The Osgoode Trilogy - Award Winning Legal Mystery Thrillers

As we continue to follow the growth and evolution of Martin's main character in The Osgoode Trilogy, we see that Harry has found love and uses it to overcome some past pains he endured.

The love and compassion that shines through in this period of Harry's life is intertwined with the conniving nature of some of the people he is involved with. The Final Paradox tale is a vision of what many legal cases seems to be - where the jury is the reader and the suspect, appearing innocent and victimized, is an elderly woman named Norma.

Whoever is on the trail of the missing money told in this tale ends up with a ruined life. Murder, fraud, and deceit are the main theme of this part of the trilogy, but you can't ignore the way Martin highlights Harry's love for Natasha.

As if she never left off for a second, Mary E. Martin continue The Osgoode Trilogy in a seamless style, linking A Trial of One closely behind Final Paradox. The quest for the missing money continues.

Harry struggles with the question of whether compassion must mean selflessness as he travels to Venice and London to continue his unraveling the truth of his client's pursuits. Shares of Elixicorp Enterprises stock are MIA and worth more than $30 million.

His client, Norma Dinnick, wants it for herself and as Harry searches for it, Dr. Robert Hawke is hot on his tail. Hawke is unquestionable dark and claims to have found a cure for Alzheimer's.

The pursuit unveils a mysterious fraud that occurred years ago, entangling Harry's jealously, murder, humor and suspense. The ending is satisfying to the reader and the entire trilogy delivers a challenging plot and exploration of various themes. If you're looking for a original plot that harvests storylines of murder and fraud, then The Osgoode Trilogy is what you've been seeking.

Your novel is ready. You've worked really hard and traveled an amazing distance. Some would call it the hero's journey through the primeval forests of the mind, where you've met with all sorts of tricksters, goblins, gremlins, to say nothing of the few dragons you've slain along the way. But the novel has been born and you've raised it with all the energy you could muster. Now it's ready to meet the world.

Did you know that an essential part of the hero's journey is returning from your conquest with the booty [the novel] and presenting it to the world?

Few people work this hard, just to leave their creation locked in a drawer. Now's your chance!

You try to find an agent. Most advice books I have read are really quite amusing. They tell you that you should be careful about your choice of agent-as if agents were lining up outside your door clamouring for your book.

I can only speak of my experience. At the outset, [many years ago] I tried to learn about the publishing industry by actually contacting it. I called as many agents as I could find. The response was "Have you been published before?" My answer was an honest "No". Immediately, I sensed a coolness settling over the conversation followed by an unseemly haste to get off the line.

I took advice on writing query letters to publishers, thinking my scintillating prose would prevent the slip and slide into the slush pile. Months later, my inquiries led to the "not for our list" response letter. By this time, I had developed a clear mental image of the publishing industry-very much like a medieval castle, with moats filled with alligators and a drawbridge, which never opened-at least not for me.

This is not everyone's experience. There are a few writers, who send in a manuscript and shortly thereafter receive an eager call from the publishing house. This is rare. This happens in movies far more frequently than in real life.

So what did I do? I was absolutely committed to Harry Jenkins, the protagonist of the three novels in The Osgoode Trilogy, Conduct in Question, Final Paradox and A Trial of One. Harry deserved to meet the world and I was convinced he would be loved. In 2005, I began my research of POD [print on demand] companies. These are companies [you'll find them all over the web] which will publish your novel. And they provide the services that the traditional publishing houses have, such as editing, copy-editing, proof reading and cover design. But, it is the author who pays for these services. Because I had long since given up the fantasy of martini lunches with an editor ready to give me a six figure advance, I was ready to consider this route. And thousands upon thousands of authors do exactly this.

So many industries are engaged in "downloading" costs. In the world of POD [print on demand] these costs land on the shoulders of the author. Many writers are offended by this. But the reality is that the traditional publishing houses simply cannot afford to invest in a new writer. They must go with the sure thing-a writer with a track record. And so, I thought, why shouldn't I invest in Harry Jenkins? Let him meet his public.

I continued sifting through the myriad POD companies. At last, I decided to investigate iUniverse, which seemed to me to be the only one with a "staged" program. If you get to the various levels, editor's choice, reader's choice, Publisher choice, you may get to the Star Program where your book is introduced to a traditional publisher. With the avalanche of new novels, competition is very tough but this seemed to be another route to the promise land. In the meantime, Harry would get out into the world and into the hands of quite a number of readers and reviewers. I chose iUniverse and now all three novels in the trilogy are published.

I hope you'll visit my website to read about Harry and The Osgoode Trilogy. Now that you know more about how it all came to life, have a visit, where you'll be able to sample chapters in all three books. www.theosgoodetrilogy.com

If you'd like to hear my podcast interview with Alan Hunkin www.podcasts.com about The Osgoode Trilogy please follow this link. http://www.iuniverse.com/community/iuniversity/podcasts

Another day, I'll write more about the POD route, answering the question-If traditional publishers can only afford to bet on the "sure thing", how do they get new blood?

May 6th

I came across a quote from Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe, and I'd love to hear your reaction. It's about those kind of books which, once read, change your life and way of seeing things.

"IT MAY NOT BE AMISS FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO SHALL MEET MY STORY TO MAKE THIS JUST OBSERVATION FROM IT, VIZ., HOW FREQUENTLY IN THE COURSE OF OUR LIVES THE EVIL WHICH IN ITSELF WE SEEK MOST TO SHUN, AND WHICH, WHEN WE ARE FALLEN INTO IT, IS OFTENTIMES THE VERY SAME MEANS OR DOOR OF OUR DELIVERANCE, BY WHICH ALONE, WE CAN BE RAISED AGAIN."

I like to think this is also the story of "my" hero, Harry Jenkins, the protagonist of The Osgoode Trilogy. Only by confronting evil does he find his "deliverance."

Let me know what you think!