Who The Heck Is Joyce Porter?

Who The Heck Is Joyce Porter?

 

As a mystery critic, I take pleasure in publicizing terrific writers who are less well-known than they ought to be.  I love the works of Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Erle Stanley Gardner, but every now and then I find another, not nearly so famous crime writer, who needs some recognition.

 

I discovered Joyce Porter by listening to some British radio adaptations of her books.  Not only does she know how to write a terrific whodunit, but she also is one of the funniest writers I’ve ever read.  Porter spent the first stage of her adult life working in spycraft, before retiring and switching to writing.

 

She created three detectives: Inspector Dover, Scotland Yard’s laziest officer; Eddie Brown, an exceedingly reluctant spy; and the Honorable Constance Morrison-Burke (the “Hon Con”), a noblewoman who decides to start working as a private eye.  (The title of this post is a riff on Who the Heck is Sylvia?, an Hon Con novel.

 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be profiling Porter’s great detectives.  I hope my work beings her wider recognition.

 

So what else can I do to promote Porter’s work?  Why, write a full-length literary analysis of her mysteries.  It’s scheduled to come out this summer.

 

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Article Profile: “Did Solar Pons Inspire Saul Panzer?”

Article Profile: “Did Solar Pons Inspire Saul Panzer?”

 

As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, I’m a huge fan of Golden Age mysteries.  I love Sherlock Holmes stories.  I also really enjoy August Derleth’s pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, Solar Pons.  I’m also an enthusiastic reader of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin mysteries.  

 

My book Sherlock & Irene illustrates that I play “The Great Game,” the critical thinking and analysis exercise where mystery tales are scrutinized for hidden secrets and logical conclusions.  There are many players of “The Great Game” who have found links between the Nero Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes universes, most notably theories about Wolfe’s parentage.  Could there be a link between the Nero Wolfe and Solar Pons worlds?  My article says “yes.”

 

The Pontine Dossier: Millennium Edition, Volume One Issue Two is available for sale in both a paperback and a Kindle edition.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Interview With Celestial Echo Press

A few months ago, my short story “Raguel” was published in the anthology The Trench Coat Chronicles.  I recently participated in a promotional interview with the publisher, Celestial Echo Press.

 

In the interview, I talk about my story, my career, my interest in short fiction, and why I write the way I do.  The interview can be read on Facebook here.

 

 

The Trench Coat Chronicles is available on Kindle and in paperback as well.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

Kickstarter: “Sherlock Holmes: Stranger Than Truth”

Kickstarter: “Sherlock Holmes: Stranger Than Truth”

 

Are you interested in helping to fund some quality historical mystery fiction?  Belanger Books, one of my publishers, specializes in releasing original works of mystery, including Sherlock Holmes pastiches.  Stranger Than Fact, and its companion volume, Stranger Than Fiction, feature Sherlock Holmes solving cases featuring real-life historical figures and classic fictional characters in the public domain.

 

I have a story in Stranger Than Fact featuring Grace Quackenbos Humiston, a lawyer and activist known as “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.”  

 

If you’re interested in funding these works and getting some copies of the books and other rewards, please go to Kickstarter, take a look, and show your support!  Thanks!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.