FAQs

Ask the author a question!

If you want to ask Toni Brisland a question about ‘DemiChat and the Kent Street Mystery’ send an email to toni@demichat.com then look for the answer here or in DemiChat’s Newsletter.

These are the questions Toni has been asked so far:

Sovaia of Glebe, Sydney asks:
Why did you write ‘DemiChat and the Kent Street Mystery’?
I had won a writing competition and a friend rang me about 6 weeks before another competition was due to close and suggested I enter it. At the time I was re-reading the ‘Collected Works of Sherlock Homes’ by Arthur Conon Doyle, one of my favourite authors. My cats, Jade and Flannery, were sitting near me as they always do when I write and I looked at them and bling – a light bulb went off in my head and I laughed. Why not? Why not have a girl cat as the greatest of all detectives, Sherlock Holmes, and a dog as her faithful companion and help?
I thought it would be a great way to introduce a new generation of readers to Sherlock Holmes.

Virginia of Ormond, Melbourne asks:
Why is the story set in London?
London is Sherlock Holmes’ city. Those foggy streets hid all sorts of mysteries for Sherlock. I didn’t even think about any alternate location to start the story. London was an automatic choice but I did want the time to be the present day and I wanted it to have an international flavour, hence the train trip through France to Rome where the mystery is solved.

Go to - www.sherlockholmes.com and start discovering London in the nineteenth century.

Alana, 9, of Ermington, NSW asks:
Did you choose the Illustrator?
Aren’t the illustrations wonderful! The Illustrator, Peter “Zane” Haywood, was chosen by the publisher, Kerry Collison of Sid Harta Publications. I had sent Kerry my manuscript of “DemiChat and the Kent Street Mystery” and a photo of my cat Jade and at my first meeting with Kerry he handed me a piece of paper with the illustration that has now become the cover of my book. I loved it and agreed with Kerry that Peter would be the right illustrator for Demi. Visit Demi’s Friends on a sub-page of this website to learn more about the Illustrator.

Phillip of Surry Hills, NSW asks:
Why did you call the main character DemiChat if your cat’s name was Jade?
I always start my stories by deciding upon and creating the characteristics and personality of a character. The main character’s voice for this story kept talking to me in a French accent! I don’t know why. Jade didn’t sound like a name that suited the character that was developing in my head, but I wanted something short and I liked the “ee” sound at the end of a name for this character.

After a Google search I decided upon Fifi le Chat and many drafts later and whilst the manuscript was at the publishers (even after I was a runner-up in that competition I kept re-drafting) it was brought to my attention that Fifi was already the name of a famous children’s book character – Fifi the Flowerpot. I had to change it! I Googled it again – and Demi stood out!  Why? Because my daughter and I really once had a cat called DemiChat! Why hadn’t I thought of it in the first place? Go to the space on this website called ‘Demi’s Friends’ to learn all about the real DemiChat.