I had the pleasure of meeting Liese Sherwood-Fabre when we were fellow panel members at a mystery author event organized by the Smith County Library in Wylie, Texas. After the event, we discovered that we have much in common, including having juggled work and family while living overseas in Mexico and Central America.
Although Liese was not in the intel world, our experiences were similar enough to create instant rapport and I wanted to know more. Plus, I wanted to learn how she came to write a new chapter in the Sherlock Holmes story.
Here’s what she told me.
CA: You live in Texas now but previously lived in Mexico and Honduras, both places where history, culture and crime collide. What did you love about living in each place? What didn’t you like? What did you learn there that was unexpected?
LSF: I actually visited both countries before we moved there. I studied at the National University in Mexico City (UNAM) one summer while an undergraduate. That’s how I met my husband. He was a blind date. We hit it off and corresponded (and visited when possible) for four years before we married. After graduate school, we moved to Washington, DC, and among other jobs, I worked for the US Census Bureau.
One of my assignments was to consult with the Honduran government about their upcoming census. I spent time working with government officials in reviewing their plans for the effort.
So, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect when we moved there. The people are extremely open and friendly. While there are pockets of wealth, many live at or below the poverty level. Such poverty leads to all sorts of crime, and being cautious was a part of life in both countries. To me, that is the saddest part of any developing country—the inequality of wealth, which leads to all sorts of other problems.
Perhaps the most unexpected of these consequences is the impact it has on the environment. Deforestation is a major problem in both (even 30-40 years ago). Rural farmers need land to grow food, wood for fuel and housing, etc. All this has supported the climate change we are now experiencing.
The hardest part is there are no easy answers, but if we don’t work on the problems, there are others that will fill the void—the drug cartels, socialists, etc.
CA: What did traveling to and living in different countries teach you about resiliency?
LSF: I have a PhD in Sociology and so I was aware of the concept of culture and its impact on beliefs and customs. I used to provide an orientation to exchange students when I lived in Mexico about how culture forms how we view the world. Things that we would never do or consider wrong in the US is normal and accepted in other places. Not getting hung up on that makes you less judgmental.
One example: Russians prefer odd numbers over even. Odd numbers are good luck. You don’t buy a dozen roses; you buy thirteen—what American would tell you to buy thirteen of anything (well, maybe a baker’s dozen, but otherwise…)?
Also you kiss a person three times on the cheek—not two. Knowing this is a cultural thing lets you say, “Ok. I need to work this way here.” And not “This is wrong.”
CA: What transferable skills from international travel and previous career experiences do you apply to your career as a mystery author?
LSF: I’ve learned to write when I get a chance.(CA: Harder than it sounds!) I started writing while in Mexico. After reading some short stories, I decided I could do one.
I’d wait until my kids were in bed and then write some before I went to bed. It took me weeks, and the rejection was almost immediate, but I was hooked. I started on a novel, finished that one, moved to Russia, and began a second one writing on a bus that carried me from a compound to the American embassy each day.
CA: You write Sherlock Holmes mysteries! How did you get started with Holmes?
LSF: I think most people know about Sherlock Holmes. The Robert Downey, Jr. films created a renewed interest a few years ago. I was on the treadmill one day (an easy place to let your mind wander) and thought about how Sherlock became Sherlock.
There is very little in the original stories about his past. This gave me an almost blank slate to work with.
I decided I wouldn’t make his father (obvious choice) his mentor, but his mother. I gave her a name (not even mentioned in the original works), a background (the niece of a famous French artist who was mentioned in the original stories), and a brilliant mind confined by Victorian conventions. Her sons (Mycroft and Sherlock) are her outlet for her limited life.
Related post: Sherlock Holmes and Friends
CA: If you could invite anyone to dinner, dead or alive, who would it be and what are you serving?
LSF: This question always stumps me because there are so many I’d love to learn from. Some might be too intimidating (Einstein, for example), and I’m not sure what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would think of my work.
I think, in the end, I’d like to have dinner with my parents. They have been gone a long time now, but I still miss them.
They also never had a chance to see any of my works published. My dad was a “meat and potatoes” guy, so I think that’s what we’d have. My mom liked coffee ice cream. That’d be dessert.
Thank you, Liese!
More about Liese: Liese Sherwood-Fabre has won awards for her thrillers, romance, and literary short stories, and NYT bestselling author Steve Berry describes her writing as “gimmick-free, old-fashioned storytelling.” https://liesesherwoodfabre.com/
You can preorder her newest book, MASTER OF THE ART OF DETECTION on Amazon here.
