Interview with Michael Robertson

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?

The most recent is A Baker Street Wedding (Dec. 2018). There are six books total in the Baker Street Letters series. Although I do my best to make each stand alone, when people ask where to start, I generally suggest The Brothers of Baker Street, because it includes all the back story that is referenced in the later books, and it introduces a Moriarty plot line that I don't want people to miss. But another (and quicker, if you are looking for a short read) entry to the series is my short story, The Barrister's Clerk (available as an online single at Amazon, and in printed form in the Malice Domestic #13 anthology, "Mystery Most Geographical".

How did you develop your character and choose your location?
The location--the Marylebone district in London, and more specifically Baker Street, and even more specifically the 200 block of Baker Street--chose itself. The series unavoidably begins in an office building that occupies the space where 221B would have been when the Sherlock Holmes Stories were written--and where, until just a few years ago, the Royal Mail did in fact deliver letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes.

What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening?
Back in the day, I would write late at night, after work. But staying up until 2:00 AM became hard to maintain, so for the past ten years or so--which is to say, for the whole length of the Baker Street Letters series--I've done my writing in the early morning and then again in the early afternoon. When I was still working full-time for IBM (up until about five years ago), I did most of my writing in coffee shops, one on the way to work, and another on lunch break. I no longer have to follow that schedule, but it has become habit, so it is what I still do.

Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
The female lead in the series (the actress Laura Rankin) is a composite of several women I've known over the years. The two male leads--brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath, with their sibling rivalries--I suppose are drawn very loosely from myself and my own three siblings.

An additional male lead, introduced in The Baker Street Jurors and taking a larger role in A Baker Street Wedding, is a fellow named Sigerson, who plays the violin for tips in the London underground. I think the source of inspiration for him will be pretty much self-evident.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
My first agent at WME said she imagined Colin Firth in the lead role (as barrister Reggie Heath). The first book was optioned for a series by Warner Brothers Television back in 2009, and a pilot was written, but not produced. I've always seen it as a film franchise rather than TV series, and I agree with the choice of Colin Firth if someone comes along to produce the movie.

Who is your favorite author?
Mark Twain generally; Dashiell Hammett for mystery novels; and a tie between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir John Mortimer for mystery short stories.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?
Not to be evasive, but I actually don't do dinner parties. I'd have to consult with a friend of mine and see who she suggests.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
In real life, I suppose I would have finished law school and gone on from there. But in my fantasy life, I would like to be a wildlife photographer. I like the hiking and exploring, and I'm capable of sitting still and staring at something for long periods of time to get the effect that I want. But I just never could understand shutter speeds and exposures.