Intoxication by RedKite (early readers .txt) 📖

been to a building site on that day is beyond me."
"You left brick dust on the floor beside the armchair where you knelt." Katriona replied.
"I see. So, I sent Arthur to alert you about her death, hoping you would arrest the wrong person. I underestimated you. My plans failed.
Katriona smiled. "Mr Smythe, will you do the honours? Don't forget Ellen, too."
"Charles Davis, I'm arreating you for the murders of Peter, Natalie and Emmilene Davis!" cried Timothy Smythe.
Katriona glanced around. There was somrthing wrong. Arthur Strand, the second accomplice! He had escaped! She ran out of the door, and onto the moors. Luckily, Katriona was fairly athletic, and she raced after Strand.
"Arthur Strand! Stop!" she yelled. He turned.
"It was a shame you were on the wrong side," she continued. "You seemed like quite a gentleman."
"No, Katriona, it's a shame you had to meddle so much. You seemed like quite a sweet girl, really."
Quicker than the human eye could follow, he whipped a pistol out from under his cloak.
"I've told you before, Miss Deleon will do just fin-"
Pain seared through her as the bullet hit her just beneath her ribcage. It all went black.


Timothy Smythe approached the bed where Katriona DeLeon lay. The nurses bustled around, attending to the other patients. He had been told her condition was stable, but she needed to rest. All the same, he wanted to speak to her. He laid a hand on her arm.
"Katriona?" Timothy Smythe said softly. She opened her eyes.
"Listen, I am so so sorry. You were right all along, and if I had not been blinded by arrogance, maybe it would not had led to this. Can you ever forgive me?"
Katriona smiled.
"What is it?" Smythe asked.
Her reply was very faint. "I always knew embroidery was never my strong point."


AUTHOR'S AFTERWORD
I really hope you enjoyed my first book, Intoxication. There are a few points that I have included in this tale which may puzzle or interest you, so I have decided to write down those ones of note. Firstly,


THE SETTING
Welcome to Yorkshire of 1891, Katriona DeLeon's world. I chose for Katriona to be from Yorkshire because I love it so much. I only truly feel at home when I'm in Yorkshire.
So, firstly, a little bit of infomationa on the area, just in case you're interested. (PTO)





England is split up into many different areas called counties. Yorkshire is the biggest county in England. (On this map it's quite near the top, highlighted in red.) In fact, it's so big it's split into three parts- North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside. Katriona lives in West Yorkshire, on the South Penine moors. This is a flat, barren area which also spans into the neighboring county, Lancashire. The nearest town to her is Haworth, the home of Bronte sisters some fourty years before. I can assure you, it is the magical place. Here is a picture...





You can just see the moors in the background, the setting of Emily Bronte's wuthering heights. This is Katriona's home, the one place where she is truly in her element. She LOVES it there.





Here is a picture. I'm not sure if this is the area of the moors which is in Yorkshire or Lancashire, but it has a ery wild and beautiful quality.
The nearest city is Leeds, where I live. That's about fourty five minutes away in a car.




Leeds is amazing. It's quite a recent city, having only really been around since medieval times. I know it doesn't sound that that recnt, but believe me, compared to York, a city in North Yorkshire, which has been around since Viking and Roman times, it's nothing. Katriona may visit York at some point. There's a beautiful area called the Shambles. It's very mysterious.



Here is yet another visual. I love it there. I'm certain Katriona will too.


SHERLOCK HOLMES
You may have remembered that about halfway through the book when Katriona is walking along the moor with Arthur Strand, he mentions Sherlock Holmes and how Katriona should meet him. At the same time he also mentions Arthur Conan Doyle. Confusing. I know. The best way for me to explain how it is possible in Katriona's world for Holmes to be real and his creator to also be real, is to say that Watson, Holmes' biographer, goes to the Strand magazine (where the Sherlock Holmes stories are to be published) and tells them about this amazing detective with exceptional deeductive powers. Conan Doyle, who works for the Strand, decided to work together with Watson to publish Holmes and Watson's incredible adventures. I hope this clears up any confusion!
I know if this is the case Katriona could find it possible to meet Sherlock Holmes, but it won't happen. That would be just cheesy. Besides, it would probably end in a stand off between them, and I expect Katriona would lose. She isn't developed enough as a detective yet. :)


THE COVER PHOTO
Yes, I know it is slightly irrelevant. It's a manga picture that looks nothing like the Katriona DeLeon I described. Well, truth be told, when I first set out to write this, I was stuck for a cover idea. Then I found that image, and stuck it on. If I find a better one, I will use it.


THE FIRST IDEA
This whole thing started at my school, when we did a topic on the detective genre. We saw a few detective films, and I decided this was something I was really interested in. We had a smaall challenge to create a detective of our own as a lesson starter, and I thought of this young woman called Katriona DeLeon. The first time Arthur Strand meets Katriona is the edited version of the paragraph that we had to write about 'our detective'. We also had to write about our detective comihng face to face with the murderer. I had intended for Katriona to have a stand off with her 'arch enemy', but it changed into Katriona being shot by her new assisstant. Thus, Katriona DeLeon was born.
I decided to carry the idea on at home, and was planning to write a novel on the idea of this plot. The strange prologue at the beginning when you read about Emmilene, Natalie and peter Davis dying is exactly the same as what I wrote in my novel draft.
For the end of topic assessment we had to write a dtective story. Challenging! So this was my story. I got a really good grade at the end of it, and I decided to share it with the world.


THE REAL KATRIONA DELEON
Well, I don't atually know anyone who runs around Yorkshire looking for clues and getting shot. I guess you could say her personality is similar to that of Sherlock Holmes. I intended for her to have a dry sense of humour, a bit like Sherlock Holmes, and to be quite exceptional in her deductive reasoning.
The name came from a book I read by Louis Sachar, called small steps. There was a famous pop star in it called Kaira DeLeon. It s definately stealing the name, I know how similar they are, but I thought it sounded so sophisticated and would suit her perfectly.


ACCURACY
OK, I am aware that a lot of the facts in this book are not accurate. I mean, I know it takes about four hours in a car to get from Yorkshire to London, but in a horse and carriage?! It would take about four days in 1891. Even going down on the trains would take about a day and a half, I've calculated. An besides, a lot of the historical facts were'nt accurate either. Truth is, although it fascinates me, I'm no expert in daily Victorian life, or the speed and velosity of hansom carriages. I will try and be more accurate in the next book, though. :)


FURTHER READING
Hmm. If youv'e enjoyed this, what other books could you find entertaining? Sherlock Holmes. That's what inspired me to write this, so there must be something similar in them. They are amazing pieces of literiture, and well worth a read. Admitidly, they are quite difficult, but I've read just about all of them, and have found that the last colloection of stories, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, is a lot easier to read. It was brought out around 1927, so the language is not as complicated as that when Conan Doyle in Victorian times. Happy Reading! :)


ACNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people I want to thank, as without them I would not have been able to write this...

My parents, for their encouragements and the amazing patience they had for all the times I begged to use the laptop, and all the obscure questions I asked about the position of various places in Yorkshire, and the time it would take to travel using Victorian methods of transportation.

My little brother, for his intrest, and the fact he was inspired so much as to start to write his own mystery story. Well done, kiddo.

My fabulous Uncle, for all his encouragement on that time he came to visit us.

The Cardinal Heenan High School English department, for deciding to have a detective topic.

My English teacher, for giving my story such a good grade. I'd made so many mistakes too!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yet again!) for his inspiring stories.

My friends, who mostly bothered to show some intrest when I told them.

And finally everyone on this amazing site who bothered to read this story and comment on it. I have always dreamed of publishing a novel since I have been small, and to acheive this at thirteen has made me feel so happy. I only realised recently, however, that there's no point in having a book published unless there are people out there who atually find it interesting, and you are those people. Getting comments on my story from different people all over the world atually maked me feel quite emotional. Thank you.


TILL NEXT TIME...
And yes, there will be a next time. I have a good idea