Inspiring Sherlock’s Secretary

Inspiring Sherlock’s Secretary

 

When I started writing Sherlock’s Secretary, I had a basic idea for a plot.  It would be inspired by the fact that in real life, there used to be a bank on Baker Street that hired someone to reply to all of the people who wrote to Sherlock Holmes.

 

This was the initial premise.  But what next?  What sort of mystery would be involved?  What made the central character move from a desk job to solving a case himself?  I realized early on that as this was set at a bank, there ought to be a robbery, but it took a lot of plotting and brainstorming to come up with a workable idea for the central mystery.

 

I also realized early on that I wanted this to have a lighter tone– a comedic tone, if possible.  I’ve read a lot of very dark, intense crime novels lately, and I realized that I wanted something different.  Inspired by my study of Joyce Porter’s comedic novels, I decided to craft the story on a kind of investigative road trip, with a bunch of weird and colorful characters entering the tale along the way.  My main point was that the story was supposed to be fun, and hopefully leave the reader laughing as well as trying to fit together the puzzle pieces.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5^th.  His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” 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.

 

Good News This Week!

Good News This Week!

 

There’s some good news this week– Murder Most Grotesque was released on Tuesday in both Kindle and paperback formats!  Not only that, but the Kickstarter for Sherlock’s Secretary just ended this morning, and it was a success!  

 

I’d like to thank everybody involved– I really appreciate it!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5^th.  His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” 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.

A Busy Week Ahead!

A Busy Week Ahead!

 

Hello everybody!  There’s a lot happening in the next seven days for me.  First, Murder Most Grotesque will be released on Tuesday, the 7^th!  If you’re looking for a book that will introduce you to a highly entertaining author, please consider taking a look!  Some incredible news– as of today, it’s the #1 New Release for Mystery Literary Criticism on Amazon!

 

Not only that, but we’re in the final week for the Kickstarter for Sherlock’s Secretary!  I’d like to thank everybody who has backed the project so far.  If you’d like to get a special deal on Sherlock’s Secretary, or my earlier book Sherlock & Irene, or even get some never-before-published Funderburke mysteries, please take a look!  

 

Also, please check out the Kickstarters of some other great MX authors, like David Marcum’s The Collected Papers of Sherlock Holmes series, and the following projects below (the descriptions are quoted from Steve Emecz’s coverage of these projects:

 

Sherlock Holmes Advent Calendar - Volume 3- the first two calendars sold out last year so we expect the new one to go the same way!

Beasts of London - Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and their associate Mary Morstan are some of the most adept mages in London, safeguarding the peace of the city. Their daily life of solving crimes is interrupted when an ancient threat rises in Dartmoor.

Dark Arts, Dark Acts - A Sherlock Holmes Adventure - 1940 - The British Foreign Office sends Holmes and Watson on a top-secret mission to Berlin

Sherlock Holmes and The Man With The Twisted Script - Imagine you are a caption writer and your editor drops a pile of old Sidney Paget illustrations on your desk and says 'get these ready for printing’.

Sherlock Holmes: New Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells - a two-volume anthology with 25 new adventures of Sherlock Holmes solving cases involving characters from the stories of H.G. Wells.

 

Thank you all so much!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5^th.  His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter will be published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.comand the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

A Big Thank You To All of My Backers So Far!

A Big Thank You To All of My Backers So Far!

 

I’d like to say “thanks so much” to all of the forty-nine people who have backed Sherlock’s Secretary as of this writing.  It means a lot to me that we’ve nearly doubled the goal on Kickstarter.  There’s just under two weeks to go, so we’ll see what happens in the second half of the fundraising project.  Once again, thank you all so much!

 

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5^th.  His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter will be published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” 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.

 

 

Announcing Murder Most Grotesque!

Announcing Murder Most Grotesque!

 

A few months ago, I announced my upcoming book on the mystery writer Joyce Porter.  I’m happy to say that Level Best Books will release my book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter on September 7^th!  It’s a study of all twenty of her books, as well as the television and radio adaptations of her work.  If you enjoy humor, twisty mysteries, and outrageous fun, I hope that you give this a look!

The Kindle edition is available for preorder on Amazon, and the paperback edition will be announced soon!

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5^th.  His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter will be published by Level Best Books on September 7^th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” 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.

Announcing Sherlock’s Secretary!

Announcing Sherlock’s Secretary!

 

On November 5^th, MX Publishing will release my first full-length novel, Sherlock’s Secretary!  Set in the present day, Sherlock’s Secretary is inspired by real-life situation where for many years, 221B Baker Street was the home of a bank which employed a full-time secretary to reply to all of the letters addressed to Mr. Sherlock Holmes. When a bank robbery leads to three letters being stolen, the authorities think it’s all a joke… until a little investigation leads to a murder with ties to the BBC’s “Great Erasure.”

 

If you’re interested in getting a special deal on Sherlock’s Secretary, please check out my Kickstarter page, which offers bonuses, including PDF’s and autographed copies of Sherlock’s Secretary and my earlier non-fiction book Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia.”  You can also get ebooks of two additional Sherlock Holmes pastiches (“The Diogenes Club Poltergeist” and “The Adventure of the Villainous Victim”), and two never-before published Funderburke mystery novellas, “I Spit on Your Happiness” and “The Leather Jacket of Doom,” centered around a long-lost father who may be a killer, and clothing potentially poisoned by illegal drugs.

 

More details will follow soon.  Thanks!

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, will be released on November 5th.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” 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.

Stay Tuned for a Big Announcement!

 Stay Tuned for a Big Announcement!

 

I have some fantastic news coming up soon regarding my first novel!  More details and an official release date should be ready in the next week or so, so please, stay tuned!

 

–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.