The Marnie Walker mysteries |
| by |
| Leo McNeir |
| "intelligent entertainment for the intelligent reader" |
Message from Leo
Many readers will know that I use these occasional
‘messages from Leo’ to reply to questions that I have been asked. One
such question has been: why do you write?
This goes back to my original aim in writing. I
began with a desire – possibly a need – to get something off my chest.
It was not initially my intention to become a crime writer. My first
attempt at a novel was the book that was eventually published as ‘Sally
Ann’s Summer’. It introduced a number of the characters who would
feature as regulars in the Marnie Walker Mysteries, including Ralph
Lombard and Anne with an ‘e’. It was followed by ‘Getaway with Murder’,
the first story to be published by Enigma Publishing.
The success of ‘Getaway with Murder’ created a
demand for more books in that series. I too had become attached to
Marnie, Ralph, Anne and others, so I set about creating more novels in
which they appeared. They seem to have become fixtures in my life.
Eventually I found the time to devote myself to the
subject matter that had been my original aim. I had in mind at first to
write a trilogy of books set in modern times based on different
characters confronted by extraordinary events and discoveries. In fact
they became just two novels: ‘Gospel Truth’ and ‘Pilgrims’. Despite the
titles they are not theological works. I then thought I had achieved my
goal of expressing subjects that were important to me.
However, readers thought otherwise and asked Enigma
when further books would be published, including Rupert and Rachel
Bradley and even the sinister Guardian. I’m now thinking of how to write
a third book in that series. So far it is little more than the germ of
an idea. Will it come to something? We shall see …
Happy reading!
