I’ve written two short stories involving Sherlock Holmes and one novel based on the twin brother of Hercule Poirot. A novel based on Edgar Allen Poe’s Auguste Dupin currently sits at 40k. However, the photo above represents my current project.
As you can imagine, my present work is not my usual historical mystery. In fact, it takes place in contemporary Northwest Florida. Why there? Well, aside from the fact that I was born there, like Carl Hiaasen, I know that Florida is ripe with colorful, crazy characters.
My private detective lives aboard a converted tugboat, much like the one above. That’s only one thing that makes him unusual. Most notable, he’s 4’6”. Having a detective with dwarfism is not unknown. George Chesbro had a detective named, Dr Robert Frederickson (known from his circus days as Mongo). Mongo is a professor of criminology as well as a black belt in martial arts.
My creation, Butch Larson, known to his friends as Fix, is full of surprises as well. Although not a black belt, he learned self defense from his Navy Seal stepfather and is quite adept with using a tactical baton. This talent comes in handy since he’s a terrible shot and doesn't like guns.
Like the best detectives, he has his flaws. He’s currently separated from his wife and has a habit forgetting to attend their daughter’s school activities. Although he’s a loving father and husband, his intensity and habit of getting obsessed with his investigations have taken a toll on his family. Like many people with his form of dwarfism, chronic pain with his joints and bones causes him to suffer with bouts of insomnia.
His current case has him searching for a missing young boy at a Civil War re-enactment campground. Throw in homicidal twins, reptile smugglers, and a cross-dressing unfaithful husband, and the stage is set for some crazy times from the pine tree lined farms to the sugar white sands of a 19th century fort.
It’s time for me to get back to it. I left him ducking bullets.