It is a delight to have time to chat with author Rhen Garland about her books that form The Versipellis Mysteries. It is a pleasure to chat with you Rhen. Thank you for your time today.
What inspired you to write your most recent book, The Shadow of Death?
With all my books, what inspires me is that I have to write. I have scenes, characters, and dialogue in my head and I need to get them out, and the only way I can do that is by writing.
Then I shall start writing the next one!
Who is your favourite character in this book and why?
I have a soft spot for Abernathy Thorne...he’s a good humoured bitch with awful tastes in fashion . Commander Darling is quite similar...for reasons you will discover if you read the book.
What was the first piece you had published?
My first book, A Portrait of Death, was published in 2018.
Do you have another story planned or in progress? When can we expect to see that?
I’m currently still thrashing my way through the final edits on book four, but I have started to make notes for book five in the series. Hopefully, that should be out by Midsummer, 2026.
Who is your favourite author?
I have a great love for Ngaio Marsh. I may have to whisper it, but I preferred her books to Agatha Christie’s. I also enjoy the works of Terry Pratchett, David and Leigh Eddings, Gladys Mitchell, Simon R Green, and John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson.
What do you like to do when you’re not planning or writing your next book?
I love reading, watching films, travel, and gazing out of windows.
Do you write in other genres?
I write Victorian Gaslamp fantasy murder mysteries. My books contain murder, mayhem, espionage, fantasy, light romance, villains, mystery, magic, Victoriana, immortals, airships, alternate timelines, global travel, serial killers, other dimensions, a very spoilt Labrador, and champagne, all rolled into one unpredictable, occasionally psychotic, and decidedly schizophrenic ball of niche.
I don’t think I could add anything else.
What do you like most about being an author?
The way my brain works is now acceptable.
Do you have a specific routine for writing? Is there a special place or particular tool you use?
I have a laptop and a desk under the stairs. If it was good enough for Harry potter, it’s good enough for me.
What advice do you have for other writers?
Write with your own voice. Tell your character’s stories...if you don’t, no one will.
If your book were to be made into an Audiobook, who would you choose to read it?
I would love to hear Tim Curry’s voice reading my books...that beautiful, fruity voice.
If not, then possibly Nathan Page, an Australian actor who played Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in the Miss Fisher Mysteries TV series.
If your book were to be made into a movie, who would you like to play the main character?
I rather like the idea of either Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Henry Cavill as Elliott Caine.
The Author
My name is Rhen Garland and I am the author of the The Versipellis Mysteries - a series of Gaslamp Fantasies set in the late Victorian, early Edwardian era that follow the adventures of immortal detectives Elliott Caine and Abernathy Thorne as they search through time for the reincarnations of their murdered wives...and solve a few murders along the way.
I live in Rural England, with my husband, Adam, our very spoilt cocker spaniel, Lily, approximately 5000 books, an equal number of ancient movies, and a large collection of passive-aggressive Tomtes.
My early years choice of reading material was rather suspect for my age.
The first Agatha Christie I ever read was "By the Pricking of my Thumbs" when I was nine years old; a child of that age reading and enjoying a murder mystery about a child killer explains a great deal about how my brain works.
My achievements are more from the school of life, rather than that of College or University.
When I was diagnosed with CFS at the age of thirty, I realised that I could either go mad staring at four walls all day, or I could try to apply what little parts of my brain still worked and have a bash at writing a murder mystery set in the 1920's...things didn't quite turn out the way I'd planned!
I thought when I finally started writing that my books would be genteel "cosy" type murder mysteries set in the Golden Era (I love the 1920's and 30's for the style, music, and automobiles), with someone being politely bumped off at the Vicar's tea party and the corpse then apologising for disrupting proceedings. Instead, the late Victorian era came thundering over the horizon armed with some fantastical and macabre plotlines and a complete refusal to accept the word "no"; it planted itself in my stories, my characters, and my life, and would not budge.
I watch far too many old school murder mystery films, TV series, and 1980s action movies for it to be considered healthy. No one will play movie quizzes with me anymore...further evidence of a misspent youth!
I love the countryside, Prosecco, tea, the cocktail hour (the pinnacle of the civilised world!), and the works of Dame Ngaio Marsh, Dame Gladys Mitchell, John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson, Dame Agatha Christie, Sir Terry Pratchett, Simon R Green, and David and Leigh Eddings.
My books are Victorian in era, messy in their murders, creepy in their otherness, and will make you double check the windows are all locked before you go to bed. What's not to like about mysteries with a touch of Grand Guignol?
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