TYPORAMA
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Michael G. Colburn’s Lady Black Mystery series is back with the latest installment, “Asylum Murders.”
Second installment in the Lady Black series arrives from author of "jaw-dropping" historical mystery novels.
December 16, 2025
I.P. Publishing
Mystery
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ABOUT ASYLUM MURDERS:
In the gaslit streets of 1890s Melbourne, Lady Edith “Edie”Black has reinvented herself. Once a notorious London thief, she now poses as a widowed aristocrat while secretly establishing herself as a private investigator.
When Parliament’s ceremonial mace disappears during a night of debauchery involving high-ranking officials, Edie is hired to recover it discreetly. But her investigation takes a darker turn when a young woman is brutally beaten and left for dead after the same event.
Meanwhile, Edie’s dearest friend Britina, a novice nun assigned to the infamous Kew Asylum, witnesses disturbing disappearances among the patients. When Britina is framed for murder, Edie must infiltrate the asylum’s forbidding walls to save her.
With time running out and powerful enemies closing in, Edie must use all her criminal and aristocratic skills to expose the truth before becoming the next victim.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michael G. Colburn has studied and written about the creative process for several decades.
He started several businesses and one manufacturing company based on creation and invention. He has authored over twenty patents.
His books include the bestselling Invent, Innovate & Prosper, and How Julia Found Happiness and Financial Success.
He now devotes his time to writing The Lady Black Crime fiction series.
He lives with his wife in Vermont. When he is not writing, they like to travel and take long-distance walking trips, exploring paths and cultures worldwide.
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An Interview with
Michael Colburn
1. What has your writing journey been like so far? How did you find yourselfwriting novels in retirement?
I tried painting but had zero talent. My writing journey has been in two phases. When I retired, I wrote books on the creative process, invention and successful management ofthe creative process. It is what I had done in business for over four decades. The back of my mind always niggled at me to find a good story.
2. How did you come up with the idea for Lady Black?
When I found the story of a ship being stolen from the River Clyde in Glasgow during the 1800s, I felt this could be the beginning for a novel. Why was it stolen, and for what purpose? Who did it? What happened during its voyage? I was told it disappeared. A little was revealed during my research, but most questions weren’t answered, so I could make up the story and many of the characters. I wanted a central figure to build a series on.
One newspaper account mentioned an elegant lady, finely dressed, who boarded the Ferret Steam Ship with the principal thief Henderson. He introduced her as his wife, but she mostly vanished from accounts of the Ferret’s exploits. She became my Lady Edith Black and the protagonist of the series.
3. How do you plot your mysteries? How have readers responded to the twists in your books?
I love stories with twists and turns, but I don’t plan them, and I don’t plot my stories except to have a central theme, some genuine events, unsolved crimes when possible, and I build out the story from there. The twists just come as I write. Readers seem to love a good surprise when reading, provided it’s supported in the story.
4. What research did you do for “Asylum Murders”? How did you capture 1890s Melbourne?
Once I have a direction for a book, I do a lot of research. For Asylum Murders I read newspapers and magazine articles from the time, based in Melbourne. Most of the historical and cultural material came courtesy of the National Library of Australia. The setting of Melbourne was chosen for me because that’s where the steamship Ferret ended up in Stolen Brilliance (book one). It helped that I had a development editor whogrew up in Kew, a part of Melbourne and a primary location for much of the story. Here, however, I found a biographical book set in the Yara Bend Asylum (forerunner to Kew Asylum): Lizzie’s Journey to Yarra Bend by Linley Walker. The book provided a good deal of information about asylum life in the Victorian era.
5. What’s next for you? Can readers expect more from Lady Black in the future?
I currently have five novels planned for Lady Black but hope there are more. I like to focus on one of my main characters in each book other than making each page about Edie (Lady Black). Of course, her backstory was part of book one, and she plays a critical role in each book, but book two has a lot about her best friend growing up in book one, Britina. Book three, currently in first draft, centers on Benji Diamond, and book four-moves to America and centers on Jack Diamond.
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