This is the fifth post on The Crosses. The sixth will be posted in a couple of days, detailing many of the literary easter eggs that appear throughout the novel, including an explanation of the desert cardinal photo I’ve posted previously in connection with the novel. Receive posts automatically by visiting https://windpoemcreative.blogspot.com to subscribe to the RSS feed.
If you haven’t followed the Kickstarter, please consider doing so at the link below. It ends this week, so take advantage now to get the signed edition and other rewards that include:
- Paperback, PDF, and Hardcover Editions
- Signed paperbacks and hardcovers for USA fans
- BSI Bundle that pairs The Crosses with Kim Krisco’s novel, Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.
Plotting According to History
The Crosses is an historical mystery, requiring attention to the smallest of historical details, including use of electricity, proliferation of automobiles, changing methods of communication, state of medicine, social evolution, forensic methodology, language use, and idiomatic expressions no longer in use, to name only a few. The novel opens with the discovery of three local tribal councilors, shot to death, no one around except the young girl who finds them. The tribal council building is remotely located near the Rio Grande, southeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico. After the initial investigation by the county’s deputy, Orren Stokes, the inquiry stagnates due to the lack of witnesses and physical clues.
The technological aspects of the period heavily influenced the plot, but the most influential factors were racial and cultural. Bessie de la Paz, newspaper publisher and former Pinkerton agent, has been assisting Stokes in the investigation as best she can. Although her father had been a tribal member, her mother’s white. The tribe scorns her because she is mixed-race, which makes her investigative attempts even more challenging. Frustrated, she writes in request of advice to the former Baker Street Irregular, Ben Irwin, who has become a renowned detective, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Sherlock Holmes.
Dr. John Watson notifies her that he has forwarded her letter to Irwin, already in the U.S. on another matter involving a former BSI leader now engaged in international crime. With plans to travel to the Southwest regarding the former BSI leader, Irwin arrives in Las Cruces to offer whatever assistance he can. Amid accusations of racial prejudice in the murders and the failure to solve them, the investigating trio uncovers new clues while Ben and Bess grow emotionally close as Bess confronts the biggest challenge of her life.
Although the story’s native tribe is fictional, elements are based on area tribal life in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Racism of the time affected every aspect of life, especially when events crossed cultural lines. The potential for racial conflict escalates when tribal councillors, who’ve been at odds with the area’s white farmers, are murdered. While the investigation must deal with racial prejudice against indigenous and black Americans, the investigators nevertheless focus on solving the crime, no matter where it leads.
Bonnie and I intended The Crosses to honor the Holmes tradition, but we wanted to take it beyond Holmes and the typical British setting by featuring a character directly influenced by the celebrated detective, a character who brings Holmes’s methods to America. Above all, we wanted to write an entertaining story of intrigue and humanity, one that readers will enjoy.
The final post will explore the literary easter eggs scattered through novel. Blog entries appear on https://windpoemcreative.blogspot.com, https://csfuqua.com/blog, Goodreads, and Facebook. Thank you much for reading. The Crosses is available from Amazon, B&N, other booksellers, and directly from the publisher, MX Publishing.
