In The Only One in the World, Lucy Sussex shares "Mistress Islet and the General’s Son," set in 17th century England. Lucy shared a few thoughts on writing her tale for the anthology.
What is the most unexpected tidbit you learned while writing your story?
How to stop a nosebleed using garden herbs.
What was your favourite thing about writing for The Only One in the World?
Using Anne Holmes/Kidderminster, who was a real detective, in a fictional context.
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Lucy's story:
an editor's eye view from Narrelle M Harris
What is quintessentially 17th Century English about your Holmes and/or Watson?
That despite a hierarchical and male-dominated society, the likes of a Holmes and Watson were perfectly possible, even if a woman, and an African. History and herstory is complex.
More about Lucy:
Along with her short story for The Only One in the World, Lucy is the writer of five short story collections. Her Women Writers and Detectives in the Nineteenth Century (2012) examines the mothers of the mystery genre. Blockbuster: Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Text), won the 2015 Victorian Community History Award and was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award. In 2018 she was a Creative Fellow at the State Library of Victoria. Lucy Sussex was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. She has abiding interests in women’s lives, Australiana, and crime fiction. Her award-winning fiction includes the novel, The Scarlet Rider (1996, reprint Ticonderoga 2015), and her anthology She’s Fantastical was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award.