Book Giveaway: Heather Petty’s Lock & Mori

Heather Petty has agreed to participate in our Holiday Book Giveaway Extravaganza with her new book LOCK & MORI.

All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you did to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Check back to discover the winner.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Sherlock Holmes and Miss James “Mori” Moriarty may have closed their first case, but the mystery is far from over in the thrilling sequel to Lock & Mori, perfect for fans of Maureen Johnson and Sherlock.

You know their names. Now discover their beginnings.

Mori’s abusive father is behind bars…and she has never felt less safe. Threatening letters have started appearing on her doorstep, and the police are receiving anonymous tips suggesting that Mori—not her father—is the Regent’s Park killer. To make matters worse, the police are beginning to believe them.

Through it all, Lock—frustrating, brilliant, gorgeous Lock—is by her side. The two of them set out to discover who is framing Mori, but in a city full of suspects, the task is easier said than done. With the clock ticking, Mori will discover just how far she is willing to go to make sure that justice is served, and no one—not even Lock—will be able to stop her.

BOOKS JOURNEY:

I came up with the idea for the LOCK & MORI series when I read an article about nemeses relationships in literature that used the relationship between Sherlock and Moriarty as one of the examples. The writer pointed out that the only information we have about Moriarty in the canon comes from Sherlock, because no one else meets Moriarty, not even Watson. I hadn’t noticed that when I read the books and stories as a kid, so I went back and reread that story, and the writer was completely correct.

I started to think, what if Sherlock lied to Watson for some reason? What if Sherlock and Moriarty had known each other in their past, had maybe even been close friends? What if something had happened in their past that turned them into enemies?

By the time I shared the idea with my agent, I’d tried to write the first chapter a few times, and the Moriarty character kept spinning feminine in my mind. So I finally gave into my frustration and wrote the character as a girl. It worked. Not only did the chapter come out more naturally for me, but I suddenly fell in love with the idea of writing a female villain–a villain that would use her intellect rather than her sexuality to get what she wanted. And I saw the opportunity to twist the Bad Boy/Good Girl trope on its head and write a Bad Girl/Good Boy story.

When I had written maybe sixty or seventy pages about a girl whose mom had died of cancer, I found out my mom had cancer. My mother passed away six weeks later. When I could write again, I was left raw and lost and trying to figure out whether or not I wanted to change Mori’s story or face down my own grief as I wrote hers.

I decided to face it, but it took me about a year to write the book.

MIND GAMES is the second book in the LOCK & MORI series, which means it came with its own set of stresses. But more than anything else, I just feel really lucky to have the opportunity to write these books and tell these stories. And I hope very much that you enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed putting them out into the world!

HEATHER’S BIO:

Heather has been obsessed with mysteries since she was twelve, which is when she decided that stories about murders in London drawing rooms and English seaside villages were far superior to all other stories. Lock & Mori is her first novel. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband, daughter, and four hopelessly devious cats.

Heather, thanks for sharing your book and journey with us. Have a happy holiday.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy