Blog Tour: Mrs. Meade Series by Elisabeth Grace Foley
1:00 AM
I’m a twenty-four-year-old homeschool graduate, the oldest
of four siblings, and I live at home with my family and two dogs—a ten-year-old
mini Schnoodle and a big, rambunctious German Shepherd puppy. I’m an insatiable
reader; I love old books, history, Westerns and mysteries in particular.
Besides the Mrs. Meade Mysteries, I’ve published a collection of Western short
stories and a couple other pieces of short historical fiction. When I’m not reading
or writing I enjoy music, crocheting or embroidering, watching old movies and
sports, and spending time outdoors.
What inspired the
Mrs. Meade series?
Well, the first story, The
Silver Shawl, began as a vague idea for a Western story with a mystery plot.
It didn’t quite work that way, so I re-imagined it as a straight historical
mystery. There was a supporting character of an older lady in that original
idea that I liked, so somewhere along the way of remodeling it I had the idea
to make her a more prominent character and the amateur detective of the story. A
little later, when I had another mystery idea in a similar vein, I realized I
could use her again and make a series of it!
Do you find it
challenging to write mysteries?
Yes and no. It’s a lot of fun to try and put together all
the different layers of a mystery plot—the suspects, the motives, the clues.
The tricky part is that it’s hard to tell whether you’ve disguised the truth
cleverly enough that readers will be challenged to figure it out. I already know the solution and the significance
of all the clues, so I can’t really put myself in the reader’s place and try to
guess how it will look to them.
I haven’t set a number yet. As of right now I have plots
sketched out for four more.
Who will enjoy the
stories?
Readers who like old-fashioned mysteries, from the 19th and
early 20th centuries—I’ve read loads of Christie and Chesterton and Conan Doyle
and their contemporaries, and my own mysteries very much follow in their
tradition. If you like Christie’s Miss Jane Marple I think you’ll enjoy making
the acquaintance of Mrs. Meade. Also readers who like somewhat unusual mystery
plots—I’ve endeavored to try out some more original situations, rather than
simply the standard murder-mystery (although I do have plans for Mrs. Meade to
take on one of those in the future!).
What is your
favorite quote from Mrs. Meade?
I’m rather fond of this bit from the second story, The Parting Glass:
“You’ve been thinking
again!” accused Andrew Royal rather unnecessarily.
Do you have any
final thoughts?
Only to say thank you very much for hosting me here,
Sarah! I’ve enjoyed it.
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2 comments
I really enjoyed the Mrs. Meade mysteries I've read. I'm glad there are so many more in the works!!
ReplyDeleteThese look like a lot of fun.
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