Stephanie’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2012)

Stephanie’s comments from the Q&A with Stephanie Osborn group.

UPDATE: The Case of the Displaced Detective Omnibus is now ON SALE for $2.99 through Jan 20, 2014! It contains the first four ebooks in print, so that comes out to be $0.7475 per book! As a fan told me, Moriarty must be involved, because it's a steal!

It's been a busy week. But here's a guest blog I sought out. It's a reprint from the author's own blog, and it's one that every fan of an author should read.

http://stephanie-osborn.blogspot.com/...

Wide-ranging interview with Shiny Book Review: http://tinyurl.com/kpr3try

Let this be a jumping-off point for more questions, guys.

A lovely book review by a long-time Holmes fan: http://hcplaya.wordpress.com/2013/09/...

A very nice interview today to open up the promotion and sale!

http://momwithakindle.blogspot.com/20...

If you have been waiting to read the Displaced Detective Series by Stephanie Osborn , now is the time! The Case of the Displaced Detective: The Arrival will be available in all ebook formats for just $0.99! Don't have an ebook reader? Amazon has a free download of Kindle for PC available!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/11dpDkw
B&N: http://bit.ly/1aEwy7e
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/16x7Kxm
Amazon CA: amzn.to/18o3g8R

Dan wrote: "Stephanie wrote: This part is not quite true for me. I tend to debate it with my characters before I write it, or sometimes during, but I usually know what they're going to say or do before I set i..."

Well, the odd part is that I am not really a plotter. Then again, I'm not really a pantser either. I guess I fall somewhere in between.

Dan wrote: "I did that myself...when I was writing Brett's voice was in my head saying the lines, making the gestures, flashing that lightning smile..."

The world was poorer the day he left it.

Dan wrote: "...In my best stories, I have no idea what's going to happen next, or what the characters will say next. Not until my fingers have finished typing it, in any case."

This part is not quite true for me. I tend to debate it with my characters before I write it, or sometimes during, but I usually know what they're going to say or do before I set it down. It's very hard to write a mystery without knowing beforehand what's going on.

And to that end, I find that with mysteries, I usually write the climax first, so I know exactly what is going to happen, and what has to happen to get there. Then I will either follow from there and write the denoument or go back and write the beginning. Whichever one I just did, I then go do the other. Now I have the initial conditions and the desired results, and I work out what needs to happen in between, and write it up.

Dan wrote: "When my characters begin telling me what they are saying or doing, instead of my having to think up things about them or for them. Once the characters are vivid enough for me to follow them rather ..."

That's very much how it works for me, too. In my head, Holmes and Chadwick are very much real people. I'll let you in on a little secret: When I first started writing these books, it was quite some years before the TV shows Sherlock or Elementary had even been discussed (at least publicly), let alone aired. Not even the Guy Ritchie/RDJ films. My "mental" Holmes was Jeremy Brett, from the 1980s/90s BBC Grenada series. So whenever my mind's ear heard "my" Holmes speaking what I was writing in Brett's voice, I KNEW I had nailed it!

Dan wrote: "So how do you tell if you have a mystery worthy of Holmes, versus one which would better suit the average investigator? What tells you that you've got a real corker of a mystery in mind?"

You know, I'm not entirely sure. I think it's a gut thing, an instinct. The concept will sound good to me, sound exciting. It'll sound like an adventure I want to be part of.

If it also gives my publisher goose bumps, I know I'm on to something!

ETA: Any mystery that stars Sherlock Holmes has to be something out of the ordinary. It has to be BIG, it has to be COMPLEX, and it has to be something important. Finding a lost cat ain't gonna cut it (unless the cat -- or rabbit, as the case may be -- glows in the dark).

You're a writer, Dan. I'm going to turn it around and ask you how YOU know when you've got a good thing by the tail?

Lee wrote: "Yes I have and it is fantastic :). I have read the first book :)"

What mad you like it so much? I want to make sure I keep it up. ;)

Lee wrote: "I am here :)"

Hi Lee! Tell everyone a little about you!

Dan wrote: "So how do you tell if you have a mystery worthy of Holmes, versus one which would better suit the average investigator? What tells you that you've got a real corker of a mystery in mind?"

Dan, could you please move this out of the welcome thread? Either move it to one of the other two threads, or start a new one, whatever seems right to you. I want to keep this thread for introductions.

Dan wrote: "I made it. Thought I was going to have to miss out."

Welcome to the group! Tell us a little about yourself!

Please use this thread to introduce yourself and tell us a little something about you.

Have you heard about my new series? If so, what do you think of the concept? Have you read any of the books yet?

Arthur Conan Doyle created an enduring character when he created Sherlock Holmes. Many have tried to repeat this over the years, in books, television, and film. What's your favorite? Which ones suck? Why? And what is it that makes Holmes uniquely Holmes, so that you KNOW when it's really him and when it isn't?

Welcome, everyone, to what I hope will be a lively discussion about mystery, science fiction, Sherlock Holmes, and what makes Holmes Holmes! There's a lot of Holmes out there, from the new BBC series Sherlock to Robert Downey Jr.'s interpretation, to my new books. Let's talk about what's similar, what's different, and why we like some and don't like others!