Clocks, and Time

by special guest Julianne Holmes.


My protagonist in the Clock Shop Mystery series, Ruth Clagan, comes from a family of clockmakers and has had years of training. The field of horology is like many other crafts or trades, apprenticeships last for a long time. Ruth has just turned thirty when we first meet her, and is figuring out the next steps in her career path. We meet her just after her grandfather has died, and left her his

clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket.

I love doing research, so learning about clocks has been a wonderful opportunity. Like most things,

the more I learn the less I know. As it happens, a friend of mine is married to a clockmaker. In fact he and his brother own and run the Clockfolk of New England shop. Meeting the Roberts brothers, and seeing their shop in action, was a tremendous gift. No mystery writer could do her work without experts. We do take their expertise, and add story to it, but it needs to be grounded in truth.

Everyone I know has a clock they love. Some are worth money, and passed on from generation to generation. Most have emotional resonance. I have a Seth Thomas style mantel clock that is electric. I suspect it wasn’t always electric—that someone decided to modernize it at some point. Now, with all I am learning, I am sorry about that. But the memory of that mantel clock in my grandparent’s living room brings such joy, and makes it talisman for happiness.

Clocks do more than capture time. They capture memories. Horologists, clockmakers, like Ruth Clagan fix clocks. Their power is greater than that, though. They mend memory keepers, think about the precision of timekeeping while honoring the magic of time itself. That skill set helps Ruth solve a crime that has upended her family, and get the town of Orchard working again.

What is your clock story? Or is it a watch story? I’m convinced every family has one, so please share it!

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When I had to chose a name to write the Clock Shop Mystery series under, it was a simple choice. I was the first grandchild on my mother’s side of the family. When my parents told my grandmother that they were thinking about naming me Julianne Holmes Hennrikus, my grandmother (a wonderful but formidable woman) told them the name was too long. I became Julie Anne instead. So Julianne Holmes is close to my heart, pays homage to my wonderful parents, and can be shortened to Julie easily.

As Julie Hennrikus, I am the Executive Director of StageSource, a service organization for theater artists and companies in the greater Boston area. For me, theater is both my vocation and my avocation. I also teach arts management classes at Emerson College.

I blog with the wonderful Wicked Cozy Authors blog. These woman are my friends, my blog mates, and my cheering squad. Come by and visit us!*





*From Julianne's website.

Cozy Monday

Just Killing Time (Clock Shop #1) by Julianne Holmes (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 6 October 2015).

Ruth Clagan is on the way to visit to her grandfather, from whom she's been estranged for five years. when she receives a message that he has passed away.  Upon her arrival at the office of his lawyer in Marytown, Massachusetts, she learns that she has inherited his clock shop, The Cog & Sprocket, in the nearby small town of Orchard.

Ruth is, of course, stunned.  She's even more shocked when she hears that it's possible that Grandpa Thom's death might have been a murder related to a break-in at his shop. Not only that, but it wasn't the first time the shop had been robbed.

Determined to make up for instigating the estrangement by finding the burglar and the killer, she moves into the apartment above the shop, even though she's not sure whether she'll stay. Refamiliarizing herself with the town where she spent much of her childhood is emotionally challenging.  Not all of her old friends are still around, and those that are have changed.  The town itself is in a state of flux; nobody's sure whether or not it will survive.

Julianne Holmes captures the pluses and minuses of small-town life perfectly (and yes, I type from experience).  I adore Ruth, who is not afraid to do what she loves.

You'll want to read this captivating book in one sitting!




The publisher has generously offered a copy of Just Killing Time to one of my readers. Please comment below by 12:01 a.m. on October 26, and don't forget to include an email address where I can contact you if you win. Entries from the U.S. only, please.





FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of the book.