Vanishing shorts

Two weeks from today, on Feb 1, a number of my e-short stories will be coming down, vanishing, going underground (except, of course, if they’re already on your reader.) These stories won’t be for sale again until Random House publishes my collection of Russell & Holmes tales in October (as an ebook, though possibly, eventually,…

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Matters Unspoken? (My blushes!)

In the twenty years since The Beekeeper’s Apprentice introduced Mary Russell to the world, many questions have been raised about the good lady, and about her relationship with Sherlock Holmes, her religious beliefs, her Oxford college, what kind of car she drives—and just where on the Sussex Downs is that house of hers, anyway?  In a fervent…

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A Case in Companionship (4)

In a discussion of how Laurie King came to publish Miss Russell’s Memoirs, “A Case in Correspondence” came to light. This series of postcards, letters, and newspaper clippings culminates with a postcard written by Miss Russell to her new literary agent, Laurie R. King, in 1992: a card that led to the eventual publication of…

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A Case in Companionship (3)

“A Case in Correspondence” is a series of twenty postcards, letters, and newspaper clippings dating to 1992.  The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first Russell Memoir, was published two years later.  This collection of correspondence, along with the previously published “My Story”, explain how Laurie R. King came to have Miss Russell’s multi-volume autobiography–although neither story explains…

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A Case in Companionship (2)

A frequent question in Laurie R. King’s email and events is, “How come you’re taking credit for Mary Russell’s Memoirs?”  “My Story”  began the explanation, and “A Case in Correspondence” continues it, with postcards, letters, and newspaper clippings dating to 1992.  It would be 18 years before The God of the Hive saw publication, but…

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The backstory: A Case in Companionship (1)

For the question of how Laurie King came to publish Miss Russell’s Memoirs, “A Case in Correspondence” is essential reading: a series of postcards, letters, and newspaper clippings dating to 1992.  Along with “My Story” (see yesterday’s blog post) the two additions to the Russell Memoirs go far to explain the eventual publication of the…

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The backstory: My Story

“My Story”, a short story included in its entirety in The Mary Russell Companion, is the first part of the tale of how Laurie King came to have (and publish) the Russell Memoirs as novels. This excerpt (episode 9) also makes reference to a dwelling that will play a large role in next February’s Dreaming…

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The back story: a Companion

In the twenty years since the publication of the first Mary Russell memoir, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, many questions have been raised about that mysterious and previously unknown partner of Sherlock Holmes.  Not the least of those questions has been: So why on earth are the books published as Laurie King novels?  Now, The Mary Russell Companion endeavors…

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Companion to Bees

An interesting aspect of  having a long-lived and highly detailed series of stories about a set of characters is how those characters take on lives of their own in the eyes of their readers–even if they don’t belong to an already established world such as that of Sherlock Holmes.  Circles within circles take form: Laurie King writes…

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Russell Swag

At long last, by popular request: new Russell swag on the Cafepress store. The Mary Russell Companion t-shirts, mugs, iPad cases, and Other Stuff: All about the world’s greatest detective …and her husband, Sherlock Holmes. Maybe your companion dog needs a Companion Shirt? Or you just want to be cool with water from a Dreaming…

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