Jewel of the Thames (A Portia Adams Adventure) (22 page)

Acknowledgments

T
aking up the keys to Baker Street in order to make my young detective come to life means that my first debt of gratitude must be towards Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The writings of Doyle have been a seminal source of inspirational and escapism starting at the age of ten and lasting to this day. His Sherlock Holmes will always be at the top of a very talented list of fictional detectives, and writing about Portia is my attempt at a suitable homage to Holmes and his creator.

Speaking of homages, I must mention that my third casebook in this book is named for author Stephen King. I have probably read more of his work than Conan Doyle's (just because word count to word count King has been more prolific) but it was his short story “The Doctor's Case” that first set off the idea that I too could write about Holmes and Watson. The short story is so respectful of the relationship between the two men while being so obviously written in King's style that you can't help but be impressed. Unfound is the name of a very important door in King's
Dark Tower
series, and my use of it as the title to my casebook is again an homage to an artist I adore.

Leaning out of the adulation and towards appreciation, I could not have written this book without the loving support of my family: my husband Jason, who read every book despite not being a fan of the genre, and my son Connor who is my loudest publicist.

My beta readers have to get their due, suffering through versions one through fourteen with aplomb: Chris Howden, Joe Mahoney, Ann Jansen, Margy Gilmour, Bobber Wright, Wayne McPhail, Kim Fox, Quade Herman, Wynne Channing, Christie Hoos, Scaachi Koul, and of course my sister Ana.

All my friends at CBC who encouraged me and held me on their shoulders as I reached for this goal: Natasha Fatah, Leslie Peck, Pedro Mendes, Ananda Korchynski, Barb Carey, Barb Wright, David Carroll, Sharon Farrell, Colleen Ross, Eleanor Wachtel, Shelagh Rogers, Carolyn Warren, and Nora Young.

I would be remiss if I did not crow about my amazing publishers at Fierce Ink Press, Kimberly Walsh and Colleen McKie, for seeing something in Portia and helping to hone her into the multi-faceted character she is now, with the aide of their fantastic editor Allister Thompson.

The internets have been very kind to me in this process, so I am very thankful for my writers groups (especially #write-o-rama on Facebook) and for all the folks who follow and comment on my blog.

Finally, I am truly thankful for each of you who have bought this book. I hope Portia lives up to your expectations and that you continue to follow her exploits in the rest of the series.

Bio

Angela Misri is a Toronto journalist, writer and mom who has spent most of her working life making CBC Radio extraterrestrial through podcasts, live streams and websites. These days she’s focusing on her writing but taking on freelance and digital projects along the side.

Photo © Chris Straw

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