Monday, October 10, 2016

NEW BOOK PREVIEW: Meet Snape one of Holme's irregulars


As the newest Sherlock Holmes novel continues to work its way though the publishing process toward its debut in November, I am posting previews from the book -- introducing you to some of the irregulars featured in the Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.

This week, I’ll preview Snape, one of the irregulars Doyle never mentioned by name. So, let me introduce you.

Irregular Lives tells the story of how Holmes met Snape -- a blacksmith’s son, who forged a life from the rubbish in the Thames. Snape was a soft-hearted bruiser who tried his luck in the rough and tumble sport of bare knuckles boxing. Here’s a scene for that story:

The bell clanged. The two pugilists cautiously approached the center of the ring.
Sambo’s arms and hands remained at his side. He put his chin up, inviting a blow. Snape knew better than to take a swing that would throw him off balance. Instead, he snapped a jab to the African’s gut.
Sambo sprang to life and moved toward Snape, throwing light punches, sizing up his opponent. His right arm was cocked as he continued to jab with his left. Snape easily deflected the punches, waiting for the big one. It came fast! Snape twisted his head and body away as Sambo’s fist grazed his left temple.
Sutton immediately closed in and grappled with Snape, delivering jabs to Snape’s kidneys. The boy pushed him off with both fists. As he did so Sambo swung another hard right. Snape ducked low and returned a punch to Sutton’s ribs.

Snape had been knocked off his feet twice in the preceding five rounds. Sutton delivered a crushing blow in the fifth, and then walked to his corner as if the fight were over. The crowd, whose mood had shifted slightly onto Snape’s side, let out a communal groan. A smattering of applause and table banging was hushed as Snape rolled over and got up on one knee.
Sutton sneered. He walked slowly toward the boy. Under the reformed regulations it was a foul to hit an opponent who was down, or had one knee and one glove on the mat. Snape looked at Wiggins who was waving from the corner. Wiggins held up his hand with his little finger and index fingers pointing upward—then sharply turned them down. Danger. Snape got the message. He placed his other glove on the canvas and, with one quick push, rose, shoving his body forward into Sutton who was unable to throw a punch.
The crowd cheered as Sutton became incensed and struggled to disengage himself from Snape’s hug. The referee pried the men apart. The two men locked eyes as they separated. Blood was trickling from the corner of Snape’s mouth. His knuckles were black, blue and bleeding.
“You’ve never been closer to hell,” Sambo Sutton growled.
“And I’m takin’ you with me,” Snape replied.

I hope that you will follow this blog in the coming weeks as I introduce Archie, Kate, Benjie, and others. You can cartch a glimpse of Wiggins and Ugly in previous posts.

While these sneak previews are fun, they are not a substitute for reading (or listening to) the entire adventure. I’ll let you know the moment it hits the bookstores in November -- but you can PRE-ORDER now on Amazon.

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