Review: Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes

Mini Review:

What I enjoyed about it were the stories themselves--three new mysteries, lots of comraderie and excitement and an interesting peek at international politics and religion of that age. Ann Lewis has a wonderful feel for the characters; you can tell she's a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Holmes pastiches--and to the casual mystery reader who enjoys Holmes' & Watson's adventures.

One note: Do not expect to see these guys modernized. Lewis stays as close to the era as possible. I'll leave it to others to speak to it's "authenticity." Still, to my inexpert eye, it's very close to the tone and approach of the Great Detective. That just makes the book that much more fun.

Purchase Murder in the Vatican

Amazon purchase link: http://amzn.to/hT2gK5

Purchase from the publisher: http://www.wessexpress.com/

Want to know more? Visit these stops on the Murder in the Vatican virtual book tour.

Tribute Books Reviews	http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.com	2-Apr		interview
Fabianspace	www.fabianspace.com	2-Apr		review
Susanne Drazic	http://susannedrazic.blogspot.com/	2-Apr		gen info
Time With Tannia	http://timewithtannia.tripod.com/	2-Apr		interview
Marian Allen	http://MarianAllen.com	3-Apr		interview
John Konecsni	http://apiusman.blogspot.com	4-Apr		Interview +guest post
Baker Street Blog	http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/	5-Apr		guest post
Penny Ehrenkranz	http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com	6-Apr		interview
Julie Davis	http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/	7-Apr		review
Lisa Hendey	http://CatholicMom.com	7-Apr		guest post
Impact Reviews	http://www.chadlavender.com/impact	8-Apr		review
The Writing Life for	http://thewritinglifeforme.blogspot.com/	8-Apr		interview
Naomi Clark	http://naomi-jay.livejournal.com/	9-Apr		guest post
Character Education Criteria Reviews	http://www.litland.com/reviews.html	11-Apr		review + guest post
So What Do We Think	http://www.litland.com/blog/	12-Apr		review + guest post
Katie Hines	http://katiehines.blogspot.com	14-Apr		guest post
The Detective Eye	http://tinyurl.com/mitvwiki	15-Apr		Review + interview
Teri Harmon	www.teribelle.wordpress.com	16-Apr		guest post
Cheryl Malandrinos	http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com	18-Apr		Review + guest post
Author Caprice Hokstad	http://caprice.splashdownbooks.com/	20-Apr		review

My Novel's Journey: Off to the Publisher

Live and Let Fly went to the publisher at 10:30 CST last night!

I want to thank those who took the time to proof and critique the manuscript, especially my friend Ann Lewis. Ann's mother died last month, so she only got through the first chapter before her life went topsy-turvy. However, she pegged me on my main weakness--the early data dump--and called me on it. As I looked it over, I decided I liked the narrative, and didn't see a way to weave it into the action of the first chapter, so I made it the prologue, which is a much nicer fit for the information, anyway. Then I needed a title for that, and Ann came through again.

Everyone who read the manuscript and got me back comments made a difference. When you read it, know that you have them to thank.

Of course, another great help to a manuscript is to read it after not having laid eyes on it for a few weeks. As I went through it for the last time this weekend, I found even more repeated words (that's becoming my pet peeve!) and a few places where I missed a detail or felt, now that I saw the action with new eyes, that I hadn't explained enough. No matter how much you tweak a manuscript, there's always something more you can do.

However, there's also a point where you say, "Good enough!" and send it off. That time was late last night. I feel really good about Live and Let Fly.

What's next? Christmas decorating, editing Infinite Space, Infinite God II, and finishing my sci-fi novel, Discovery. I had planned to make Discovery hard sci-fi, but given the publisher I hope to send it to, I'm going to soften it up by putting more of the tech behind-the-scenes. It's less pressure on me, too. Stay tuned Thursday evenings or Friday mornings for my next Novel's Journey as we explore writing Catholic sci-fi.