janina, Author at Janina Arndt

March 10, 2024

3 Tips for Writing New Characters for Old Stories

As many of you will know, Spiral Mind and its sequel The Coriolis Effect are with the imprint Orange Pip Books who champion new characters in Sherlock Holmes stories. Having recently been working on weaving two new characters into the last instalment of the trilogy as one of the rewards chosen in my Kickstarter, I thought it was high time I shared what I’ve learnt in my process about bringing new characters into an old canon like that of Sherlock Holmes.

Writing 0 4 min read

November 5, 2023

OUT NOW: The Coriolis Effect – Book 2 in the Spiral Mind Trilogy

It’s finally out in the world! As of 30th October 2023, The Coriolis Effect is officially released! What a journey it’s been. I first started writing The Coriolis Effect back in 2016 and it hadn’t even got its title then. Back in the day, I was still studying English and Psychology and religiously listening to the Baker Street Babes Podcast for inspiration. If you’d told me then that Baker Street Babe Amy Thomas would one day give my Sherlock Holmes novels a stellar review – you can read it here, but I still need to pinch myself – I would never have believed you. Now, I’m so incredibly grateful for the amazing things that have happened to me thanks to these little books I started writing so long ago. Maybe life really imitates art.

News 0 2 min read

July 30, 2023

The Sequel is Here!

It’s finally time! I am so excited to announce that the sequel to Spiral Mind is now available to order from MX Publishing ahead of publication in October! Book 2 is called The Coriolis Effect, and our cover artist Brian Belanger has outdone himself again. Have a look!

News 0 2 min read

April 29, 2023

How to Edit a Sherlock Holmes Novel

Crime is perhaps one of the more finnicky genres to edit, and a character like Sherlock Holmes will try their hardest to make matters worse. Coming up with the deductions, as anyone who’s done it will attest, is a bit of a nightmare, but going through them again and finding all the loopholes that the great detective never told you about in the original stories…

Writing 0 5 min read

March 19, 2023

The Best 6 Ways to Get Yourself into the Right Headspace for Writing

It is so much more fun to write when you are in a flow, and that only happens when you’re fully immersed in your world. Come and immerse yourself with me. Use your five senses to transport yourself there.

Writing 0 4 min read

February 8, 2023

How To Stop Yourself From Getting Distracted When Writing

These days, it is certainly the hardest thing not to find good entertainment but to escape it. When you’re writing, be that for half an hour or preferably half the day, the last thing you need is distraction.

Writing 0 4 min read

April 3, 2022

Joseph Bell and a Writer’s Trip to Edinburgh

Much like Conan Doyle had a conflicted relationship with our favourite consulting detective, because his popular short stories were in the way of his ‘serious’ historical fiction, Joseph Bell felt uneasy about the connection between himself and Sherlock Holmes. It is this conflict between Bell’s inspiring personality and the extremely lifelike imitation that is the character of Sherlock Holmes, which drew me to dig deeper into the Scottish surgeon’s singular life.

Travel 0 4 min read

February 6, 2022

7 Best Tips to Stay Writing in Busy Times

I will not attempt to explain what 2021 did to my creativity as a writer or blogger. It has been, again, a difficult year for all of us. Not only has the pandemic proven that it’s not yet over, and I’ve had to deal with a life-threatening situation for the first time in my life, I have also started working […]

Writing 0 9 min read

March 12, 2021

The Mystery of the Second Alias

It is the most fun for me when a mystery reveals itself to me after several thousand words which I had not planned to write.

Writing 0 5 min read

February 17, 2021

This Writer’s Ritual

Last week, I had the pleasure of surviving my first book launch during a pandemic. I’ve already sent out lots of cheesy thank you posts on my socials, so I’m not going to ramble on about that again here, but I must say, I still feel genuinely grateful.

Event 0 4 min read

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