The Palimpsest Murders
by Reed Stirling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Historical mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB: Day
one: check-in on the Iphigenia, a Boat & Bike home for thirty guests of
diverse backgrounds on a one week excursion through Holland and Belgium.
Personalities clash, conflicts arise.
Day seven: a body is found in canal waters at the
stern of the boat. On the final morning a second body is discovered.
Who among the cyclists and crew is hateful and
motivated enough to kill? Twice. How are the two murders related? Why two coins
for the ferryman? Is the phoenix jug, both admired and derided, merely symbolic?
How does the death mask of Agamemnon lead to resolution?
Determining truth entails travelling from Amsterdam
to Bruges to Paris to the ancient site of Mycenae in Greece where what’s past
is shown to be prologue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
Two:
She was definitely formidable, imperious even, possessed of
an elegant yet hardened beauty. Vanessa’s earlier estimation of Kat as a
well-preserved, middle-aged vixen came to mind as I watched and listened to
her, but any imagined resemblance to Sophia Loren was fading quickly. She was
striking in her grandiose posing, seeming as though she’d slid down the reverse
side of an ancient Greek vase intent on focusing our interest on her and her misery,
the one-time exemplar of easy command and sensuous self-indulgence. I was
considering the possibility that Kat Steele was living up to the character she
had invented for herself in view of the performance the role of forlorn wife
and rejected mother presently required of her. We’d all noted the air of
theatricality about her. As to what I actually observed of her face that night
in the lounge as she entertained us with her anxious but less than sober
self-absorption and resentment, I could not avoid considering her likely
dependence on Botox and all the meretricious beauty resulting from its
application. Kat had brown eyes that appeared to be anything but lustrous on
this occasion because of the smeared mascara shadowing them. Patches of darker
pigment crested her high cheeks. The woman could boast having perfect teeth,
the better to bite you with, and an aquiline nose sloped perfectly for looking
down its length at you. I was intrigued particularly with how she worked her
lips and how she slid words into statements with iambic stops and starts
designed to smite verbal opposition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. What was the hardest part about writing this book and what did I do to overcome it?
A. The
book is a novel entitled The Palimpsest Murders, a European
Travel Mystery. The plot revolves around thirty or so characters who have embarked
on a week-long Boat and Bike excursion through Holland and Belgium. The
storyline begins in Amsterdam, continues in Paris, and ends in Greece. During
this time, two murders happen in real time and other suspicious deaths are
uncovered as part of the backstory. All are reflected in events that echo the
classical past.
The hardest part about
writing this novel was coming up with so many characters in one place at one
time and keeping them under control, from captain and crew to all the cycling
guests. Each character had to be plausible, realistic, grounded in
recognizable attitudes and traits, be they likeable or not. From the get-go,
each one was to be both a potential victim and a potential murderer; who, when,
why, and where would prove to be an essential part of the enduring
mystery.
To
deal with such diversity, I created a file for each character and relied on it
for verisimilitude. Each character had to be individual. So in that writer’s
file: name, age, nationality, occupation, connection to others in the group,
and what baggage in the metaphorical sense each brought along, that baggage in
several cases being anger and resentment. Revenge had a hearing as well. Wit
had a companion in cynicism. Curiosity had help from online research and
sustained dialogue. Without resorting to stereotypes, I also arranged to have
different nationalities present on the boat — Dutch, English, Japanese,
Canadian, Irish, American. That helped with establishing identifiable speech
patterns, for example, British idiomatic expressions, which would allow the
reader to quickly identify who was speaking.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Reed Stirling lives in Cowichan Bay, BC, and writes when not painting landscapes, travelling, or taking coffee at The Drumroaster, a local café where physics and metaphysics clash daily. Before retiring and taking up writing novels, he taught English Literature. Several talented students of his have gone on to become successful award-winning writers.
He and his wife built a log home in the hills of
southern Vancouver Island, and survived totally off the grid for twenty-five
years during which time the rooms in that house filled up with books, thousands
of student essays were graded, and innumerable cords of firewood were split.
Literary output:
Shades Of Persephone, published in 2019, is a
literary mystery set in Greece.
Lighting The Lamp, a fictional memoir, was published
in March 2020.
Set in Montreal, Séjour Saint-Louis (2021),
dramatizes family conflicts.
The Palimpsest Murders, a European travel mystery,
is forthcoming.
Shorter work has appeared over the years in a
variety of publications including Dis(s)ent, Danforth Review, Fickle Muses,
Fieldstone Review, and Humanist Perspectives.
Intrigue is of primary interest, with romantic
entanglement an integral part of the action. Greek mythology plays a
significant role in underpinning plots. Allusions to art, literature,
philosophy, and religion serve a similar function. Reed sits down to write
every day and tries to leave the desk having achieved at least a workable page.
Frequently what comes of his effort amounts to no more than a serviceable paragraph,
a single sentence, or a metaphor that might work in a context yet to be
imagined.
Links:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bookswelove
https://authorcentral.amazon.comgp/home
https.//ca.linkedin.com>reed-stirling
Affiliated Authors @ LinkedIn
Reed stirling @ Instagram
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Reed Stirling will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn
winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thank you so much for featuring this author and his guest post.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this opportunity to be your guest writer.
DeleteWow! 30 characters & a mystery? Challenge accepted! Seriously, I cannot wait to read your book!
ReplyDeleteYes, a mystery that you as reader resolve. As long as you trust the source of the relevant information.
DeleteWhich character in your book do you feel the closest connection to, and why?
ReplyDeleteA good question. I like most of the main characters; they're all so different. Intentionally. Alexsis Troyes is a very attractive character for me because she is both victim and avenger. She is ambivalent. Her roe is historical, classical. Readers must decide about her for themselves. However, I feel closest to Geoff Cantor, my narrator and "voice," because I really had to get inside his head in order for the the story to proceed to its resolution. He learns much in the pursuit of truth. Through him, I learned as a writer.
DeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteIf you like travel, you will appreciate this story. Same applies to variety in characters. I tried to give them real depth and personality. Trying to solve a mystery, past or present, is what the book is all abut. Thanks for your interest.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Sandra. Responses to questions are not from an anonymous commentator but from me, Reed Stirling. Please, overlook my error.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting read if you like visiting Europe. The story takes the reader to fascinating locations in the Lowlands. Paris is the setting for one chapter, and Greece provides the background for the resolution. A host of intriguing characters gets you on your way. And then there is solving the whodunit, which drives the action.
DeleteThis sounds like a really good story.
ReplyDeleteCycling in the Lowlands with a varied group of individuals who have reasons to be antagonistic. A set of murders that need context to be understood. The reader is challenged to draw conclusions based on the evidence that the central characters uncovers. Involvement is key.
DeleteThis sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your Q&A, bio and the book details, I am looking forward to meeting all of the characters and visiting all of the locales in your story, not to mention seeing if I am able to guess who the killer is!
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very intriguing. Great cover.
ReplyDeleteIf you could have dinner with any fictional character from literature, who would it be and why?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
ReplyDeleteWhat in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
ReplyDelete