The MADELEINE BROOKS MYSTERIES by Tannis Laidlaw
I grew up devouring murder mystery paperbacks, almost all British, mostly located in English villages. I loved – love – Agatha Christie, Marjorie Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers – the ‘queens’ of mystery writers and I always secretly wished I could join their ranks. But I hold them in such high respect, I didn’t dare try to emulate what the queens could do: writing a classical mystery with all its requirements, not overly long in length, good character development that would interest readers over several books, drama that did not – ever – rely on car chases or gory detailing and a pace that was just right. No getting caught in a rush of adrenaline with one impossibly horrific scene after another for the queens; instead a flow of ideas, solid detection, being alert to clues and red herrings that lead up to a satisfying climax followed by a denouement that ties up loose ends. So gratifying. Utterly delightful. And I so love the detectives they created, often amateur, otherwise of engaging character, all ages, both genders and of various body types with nary a nod at political correctness.
The big question: could I write a murder mystery that fulfilled my own stringent requirements? Did I dare try?
You’ve guessed it. I finally screwed up my courage and put fingers to keyboard. Yes, I have been busy writing a murder mystery series. So far there are three books written and being readied for publication featuring former probation officer and newbie estate agent, Madeleine Brooks. Maddie has two grown daughters and an ex-husband as well as an ex-career. She’s recently relocated from suburbia to a small village in the Oxfordshire countryside, thus satisfying one of the criteria I especially love about many of the queens’ locations: the British village.
Luckily, at one time I lived for almost five years in Oxfordshire. I commuted by train into London where I was a researcher at Imperial College London. In fact, it was there I started writing – not mysteries, but the domestic thrillers you may know. Now I can use that real village where we lived and its neighbouring villages as models for the villages I’ve created in the Madeleine Brooks mysteries. In fact, the cottage where Maddie lives is modelled on the cottage next door to where we lived. Did I use real places? The three main villages, Woodley Vale, Woodley Bottom and Courtneyside are a combination of imaginary names and real topography of various villages in South Oxfordshire. There are some clues where those villages are located by the proximity to real places such as Goring–on–Thames and, indeed, Reading, both of which feature in the stories.
Am I enjoying writing these books? Absolutely. I’m busy writing the fourth mystery right now. I’m really enjoying writing this series.
Not just enjoying – loving it!
Dear Tannis Laidlaw,
My name is Amy Zhang, and I am a talent scout at EGlobal Creative Publishing, the U.S. division of Jianlai Global. We are a coampany based in New York State and Hong Kong which publishes both translated and English-language novels on multiple online platforms.
My job is to find stories that I think have the potential to work as online serials. I came across your books while searching for promising novels in genres including romance, fantasy, and mystery. I think that your writing would be a good fit for our model!
Our goal is to work with authors to publish on these platforms on a non-exclusive basis, meaning that you would retain all your rights to your work, and would still be completely free to publish your novels wherever you already have them available and in all formats.
In this model of publishing, readers with subscriptions to the platforms must pay to unlock chapters as they read them. I can assure you that EGlobal Creative Publishing will never ask for any costs or payments on your behalf.
We are also aware that many authors may be wary of emails like this one, since most traditional publishers and platforms tend to ask writers to come to them first. However, our philosophy is that readers are the ultimate judges of stories. We’ve seen firsthand how novels, given the opportunity to be adequately promoted, can appeal to many people who wouldn’t have found them otherwise. These platforms cater to a large Asian reader base who also read works in English, and so have the potential to connect your work to a new audience.
If you are interested in learning more about the company, the platforms, how we work, and more, I would love to hear back from you! A member of our acquisitions team will be able to answer any questions that you may have about the process.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Best regards,
Amy Zhang
EGlobal Creative Publishing
[Amy Zhang] Amy.Zhang@jianlaiglobal.com
https://www.jianlaiglobal.com
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I’ll be in touch.
I’ve never read any of your books, Ms Laidlaw, but I’m surely tempted to. The thing is, I’ve got a lot of other material to read first—-and I’m not talking about the diverting novel either.
Giving into temptations? Good and bad, as most things are, Don. But, in this case, I do hope you dip into one of my novels – lots to choose from, more than 20 at this stage of my writing career! And, you’ll find I always write about real things with real information. That’s my aim, anyway.
Hi, I’ve read 4 of your Brooks mysteries. I love them. I’ve been trying to figure out where to write a review.
Thank you,
Melody Foreman
I do love reviews! If you are allowed (stupid rules Amazon puts up), a review on Amazon would be great. Second, a review on Goodreads (although owned by Amazon) is much more reader-friendly, a reviews there are really appreciated as well. Thanks, Melody!