My Writing Journey by KD Sherrinford

KD Sherrinford- My writing journey. 

A voracious reader from an early age. I became fascinated by the works of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I read the entire Sherlock Holmes Canon by the time I was 13. I was a shy, introverted child; always found in the library with my head in a book. 

My favourite lessons were English literature and Religious education, not because I’m particularly religious but because the teacher made the lessons exciting and engaging. Having little life experience back then, I wrote about my second love, horses. I was mortified when my English teacher John James read my essays in class. 

I found writing an escape from the hum-drum of everyday life. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined I would one day become a published author. 

My father, Denis O’Doherty, re-ignited my passion for writing twenty years ago when we wrote a satirical short story about the afterlife entitled “Good Heavens” Sadly, the manuscript got lost in a house move. Something I have always regretted as, unfortunately, my dad passed away a few years later. 

I was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire, my father was a warrant officer in The RAF, and my mother, Marion, was a state registered nurse. I met my husband John in 1982, and from then, we relocated to Blackpool on The Fylde Coast in 1985 with our two children, Katie and David. 

For the following 25 years, I worked as an Estate Agent for Countrywide and became a Fellow of The National Association of Estate Agents. My occupation and raising a family were equally demanding, however rewarding, leaving little time for creative writing. It would be another thirty-eight years before my writing career began in earnest. 

I remember precisely when the inspiration was firmly embedded to write about Irene Adler. It was during a visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street in October 2019 with my daughter Katie. After our visit, I remarked upon how disappointed I felt to never have read any other stories progressing the relationship between Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to share the possibilities of what might have been between Adler and Holmes. As a response to my frustration, my daughter encouraged me to create my own narrative. 

Subsequently, I received a book in the post from Katie. “ How to Write a Novel” by Richard Skinner. Which I found helpful and informative. As a result, I tried to join local readers groups and writing clubs, but sadly, by then, COVID had risen its ugly head, and none of the clubs were operating. 

Following on from this, I found some classes on the Internet. I joined social media and interacted with other authors, meeting lovely people. I wrote some outlines for my book and in January 2020, I started work on the first draft of my debut novel,” Song for Someone.” I discovered I’m a Panster writer. I had so many ideas in my head that I couldn’t wait to get them down on the page.

The novel took two years to write, working 6-8 hours daily. The book is historical fiction, so it involved extensive research, including interacting the fictional characters with real-life people such as Agatha Christie, Arturo Toscanini and Pietro Masgagni. 

My first few drafts were okay, but nothing special. So, I asked friends to critique my work and engaged the services of Beta Readers. Abi McIntosh became my development editor. She read so many versions of my book with immense thoughtfulness and insight. I am grateful to her for suggesting I should write the prologue for Song, “ A Very Bohemian Scandal”; from Irene Adler’s point of view, I believe that’s the first time it’s been done. 

I received excellent feedback from Derrick Belanger, a lecturer and leading authority on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He liked how I wrote “ A Scandal In Bohemia” from Adler’s perspective; Derrick suggested I send my manuscript to MX Publishing. . 

By then, I had already started working on my second book in the series, a novella entitled “Christmas at The Saporis.” Then, I discovered MX only published short stories as part of anthologies. I already had the story of my third book in my head. Therefore, I sent a query letter to Extasy Books, a synopsis for each book, and the PDF for ‘Song’. They got back to me and offered me a series contract. I was over the moon when I signed the contract. It was one of the happiest days of my life! 

My book was assigned to a professional editor, and the hard work began. Finally, with all the editing completed, receiving my book’s final galley and cover reveal was thrilling.“Song for Someone” was published on the 21st of November last year., followed by Christmas at The Saporis on the 23rd of December. 

I am proud to say that I am now working on the second round of edits for the third book in the series,” Meet Me In Milan”, to be published later in the summer. 

I recently completed a short cozy mystery entitled “ A Bit of a Do” for Marla Breeden’s anthology “ Malice Matrimony and Murder “, to be published in November. I was thrilled to be included with so many talented authors. A Kickstarter campaign was launched on the 23rd of May, reaching the required funding target within 12 hours. 

I’m unsure what’s next, perhaps another book in the Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Mysteries. However, I am considering writing a series featuring Liv, the main character in my short cozy mystery. I would, however, love to develop Song into a screenplay one day, So we’ll see. 

I advise anyone considering writing a book to never let anyone dissuade you from following your dreams. Write something that interests you, a book you would choose to read yourself. At age sixty-six, I still cannot believe that I will have four books published by the end of this year. My father would have been proud.

—

KD Sherrinford was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire, and now resides on The Fylde Coast with her husband John.  

She was employed by Countywide for over 20 years and became a Fellow of The National Association of Estate Agents.

Retirement finally gave KD the opportunity to follow her dreams and start work on her first novel. “Song for Someone.”

KD recently completed her second book in the Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler mystery series, “Christmas at The Saporis”,The third Meet Me In Milan will be published this summer.

KD can be found on her author page: https://www.facebook.com/KDSherrinfordAuthor.co.uk

Twitter https://twitter.com/KDSherrinford

SONG FOR SOMEONE

Love is the aria of the soul.

Charlotte Sapori has led a wonderful life, safely tucked in the bosom of her family. Her mother, Irene Adler, is a renowned opera singer, while her father, Lucca Sapori, does important government work that frequently takes him away from them. Charlotte is close to her older brother, Nicco, and they are both doted on by their parents. All is well until her mother receives an unexpected diagnosis which shakes the family to its core.

Knowing herself to be dying, Adler confesses to Charlotte things that have long been kept from her, telling her to find and read her diary. A distressed Lucca Sapori tells his daughter to read his as well. And by the way, Lucca Sapori is not his real name. In fact, she may have heard of him—he is actually the world-famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Charlotte finds both diaries and plunges into the hidden world of Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes as she discovers what brought them together, and how they managed to stay together for thirty years despite having to battle the odds.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips