I've been visiting Nevada and California to research a series of history mystery stories I hope to write. They will be set in the Comstock region of Nevada in the autumn of 1862, the beginning of the big silver boom there and the time of Mark Twain's arrival at the Territorial Enterprise Newspaper. left: Sam Clemens - not yet Mark Twain - when he arrived in Virginia City in 1862 aged 27
I don't want to say too much because it is a fantastic idea - and nobody else has done it - but here are a few clues.
1. The series will be for children aged 8 - 14+
2. The detective will be a loner: the western hero is always a loner.
3. The detective will be a kid.
4. The detective will own a Smith & Wesson seven-shooter.
5. Real historical figures will appear in the books.
6. The bad-guys will be gunfighters, tricksters & newspapermen.
7. The mysteries will be based around real historical events.
8. The books will be told in the first person.
9. My detective will love black coffee and layer cake.
10. I am going to have a lot of fun writing these books.
So watch this space!
Cannot wait for these! Hope someone rides in from Nevada City, CA too. Adding this blog to the Non-Garden section of my blog roll.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad there's this new serie cause I'm practicly done with the Roman Mysteries...
ReplyDeleteAt first I wasn't sure if I'd read this series b/c I'm really just interested in Roman history, but now I'm sure I will. After all, it's you writing it!
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, though, I'll be eagerly awaiting your planned novels about Flavia and the gang all grown up.
Hey, zion613!
ReplyDeleteI hope to do both, though a Roman Mysteries spin off won't be so much about Flavia et al as about the next generation!
C
Hi, Caroline!
ReplyDeleteSince I am very much enjoying the Roman Mysteries, you have to write the Western ones! I loved Mark Twain's books since I was a kid (and I never read the "ad usum delphini" versions, always the real stuff!) and was a Western afficionate as well. :-)
Keep up the good work!
These sound fun! When do you think the first one will be published?
ReplyDeleteThe first Western Mystery will be out in the UK in June 2011. I'm not sure about the publishing schedule in America yet.
ReplyDelete