Jenn McKinlay: Confession time. I am a Sherlockian or a Holmesian, depending upon your preference. Either way, I'm a huge fan of all things Sherlock Holmes so it's unsurprising that I'm delighted to see Vicki Delany's latest Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery is hitting the shelves on Jan 11th!!! Just look at that cover! Fabulous!
Vicki Delany: There’s no such thing as an original idea. It’s all been done before. Some people say there are 32 basic plots. Some say there are two – a person goes on a journey; a stranger comes to town.
I say it doesn’t matter. You might not be able to come up with a truly original idea, but the trick to writing is to take what’s been done before, and make it your own.
Say you have an idea for a great tale: A fatherless boy is secretly watched over by a wise older man of unspecified power, and the boy eventually takes his rightful position as a person of great importance.
Harry Potter, King Arthur, Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins. They all follow the same basic outline, but each story is individualized when the teller makes it their own. (Why the standard trope always features a boy and a man, is an article for another day).
Think of Sherlock Holmes. It would probably be impossible to count the number of Sherlock Holmes pastiche characters out there. Sherlock first appeared in 1887 and over the years since he not only continues to be relevant but has grown and spread immeasurably.
What is it about Sherlock Holmes that has captured the popular imagination arguably more than any other figure in fiction? Is it his incredible intellect that has us all enthralled? Is it the gaslight streets, the long dresses, frock coats and top hats? Maybe it’s the sometimes-stiff, formal language. Is it Dr. John Watson himself, ever confused but always loyal, or the simple friendship between two such different men?
Regardless of the reason, there’s no doubting the continuing popularity of the Great Detective and the attempts to imitate or recreate him.
As I have done, with Gemma Doyle and the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. Gemma owns the shop, but she is also the Sherlock character. She’s my attempt to reimagine the Great Detective as a modern young woman. At her side is Jayne Wilson, ever confused but always loyal.
Running a bookstore, keeping up with friends, and trying to have a love life doesn’t make it easy to be a consulting detective. But, as Gemma constantly says, she isn’t actually a consulting detective. In true cozy fashion however, she seems to just fall into situations.
I took an old idea, a non-original character, and changed and adapted it to make it my own.
The situations Gemma and Jayne find themselves in don’t have to be original ideas either. In the latest in the series, A Three Book Problem, they’re hired to feed and entertain guests at a recreation of a Victorian English Country House Weekend.
In the manner of Agatha Christie or Naigo Marsh, the guests gather at the secretive mansion, the servants move silently and efficiently around the house, guests tour the expansive grounds, tensions explode, secrets are revealed. And someone is murdered! There is a limited circle of suspects – the killer can only be a guest or servant who was in the house for the special weekend. The detective searches for clues and studies the suspects. She reaches the conclusion through an intense study of personalities and actions. No need for forensic analyses, record checks, tracing cell phone signals here.
Once I had the bones of the story (the unoriginal idea, if you will) I made it my own. I created the characters and set the plot in motion. I gave them all secrets and reasons to be in that house. It is certainly my intention that no one will be able to figure out the killer or the motive because they’re read it someplace else!
The stories we love the most, whether of the fatherless boy or the Great Detective, continue to inspire writers to adapt, to improvise, to create new and more modern versions for new generations of readers to enjoy.
Make it your own.
I’d love to know -- what recreated plots or characters you love? Or hate. Because yes, some don’t deserve to be resurrected!
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Catskill Summer Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.
Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
The latest in Vicki’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series is A Three Book Problem(Crooked Lane Books, January 2022)
