Sarah Ickes is…On the Writing Block!

Sherry Ickes
Mar 24
4 min read

While Mother Nature tries to figure out what season we are truly in, perhaps today would be a good time to hear about a young protagonist who likes to keep her eye to the sky…

Sarah Ickes has a devoted passion to art, a love for reading and writing, and has an old soul when it comes to television and films. Though she has a degree in Fine Arts, her life is not as simple as a piece of paper. She has worked in retail management, web designing, and marketing to name a few of the realms of her experiences. The pets in her life take precedence, as anyone with animals knows.

Her interest in historical America comes vividly to life in her “Murial Robertson” mysteries, following the adventures of a woman in the 1880s. Currently, she has three books in the series, as well as one in her “Vectra Tillerman Adventures” (action/adventure/greek myth/steampunk), the first installment in her “Cybil Lawson Mysteries” (cozy/light-hearted traditional mystery), and her latest release, The Sky-High Witness.

How much research do you conduct for your storylines?

Conducting the research for a book is so much fun…and it can also be a little taxing at times when I tend to put too much stress on my own shoulders. While I highly enjoy the time it takes to search archived images and read over scanned-in old books to answer period questions, I sometimes find myself sweating so much on the smaller details of the storyline. As I do write fiction, it is a delicate balance between what details can be altered a bit in order to better serve the storyline versus when others are best left “as is” to keep the realism in place.

I guess the long short of it is there is A LOT of research that goes into each of my books; especially my historical mysteries.

Do you always know who the killer is, or do your characters surprise you in the end?

My characters often take a different path than what I first intended them to do within the book. In the beginning, I have a general outline in my head and a basic idea as to where it will go in the long run. After that, the more I write to get better familiar with a new cast of characters, or are diving back in with a batch of old friends, the more their individual personalities take shape and that’s when the killer can turn out to be someone else entirely different!

Who is your favorite mystery sleuth? (Books, TV, amateur and professional alike)

I really enjoy watching the “Perry Mason” show that starred Raymond Burr in the 1950s-60s, and “Murder, She Wrote” with Angela Lansbury from the 1980s-1990s. When it comes to books, Sherlock Bones and Dr. Catson from “Sherlock Bones” by Tim Collins are two of my favorites. But…if I was ever in a jam…Scooby Doo and the Gang would be my one phone call for help! 🤣

In what stage of your writing, did you determine that your book was to be a standalone, or a series?

That’s a good question, and one that I believe many authors take a good bit of time deciding upon. For instance, this book was intended to be a standalone. However, I recently made up my mind to turn it into a two-book series, or a duology…as I have heard it being called once.

Don’t get me wrong, now. I do enjoy writing about Margaret Everton and her family. But I don’t wish to force a storyline beyond it’s natural ending point, and not every reader likes to stay with a continuing series.

As to when the next one will be out? There is no anticipated date as of yet.

What is The Sky-High Witness about?

On May 27th 1843, a man by the name of John Wise took to the air in a balloon for the fortieth time. To celebrate, the people of Carlisle, Pennsylvania put together a celebratory afternoon…until it wasn’t so jolly.

Excited to see Mr. Wise in-person, Margaret Everton can barely contain her excitement when her father, Thomas, brings her into town to see the ascension take place. Upon reaching the Mansion Hotel, her mother’s friend, Kathleen McKnee, agrees to watch her for the day so that Margaret’s father can conduct some business. Much to Margaret’s displeasure, however, they end up talking with a host of other people before even reaching the centre square. But when she catches a glimpse of the same man in both the hotel and near the balloon, she suspects something is awry just as a little girl tells her that he is a pirate in search of treasure; especially after the bank gets robbed in broad daylight.

From that moment on, Margaret will have the adventure of her life as a chain of precarious events have been unleashed upon the quiet town. Will she be able to deduce who is a friend, who is a foe, and who is the one behind it all? Or perhaps the events are pieces to entirely different puzzles? For when the shadows creep in after the last light of dusk has vanished, there is only one’s own self to keep safe until the next dawn breaks.