. If anything, the reasons I listed are even more true now, when I have put out a second volume of short stories.
The stories in this second collection come between the events in my last two full-length mysteries, Scholarly Pursuits and Lethal Remedies. As with my other short stories and novellas, they feature secondary characters from the series. The first story, Beatrice Bests the Burglars, finds Mrs. O’Rourke, the O’Farrell Street boarding house cook, home alone and in danger. In Dandy’s Discovery, something odd is happening at the boarding house, but Dandy, the Boston Terrier, discovers the culprit and all is well. In Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery, a poor widow’s determination to investigate the strange behavior of her neighbors has unexpected consequences. In the fourth short story, Tilly Tracks a Thief, it’s Christmas, and the young Irish boarding house servant decides to find out who’s stealing from houses in the neighborhood before the thefts ruin the holidays for everyone.
The collection also includes a Historical Tidbits essay that discusses some of the key historical research I did for each story. The ebook edition, at $3.99, is half the cost of buying all four stories separately, but it is also in print at $7.99 and in audiobook form (ranging from $5.49 to $6.99).
Buy on Amazon or All Other Retailers.
Hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did writing them.
M. Louisa Locke, January 25, 2021
December 19, 2020
New Victorian San Francisco Short Story
Tilly Tracks a ThiefDecember 1881, San Francisco: Tilly, the young O’Farrell Street boardinghouse servant, is determined to discover who’s stealing from houses in the neighborhood before the thefts ruin the holidays for everyone.
This short story in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series comes after the short story Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery and right before Lethal Remedies, the seventh novel in the series.
99 cents on Kindle, AppleBooks, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay and Other Retailers
In addition to this Christmas tale, the audiobook edition of Kathleen Catches a Killer is only $1.99 on AppleBooks and Chirp for a limited time.
Have a lovely and safe holiday.
M. Louisa Locke
December 19, 2020
November 8, 2020
Pilfered Promises and other Holiday Promotions
[image error]Now that the presidential election is over, and at least half of the American public is feeling relieved, it seemed a good time to turn my attention to the holidays and let you know about some promotional deals that are currently available. First, I have made Pilfered Promises, the fifth book in my series that is set in during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 1880, free. In addition, for the month of November, the audiobook edition of the short story, Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery, is only 99 cents on Chirp. Finally, I’ve included a description of Murder by Misrule, a historical mystery that is set during the winter holidays in Elizabethan England, which I think all of you might enjoy.
[image error]Pilfered Promises:
It is November of 1880, and the future looks promising for Annie and Nate Dawson. Nate’s law practice is taking off. Annie has made the transition from pretend clairvoyant to a successful financial consultant, and as a couple, they are looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays together.
For Robert Livingston, the owner San Francisco’s newest grand emporium, the holidays are shaping up to be a dismal failure if he can’t figure out how to stop whoever is stealing from his department store, the Silver Strike Bazaar.When he hires the Dawsons to investigate, Annie and Nate discover that behind the doors of Livingston’s “Palace of Plenty,” nothing is quite what it seems.
Free on Amazon and All Other Retailers
[image error]Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery:
Life in 1881 San Francisco is difficult if you are a poor widow like Mrs. O’Malley, especially when you have seven children and are forced to live in one of the crowded neighborhoods South of Market. Late one night, as she sat at the window of her crowded flat, sewing and worrying, she noticed something strange going on across the street. Her decision to investigate will have unexpected consequences. Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery is a short story in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and it comes right after the short story, Dandy’s Discovery, and before Lethal Remedies, the seventh novel in the series.
Audiobook is 99 cents on Chirp
[image error]Murder by Misrule by Anna Castle:
Bacon must put down his books and investigate the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray’s Inn in order to regain the queen’s favor. He recruits his unwanted protégé, Thomas Clarady, to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a wealthy privateer, Tom will gladly do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder.
The first clues point to a Catholic conspirator, but other motives for murder quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the victim’s legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets.
Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even Bacon is at a loss — and in danger — until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule.
Free on Amazon and All Other Retailers
Happy Holidays,
M. Louisa Locke, November 8, 2020
September 17, 2020
Lethal Remedies and other Audiobook News
Last spring as the pandemic broke out, there was some debate about whether or not audiobooks, which had been increasing their sales year-over-year, would take a hit. The logic was that most people had been listening to audiobooks while they were commuting. With the lock-down in many large urban cities, the initial drop in sales numbers seemed to support that idea. Yet, as the months of social isolation have worn on, there have been signs that the decline in audiobook sales has been temporary.
I was carefully watching these numbers in May, when Lethal Remedies came out, to determine whether or not I should hold off on getting the audiobook edition produced. The cost is minimal to produce ebook and print versions for my books (primarily the cost of the cover design) since I do all the formatting and uploading of the books myself (with the help of Vellum.) Audiobooks are a different matter, altogether. Given the length of Lethal Remedies, I knew the cost of production would be around $3000–an amount that could take years to pay off in terms of sales. The cost of production has been one of the reasons I often don’t spend the money tor an audiobook production until the ebook has been out some time (and has made enough money so I feel good about reinvesting some of that income into the production of an audiobook.)
I am glad to say that so many of you were kind enough to buy the ebook version of Lethal Remedies (which currently has over 100 reviews on Amazon) that I was able to speed that process up considerably. So I am happy to announce that the audiobook version is out–and available everywhere but Audible (which takes a very long time to upload when you don’t go directly with them. But, if you aren’t an Audible member, the non-audible prices are much lower– Nook has actually discounted the audiobook to $8.99 and Apple Books to $9.99, which is a very good deal for a book that is 12 hours long!
[image error]Product Description: Annie has a problem. She has a beautiful child, a loving husband, a well-run boardinghouse with a supportive circle of friends and family, but she’s feeling restless and unhappy.
Dr. Charlotte Brown, the doctor who delivered Annie’s baby, has a different problem. The Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children, the clinic and hospital she co-founded, is being threatened by financial and legal difficulties caused by the mysterious illness of a former patient.
When Annie takes up the challenge to help Dr. Brown and the dispensary, she will discover that getting back into the business of investigating crimes is exactly the remedy she requires.
Available as an audiobook on Nook, Apple Books, Chirp, Kobo, GooglePlay and Scribd
Other Audiobook News:
Beatrice Bests the Burglar Discount:
The audio book version of the short story, Beatrice Bests the Burglars, is only 89 cents on Chirp and 99 cents on Kobo, Nook, and GooglePlay for the rest of September.
[image error]Product Description: Beatrice O’Rourke, the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse cook, has the afternoon off. What could possibly go wrong?
This short story in the USA Today bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series features one of the most beloved characters in the series, as well as giving the reader a tour of the boardinghouse itself. Chronologically, this story comes soon after the events in Scholarly Pursuits, so if you don’t like spoilers, you might want to wait to read it until you have finished that book.
New source of free audiobooks:
I’ve found a new site for people in the US and GB to get free audiobooks on Audible called Free Audiobook Codes
Currently you can get codes for Uneasy Spirits by clicking here, although I’ve discovered these codes, particularly for US subscribers, go very fast.
Other News:
As I continue to weather social isolation–imposed by both health and circumstances–I keep searching for ways to stay connected to others, particularly readers, while I slowly work on my next book. My most recent endeavor has been to start keeping a daily diary on my author Facebook page. I confess, so far there are an embarrassing number of entries (and pictures) of my cranky old cat, but I am having fun, and it has helped me keep track of the passage of time. So, if you think you might enjoy a glimpse into my world, do go on over and say hello and follow me at https://www.facebook.com/mlouisalockeauthor/
Take care,
M. Louisa Locke, September 18, 2020
July 5, 2020
How I have used my book titles to establish my brand
[image error]When a potential reader looks at a book product page in one of the on-line bookstores, the first two things they are likely to notice are a book’s title and its cover. A good title can not only capture a reader’s interest, but it can signal the genre and sub-genre of the book, the setting and time period of the story, and it can even reveal a little about the plot. In addition, if the book is part of a series, the title can help brand that series.
I am going to discuss the titles of both my novels and my shorter works in my mystery series to demonstrate how a title can achieve all of the above.
In 2009, when I published my first novel, Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, I knew it was to be the start of a series of mysteries that featured different occupations held by western women who worked in the late nineteenth-century. As a result, I wanted to come up with a title that would both indicate the specific occupation featured in the book and hint at the actual mystery plot. I then decided to let a subtitle set the story in a particular time (Victorian) and place (San Francisco).
I have followed this pattern for all the other full-length books in the series as my way of establishing a brand that future readers would recognize as mine.
I debated a bit over the subtitle, which would become the name of the series,. When searching in the book store on Amazon, I discovered the term Victorian was used more frequently than any other for novels set in this period. In addition, since Annie, the widowed boarding house owner who is my chief protagonist, lived and worked in San Francisco, I decided to include the city name in the subtitle. I’m very glad I did because feedback has made it clear that historical San Francisco, like London, New York, or Paris, is of intrinsic interest to a good number of readers.
[image error]As for the main title of this first book, I called it Maids of Misfortune because the key female occupation I was examining was domestic service (Annie, my protagonist, goes undercover as a servant to investigate a death in this first mystery.) The use of the term Misfortune was my way of referencing both the difficulty of being a servant and that this was a mystery.
In my second book, Uneasy Spirits, I followed this same pattern, with one of the words in the title––Spirits––referencing the occupation that I featured (in this case, women who made a living as part of the Spiritualist movement) and the other word––Uneasy––signaling there was something mysterious going on.
The third book, Bloody Lessons, is about women teachers, so the word Lessons relates to the occupation and the word Bloody indicates that there was going to be some sort of violence in the story.
In the fourth book, Deadly Proof, the word Deadly references the fact that Annie is investigating a death in this book, and I sued the word Proof, which is a printing term, because the book examines women in the printing industry. I was especially pleased with the multiple meanings behind the word Proof because Nate, Annie’s fiancée, was hired to provethe innocence of an accused woman and because a specific piece of evidence (or proof) plays a role in solving the murder.
In the title of the fifth book, Pilfered Promises, Pilfered relates to the occupation (women working in a department store that was troubled by theft), and Promises relates to a couple of important plot points. In the title of the sixth book, Scholarly Pursuits, the two words together point to the focus of the book––women in academia––while Pursuits hints at the way that some of the characters in the book were pursued (harassed) in this academic environment.
I think you get the picture.
I can’t assume that readers will necessarily notice all these double meanings and connections simply by reading the main title. But I do hope that as soon as they read the product description, they will see how the title relates to a specific female occupation, and that as they read the book, they will begin to think about how the title relates to the mystery plot itself.
[image error]This hope was also behind the title I settled on for my most recent novel in the series, Lethal Remedies. This book is about women in the medical professions, but it also includes a discussion about how some of the therapeutic methods being used in this period were often fatal. And, of course, the subtitle, A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, insures that people won’t think that this book is about anything contemporary—such as Covid-19. A concern I didn’t have when I came up with the title months before the virus even existed.
Except for the title of the first book, all the rest of my full-length novel titles are made up of two words. Sometimes this has presented a challenge, but I do think it has become an important part of my series branding. I also think the double meanings and contradictions between a word that seems innocent (like lessons, promises, remedies) with more ominous words (bloody, deadly, lethal) hints at the fact that these mysteries have humor and are, at heart, cozy mysteries. This is important because I don’t want a reader to buy the book thinking they are going to get a dark, noir view of the Victorian period.
This first title, Maids of Misfortune, introduced another branding method I’ve used––alliteration––to also indicate that my works are cozies. I’ve used alliteration consistently in my shorter works.
From the beginning, my goal for writing short stories and novellas has been to give secondary characters from the novels a chance to become star players in minor mysteries. In the case of my first short story, the character is Dandy, a small Boston terrier, who helps solve a crime, hence the title, Dandy Detects. But this title also conveys, because of its alliteration, the fact that it fits in the cozy category of mysteries.
I didn’t start out planning to brand my mysteries as cozies—all my efforts went into the historical mystery brand. This may have been that I associated cozies with contemporary mysteries and cozy mystery wasn’t even an Amazon category at that time. However, as my books began to garner reviews, I could see that many of the elements of my stories that attracted readers were the same elements associated with those contemporary cozies. Annie, my main protagonist, who is an amateur sleuth, runs a boarding house, and her employees, boarders (including the animals) and her friends and family are like the residents in a small town or village that characterize cozies. In addition, the mysteries have minimal on-stage sex or violence, and there is also large dollop of humor. The titles of these shorter works and their use of alliteration helped me establish this sub-genre, just as the subtitle continued to establish that the mysteries were historical mysteries.
[image error]The short story, Dandy Detects, was followed by The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage (featuring the two elderly seamstresses who lived in the boarding house) followed by Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong (in this case it was a servant my protagonist met in Maids of Misfortune who was the star.) Recently, the boardinghouse cook got her own story in Beatrice Bests the Burglars. I have just published the short story, Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery, about the mother of one of the friends of the boardinghouse maid, Kathleen. Kathleen, herself, got to feature in one of my three novellas, Kathleen Catches a Killer, and I even gave Annie’s judgmental sister-in-law a chance to shine in Violent Vanquishes a Villain. The Boston Terrier, Dandy, now has three featured stories, the first short story, Dandy Detects, a novella, Dandy Delivers, and another short story, Dandy’s Discovery.
While my mysteries, even the shorter works, are historically accurate, and do deal with serious subjects, I don’t think that after looking at the titles of these shorter works, a reader would mistake my mysteries for gore-filled, sexually explicit dives into the darkest underbelly of Victorian society. And I seriously hope that readers who are fond of my series are as tickled by the whimsical alliteration as I am.
I know from my author friends that we all spend a good deal of time agonizing over our titles. Are they catchy? Are they unique? Do they convey the information we want about the genre and sub-genre, the time and place? Do they fit the brand that we are trying to establish? One of the most liberating aspects of being an indie author is that I get to choose my own titles—something that authors of traditionally published novels don’t always get to do. But, then I have no one to blame if the titles don’t work.
So, I would love to hear from readers. Have I been I successful in achieving my goals? And for those of you who are authors, I would love to hear from you about how you have used your titles to create your brand. What has worked, what hasn’t.
Meanwhile, I hope you are all staying safe and well, and if you are into audiobooks, Maids of Misfortune is on sale for July, $1.99 on Apple Books, and only .99 cents on the new source for discounted audiobooks, Chirp.
M. Louisa Locke, July 6, 2020
May 24, 2020
Lethal Remedies is now available
[image error]I’m always a bit ambivalent when one of my books is launched. Happy that the long period––usually between a year and a year and a half––spent working on the book is over. A little sad to be leaving behind some of the characters who may not show up in the next book.
Anxious to see how readers—specifically fans of the series––react.
With the launch of Lethal Remedies, the seventh full-length novel in my Victorian San Francisco mystery series, I was also curious about what it would be like to launch a book in the middle of a pandemic.
On one hand, it’s clear that many people have been finding more time than ever before to read, so there is the hope that this will have a positive effect on sales. In addition, this book, perhaps more so than my last novel Scholarly Pursuits, is quite light-hearted—with lots of scenes with Annie and Nate’s new baby and a definite happily-ever-after ending. In short, a comfort read to help distract and pass the time.
On the other hand, on this Memorial Day weekend, the news is filled with stories of people tentatively leaving their homes for the first time in months as the rules begin to relax. Does this mean that people who would have normally been anxious to buy the book since they would be heading into summer vacations, no longer have this motivation because, if anything, they are tired of reading?
Finally, there is the unexpected ways that this book has turned out to resonate with the pandemic itself, and I wonder what impact that will have. Who would have thought last October when I came up with the title, Lethal Remedies, that it would sound like it was ripped from the headlines of current newspaper stories about whether a certain medicine can cure or kill the Covid19 patients who take it?
In fact, when I started this book, my goal was simple. I wanted to develop a mystery plot that would require my main protagonist, Annie, to get back into investigating crimes and would feature, as all my mysteries in this series have, an occupation held by women in the late nineteenth century. Annie’s experience in childbirth and the introduction of a character planning on going to medical school in the last novel is what led me to my decision to feature women in the medical professions.
What I never could have foreseen was the way that this decision, made over a year ago, would play out in the context of the outbreak of the Covid19 virus. I sent the completed draft of the novel out to my beta readers on March 10. A day later WHO announced a world pandemic and my life—and the lives so many other people––changed forever.
Suddenly, it seemed eerily prescient that in the book I had frequent mentions of the importance of washing your hands to prevent the spread of infection and long discussions of divisions within the medical profession over the efficacy of certain treatments.
But more significant to me, however, is the fact that in doing the research and developing the plot of Lethal Remedies, I had come to see the doctors and nurses of the past as the heroes in this particular story. This means the book has become even more meaninguful to me as I watched how bravely the medical professionals and other front-line workers of today have stepped up to become the heroes in our present.
So, in short, the book is here, a cozy historical mystery that proved to me, once again, that one of the best ways to illuminate the present, is to learn from the past, and I hope that all of you who read it will find the inspiration and comfort that I found in writing it.
Available now on Kindle, AppleBooks, Kobo, Nook, GooglePlay, and other retailers.
M. Louisa Locke, May 24, 2020
April 11, 2020
Dandy’s Discovery is out, and I’m doing fine, how are you?
[image error]First of all, pleased to announce that my new short story, Dandy’s Discovery, is now out, and people seem to be enjoying this little bit of fluff to lift their spirits. In addition, the manuscript of my newest Victorian San Francisco Mystery novel, Lethal Remedies, just went to my proof reader (Jessica Meigs). It has been through multiple drafts and two rounds of beta readers, so at this point it has been read by nine people and much improved by their feedback. I enjoy hearing back from this small team of readers about what they liked about the story, but I also like hearing where they had problems. In my experience, my beta readers often pinpoint exactly those sections of the book I already had some doubts about. This really helps because then I know exactly those sections that need more work (and don’t waste time fiddling with the sections that are just fine). In addition, their comments give me ideas about what I should do to improve. Because, face it, if I had known that all on my own, I would have done it already.
So, now I get to give myself a couple of days to just take care of business and relax. The taking care of business is doing things like writing this blog post and giving the bathrooms a good scrub.
Thanks to the virus, after twenty years of having someone come in and clean twice a month, I am now back to doing this myself (with a little help from my husband whose allergies make most cleaning problematic.) I am trying to be sensible and do it in tiny increments, so as not to aggravate my arthritis or make me too grumpy.
Today, for me the main form of relaxation has been reading for pleasure and having a wonderfully long talk with an old friend, Terry. For about 15 years we shared an office (we were both community college professors), which meant we knew all about each other’s lives. Since we have both retired, we have tried to get together every month or so to catch up. For now, phone calls will have to do. But it was great to hear her voice.
I have noticed that the rhythm of my days haven’t changed much since my decision to shelter in place (which I did before it was mandatory, being in the age/health group who is high risk. In the morning, I read emails and check out facebook and the news. Then I do basic housekeeping chores and do a few gentle exercises to keep the body moving. The rest of the day I write, read (sometimes for pleasure, more often I am reading another author’s manuscript to give a little editorial advice), do some marketing tasks, talk to friends, read the news, try not to get upset by the news, then watch some television in the evening with my husband. And I try to do as much of this as possible while sitting next to my 19 year old cat, Mila, who yells at me if I am not sitting right beside her. Heaven help me if I actually go out of sight.
[image error]Since I have been finding the stories that other people are sharing about their lives during this time of separation one of the key ways I keep from feeling isolated, I think I will try to do more of this sort of periodic report about my own day. Maybe it will make your own life seem less boring in contrast. (Smile.)
Meanwhile, I do want to remind everyone that Lethal Remedies, is up for preorder, and that in addition to my newest short story, I also wrote Beatrice Bests the Burglars to help entertain you all as you wait for the novel. In addition, Amazon has discounted Scholarly Pursuits (which is the most recent novel in the series) down to 99 cents for the month of April in US Kindle and CA Kindle.
I would love to hear how all of you are doing. Making masks, gardening, writing the next book, taking up karate?
Take care, stay safe, and read lots!
M. Louisa Locke, April 12, 2020
March 15, 2020
What am I doing in response to the Pandemic?
[image error]
Dear friends and readers,
I’m in that group (elderly with compromised immune system), so I’m being good and staying at home as much as I can. This meant pulling out of Left Coast Crime, a convention what was held in my home town this week, even though I was on a panel and this made me feel guilty. Of course, then when everyone else on the panel also pulled out and the actual convention was halted during the second day by an order of the county, I felt smart and responsible.
I’ve two more outings I can’t cancel, but I’m cancelling everything else and using the phone or internet instead of face-to-face contact. And I am letting my much healthier husband do the limited trips outside the house. And we are not hoarding TP. (smile)
But that doesn’t seem enough. For example, I regret that my current work in progress, Lethal Remedies, has just started the editing process, which means it won’t be ready to publish until May 23. I have put it up for pre-order, but that actually feels like I’m being unkind to those of you who are waiting for it. You can see it below––a lovely cover, and a story about women in the medical profession in San Francisco in 1882––yet it won’t be available for 2 months!
So, I have decided to do two things that I hope will cheer me and other people up.
The first thing I am going to is write a couple of short stories in the Victorian San Francisco mystery series that I can get out quickly. Nice, short, 99 cent stories. I always enjoy spending time in that world with minor characters. The stories are tentatively entitled Dandy’s Discovery and Tilly Traps a Thief. So keep an eye out, I will post here on my website and send out newsletters when they are done.
The second thing I have done is put most of my ebooks on sale for a limited time. As many of us are forced to stay at home, this is the time for binge reading stories that will take you away to another time and place. So if there is a novel, a short story, a novella of mine you haven’t gotten yet, or want to tell a friend about, now’s the time to do it.
Nearly everything is $1-2 off the original price and the Victorian San Francisco Novellas collection now at $3.99, and the Victorian San Francisco Mystery Boxed Set now at $6.99 are particularly good values.
I would especially encourage those of you who haven’t tried my science fiction trilogy to do so now. Yes, the basic premise is dealing with what happens when humans have messed up Earth so much that they need to travel to another galaxy. But the stories are not at all dystopian or downers. Instead, they have a young plucky protagonist, a little action adventure, a little romance in books 2-3, and really fun sentient animals. Try them, I think those of you who like my mysteries will like them. And right now the whole trilogy plus a short story is only $4.99.
So have fun, look forward to the short stories, and I would love if you would pre-order the new book (see below).
Lethal Remedies
[image error]Annie has a problem. She has a beautiful child, a loving husband, a well-run boardinghouse with a supportive circle of friends and family, but she’s feeling restless and unhappy.
Dr. Charlotte Brown, the doctor who delivered Annie’s baby, has a different problem. The Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children, the clinic and hospital she co-founded, is being threatened by financial and legal difficulties caused by the mysterious illness of a former patient.
When Annie takes up the challenge to help Dr. Brown and the dispensary, she will discover that getting back into the business of investigating crimes is exactly the remedy she requires.
Lethal Remedies is the seventh novel in the cozy, historical, Victorian San Francisco Mystery series and comes after Scholarly Pursuits.
On pre-order on Kindle Kobo AppleBooks Nook GooglePlay International retailers
So all, stay healthy and safe, and let me know what you are doing to get through these trying times.
M. Louisa
March 15, 2020
January 28, 2020
Valentine’s Day and Bloody Lessons
[image error]Every year I try to discount the third mystery in my series, Bloody Lessons, around February because of its Valentine’s Day setting. This year, the ebook is again Free on Kindle and all other major retailers until January 31. In addition, this year the audiobook edition is also discounted. You can get it on Apple Books for only $3.99 or on Chirp for $4.18 until February 14. (for those of you who prefer audible, the ebook only costs $7.49 when you have bought the Kindle Amazon edition.)
To get you in the mood, here is a post I wrote some time ago about Valentine’s Day in 1880 (first published in the Historical Fiction Author’s Cooperative).
I had so much fun figuring out how the Irish in San Francisco celebrated Halloween, that as I started writing Bloody Lessons, I decided I should also do some thorough research into how this holiday was celebrated by people living in San Francisco in the late 19th century. (You all know how much I enjoy research.)
Would they send cards, and, if so, would they have been hand made or commercially made, and were they only given to sweethearts or was it common to give them to family and friends?
It didn’t take long to find out the answers to these questions, along with lots of fun pictures of Victorian-era cards. What I discovered was while hand-made valentines had been popular in Europe for centuries, by the early 19th century valentines began to be made in factories in England. Victorian Americans embraced the holiday as well, and the first mass-produced cards made in this country were produced by a printer and artist Esther Howland, who started making them by hand in her home, employing her friends and family to help her. By the end of the 19th century, the manufacture of valentines had become entirely mechanized. Like New Years Day cards and Christmas cards, Valentine’s Day cards were something one sent to friends and relatives, not just sweethearts.
I now knew that Annie Fuller, my main protagonist, who had been in a Female Academy in the late 1860s, would have been familiar with making and exchanging valentines. But I also learned that in 1880 when the book is set, stationers and department stores had French imported and American-made cards available for sale—at a price that ranged from 5 cents to 5 dollars a card. However, it was also clear that people still made their own cards because one article in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1881 stated that: “The progress of art education in this country is readily seen in the improved styles of Christmas, Easter and Valentine cards.
My next step was to figure out how to incorporate Valentine’s Day into the plot of Bloody Lessons, without sounding like I was just dumping information for the sake of showing what I had learned (an occupational hazard for historical fiction authors.)
For example, I have always associated valentine cards with elementary school (where I made cards to bring home to my mother and exchanged with my classmates the cheap store-bought ones with the silly sayings.) Since the plot of Bloody Lessons featured public school teachers (my mystery series features different occupations held by women in the 19thcentury), a perfect way to incorporate the Valentine’s Day theme was to have the character Laura Dawson (one of many teachers in the book) decide to make cards for all her students. See the following excerpt.
“Laura held one of the sheets of embossed lace paper up to the oil lamp in the center of the table. ‘Kitty’s father gives her an enormous weekly allowance, and she insisted we buy all this. She said we were economizing because all of this cost much less than if we had bought the ready-made valentines at the stationers. This way we can make cards that are special for each child.’”
Having the book set in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day also helped me satisfy those readers who were getting impatient with the pace of the developing romance between my two main protagonists, Annie Fuller and Nate Dawson. Not surprising, as the holiday approached, both Annie and Nate found reasons to think about each other and their apparently stalled relationship.
At one point Annie realizes that she has never gotten a valentine from a sweetheart and that: “She had a sudden desire to make one for Nate, to see how he would respond.” While in a later scene, Nate panics when he realizes that the card he got for Annie might not get the reception he hoped.
“The simple card he ended up buying showed a small boy giving his teacher an apple, with the caption, ‘Be Mine.’ Be Mine. This morning, when he reread the card before signing it, all he could think of was how possessive that sounded and that Annie would hate it.”
In the end, I came to understand that from the pink cover to the plot within, Bloody Lessons was my own valentine to the teachers of the past—and those who would read my book in the future.
So Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
December 13, 2019
Books for Holiday Reading
[image error]I don’t know about you all, but the one time I have uninterrupted, guilt-free reading time is during the holidays–particularly on the days I am traveling, sitting in airports, on planes, in a hotel room in the evening, and when other people take naps.
Here are a couple of promotions I have joined that have lots of books to read during your holiday down time. Hope you find some you will enjoy. Oh, and the audiobook edition of my novella, Kathleen Catches a Killer, is 99 cents on Nook and Chirp and $1.99 on Apple Books.
Click on the pictures below for details!
