Sherlock/Holmes Mystery
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Karen Vaughan's Sherlock/Holmes Mystery Series!
***Synopsis***
Nigel Holmes is a British Police Officer sent to Toronto after a witness was brutally murdered on his watch. Kristen Sherlock is a Detective who was framed for drug possession, and is being harassed by a dirty cop bent on ruining her.
Nigel is politically incorrect and swears like a trucker. Kristen is a by-the-book Police Officer.
Can they work together without driving each other nuts before her stalker hurts Kristen? Nigel, Kristen and her former partner, Craig, work to bring the stalker down.
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
The subgenre or trope is romantic in nature between Kristen and Craig.
Are you more character or plot driven?
I believe I am a little of both.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind? Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace?
Some how I manage to keep them straight in my head and I do have the names written on paper.
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Nigel likes to go rogue. An example of this is when he follows Kristen to the Don Jail when Craig and the captain told him not to but he wanted to help.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
No but I modelled Nigel after Ricky Gervais.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
No Kristen is her own person and character.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
I usually have trouble writing sex scenes in a mystery story.
What is your favorite book in the series?
I loved Holmes in America but my sequel Escape Key is my favorite.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
Ya gotta love Nigel. He is trying to be the best cop he can be but he is quirky and has his own methods and sayings that get him in trouble.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
I love Denise and her would be kidnapper in Escape Key.
He hates the fact that everyone is being so mean to Denise. He decides to treat her with kindness and the romance goes from there.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find their perfect HEA?
I wanted there to be an HEA for Denise and Patrick especially after escaping from certain death.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
I had fun in Holmes in America where Nigel is shot and hopped up on pain killers and he is singing badly… I just met a girl named Maria while he was thinking of his love interest.
Series - Were any of the books harder to write than others?
Not really harder but Escape Key took more research as it took place in England.
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further depth. Do you think you will write another book or series following this multiple POV outline?
I wrote this from multiple POVs in this series to get deeper into the characters minds both of the police but also the villain. I will use this method again in future books in the series.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
It took 3 months to write the first draft of Holmes in America and another 4 months to revise and edit it.
I started Escape Key which I originally called Holmes Sweet Home during NaNoWriMo in 2019 and finished it in 2020 during the pandemic.
How did you come up with the title for your book and series?
When naming Holmes in America (even though it takes place in Canada) I thought of the Supertramp album Breakfast in America.
Escape Key is a computer term and related to the subject of hacking that the bad guys wanted Denise to do and the subsequent escape.
I named it the Sherlock/Holmes series after Nigel Holmes and Kristen Sherlock.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
I think I would love Nigel and Kristen even though they didn’t get along at first. I would want them to help me if I needed it.
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?
Nigel bothered me in my sleep til I gave him Holmes in America.
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
James Cordon and Missy Peregrim
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
I have a WIP where I put Nigel and Kristen together with Laura from my other series Dead of Winter.
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Karen Vaughan!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2023/02/author-at-glance-karen-vaughan.html
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