Barnabas
Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab
BLURB
Barnabas Tew is a private detective struggling to survive in his trade in Victorian London. Fearing that he is not as clever as he had hoped to be, he is plagued by a lack of confidence brought on in no small part by his failure to prevent the untimely deaths of several of his clients.
Matters only get worse when Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead, is referred to Barnabas by a former client (who perished in a terribly unfortunate incident which was almost certainly not Barnabas' fault). Anubis sends for Barnabas (in a most uncivilized manner) and tells him that the scarab beetle in charge of rolling the sun across the sky every day has been kidnapped, and perhaps dismembered entirely.
The Land of the Dead is in chaos, which will soon spill over into the Land of the Living if Barnabas - together with his trusty assistant, Wilfred - cannot set matters to right. Pulled from his predictable (if unremarkable) life in Marylebone, Barnabas must match his wits against the capricious and dangerous Egyptian gods in order to unravel the mystery of the missing beetle and thereby save the world.
Barnabas Tew is a private detective struggling to survive in his trade in Victorian London. Fearing that he is not as clever as he had hoped to be, he is plagued by a lack of confidence brought on in no small part by his failure to prevent the untimely deaths of several of his clients.
Matters only get worse when Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead, is referred to Barnabas by a former client (who perished in a terribly unfortunate incident which was almost certainly not Barnabas' fault). Anubis sends for Barnabas (in a most uncivilized manner) and tells him that the scarab beetle in charge of rolling the sun across the sky every day has been kidnapped, and perhaps dismembered entirely.
The Land of the Dead is in chaos, which will soon spill over into the Land of the Living if Barnabas - together with his trusty assistant, Wilfred - cannot set matters to right. Pulled from his predictable (if unremarkable) life in Marylebone, Barnabas must match his wits against the capricious and dangerous Egyptian gods in order to unravel the mystery of the missing beetle and thereby save the world.
The
Book Junkie Reads Interview with Columbkill Noonan . . .
How
would you describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your
work?
I write how I think, so it’s a bit quirky and
strange! I wanted to capture a sense of fun, whilst also having a fast-paced
mystery to keep things interesting.
What
mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in
general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?
I sit at my kitchen table (which gets quite a
bit of sun), with my laptop and a cup of coffee or tea. Then my big orange cat,
Orangina, jumps up on my lap. I wrote the whole book at that table, with that
cat on my lap. I should probably give her co-author credits!
Do you
take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character
all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development?
Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
I like to let the characters themselves
decide how they’ll respond to any given situation. When I’m writing I outline
what they need to accomplish in any given chapter, or where they need to go.
Then I let them do it however they wish!
Have
you found yourself bonding with any particular character? If so which one(s)?
I feel especially bonded to Barnabas. He’s so
very earnest, and he tries so very hard, but his nerves sometimes get in his
way. I think everyone can relate to that.
Do you
have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to
paper?
In the sequel to “Barnabas Tew and the Case
of the Missing Scarab”, I’ve added a new character: a Viking woman. It’s been
really wonderful exploring how Barnabas and Wilfred (two slightly stuffy
Victorian Brits) interact with a strong female character, who is essentially
the opposite of a proper Victorian lady.
Have
you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control?
If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
Oh so much! As a yoga practitioner (and a
yoga teacher-in-training), I don’t think of thoughts as things that need to be
controlled, though. You observe your thoughts, without judgments, and chose the
attitudes that serve you (or others) and let the others slide away. And I think
life is a wonderful opportunity to experience the unexperienced….each thing you
do has some lesson in it! I like to live life to its fullest, and take whatever
experiences present themselves. Of course, I’m sitting here now with a broken
foot because my horse wanted to go swimming in a river and I got knocked over
(with said horse standing on my foot!), so perhaps some experiences are better
left undone?
“Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing
Scarab” is now available on Amazon!
Connect with Columbkill:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ColumbkillNoonan
Twitter: @ColumbkillNoon1
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