Eye of the Crow

Shane was born in a place that doesn’t exist … the city of Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada (find it on a map, if you can). It was a fitting, fictional beginning. Ever since childhood, his mind was on other things: on extraordinary people and events, some real, some invented. High-wire walkers, sumo wrestlers, fanatical hymn writers, the world’s most dangerous man, and literature’s most famous detective, made appearances in his work, placed in theatrical backgrounds: at circuses, murder investigations, behind enemy lines, and in unusual historical moments.

Because he writes about unusual subjects, his research methods have, at times, been out of the ordinary too. He has learned the arts of tight-rope walking, silent killing, trapeze flying, and sumo eating, all in the service of his art.

Shane and his wife, journalist Sophie Kneisel, live with their three children on a small farm near Cobourg, Ontario. In his spare time he enjoys playing hockey, reading, and walking the wire, pretending that he is the hero in each story.

Shane writes:

When I first wrote Eye of the Crow, there was no one named Sherlock Holmes in it. It was simply a murder mystery set in my favourite place of all time: the foggy streets of London, England more than one hundred years ago. It told the tale of a brutal crime that happened down an alleyway in the dangerous East End of the city, a murder that was seen by no one … except two crows. It was meant to be a challenging novel, almost like an adult story with a boy hero, dark and edgy, dealing with prejudice and justice, with the crows as its symbol of racism. When someone suggested that I turn my 13-year-old hero into a childhood version of the great detective, I was reluctant. I like unusual characters and old Holmes seemed so straight and distant. But then I re-read the original Sherlock stories and discovered that he was very strange indeed, a flawed character who told no one about his past, and who, it seemed to me, must have had a difficult upbringing, must have been ashamed of something in his childhood, and must have had some deep-seated need for justice, not simply a professional interest in it. With that in mind, I created the first ever series about the early adventures of the one-and-only Sherlock Holmes.

When I speak to young people and aspiring writers across Canada, I always tell them to write about the things about which they are truly passionate. Don’t write stories that just sort of intrigue you, make your concern the things you REALLY care about – personal subjects, perhaps even something that truly upsets you. That’s what I did with The Boy Sherlock Holmes series. I care deeply about injustice and think racism is the worst thing about human beings; I am fascinated by Victorian London; and by those bizarre flying geniuses, crows. I also tell young writers to finish their stories: don’t start and stop. Write them through to the end, re-write too, and then you will learn the discipline it takes to be an author. If the story isn’t a good one, you will learn why; if it is a good one, you will have a completed masterpiece!

Other Books by Shane Peacock:
Death in the Air: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Second Case
The Mystery of Ireland’s Eye: A Dylan Maples Adventure

Contact Shane Peacock at:
www.shanepeacock.ca