Brit Mott

Before closing its doors in Plano, Legacy Books hosted authors up until the last week, among them, California-based author Sheila Lowe who dropped in August 10 to promote her book, Last Writes. Hailed by Publisher's Weekly as "dynamite," the book is number four in the The Claudia Rose Series.

Like her protagonist, Lowe is a handwriting analysis expert, and after sharing a short bio and tagline of the book—"What does a stuffed bunny have to do with a religious cult?"— she briefed fans on the topic.

Some may argue that handwriting is a dying art because of computers and the Internet, but no doubt, it is a form of art as it requires movement. Lowe's job though is to look beyond the movement and instead, look behind the words. What motivates a person? What drives a person to act and re-act according to his or her handwriting?

Lowe explained that because our mood and surroundings are constantly changing, over time, our handwriting is naturally going to change. She had her handwriting analyzed years ago and said not all the findings are applicable today. When asked if her handwriting revealed that she was a mysterious person, she laughed. "I am probably supposed to be mysterious but really, I think I'm an open book."

Perhaps fans would agree. In a soft, tender voice, Lowe shared that 10 years ago, her daughter Jennifer, 27, was murdered. "She was murdered by her FBI-agent husband, and with this book, I've learned that life goes on after death. At first, I didn't believe in spiritual contact but she's still involved in my life."

Born in England, Lowe moved to the United States in 1964. She was 14, and around that time she received her first mystery book called The Sea of Adventure. Three years later, as an inquisitive 17-year-old, she grew fascinated with the study of handwriting when her boyfriend's mom introduced her to the subject. Lowe quickly developed an interest in the correlation between a person's handwriting and motivations. "Everybody has a set of needs and handwriting shows what those needs are," she said.

In the late ’70s, Lowe took courses in handwriting analysis and became certified by the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation. In 1985, she was asked by the California Court system to give her opinion on a legal matter. Lowe pursued legal work full time before being approached to write the Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis, in which she joked, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."

She added, "I had 12 weeks to write the book, but I'd like to think it took me 35 years." (Lowe studied the topic on her own for a decade before becoming certified.)

In the late ’90s, Lowe wrote, Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous, a collection of handwriting samples by notorious people, including Elvis’ letter to Richard Nixon, which reveals "restlessness and impulsiveness."

"And all this time, I wanted to write mystery," Lowe declares.

Last Writes opens with the three women investigating a family crisis. Claudia's friend Kelly has an estranged sister, Erin, who found a cryptic note revealing that her husband and 3-year-old daughter are missing. Erin and her family have been living as members of The Temple of Brighter Light, an isolated religious compound. When Erin finds the note, she turns to Claudia. Using her expertise in forensic handwriting analysis, Claudia gains access to the compound and has a matter of days to uncover the truth about Erin's daughter.

Fans say that Lowe has "a knack for character building." Because she doesn't reveal too much about her characters at once, attention is drawn more to the walls that confine them. As she slowly unveils the strengths and flaws of her characters, readers grasp on to them like stuffed animals. Readers understand their motivations, feel for them, cheer for them, hurt for them…. Says Lowe, "I write about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I'm not going to write about superheroes."

A compelling read, Last Writes is unequaled in its genre because real-life handwriting analyses is used to solve a fictional crime, and fans are mesmerized by Lowe's weaving of the two.

On Writing
Lowe explained that there are three things you look for when analyzing handwriting: space (in relation to what you are writing on), style (or font), and movement.

In addition, the pressure against the paper must be taken into account. "Extra light pressure, with a very left slant and tiny print may mean that you are holding your emotions inside and at any given moment, you are going to explode…kind of like a slingshot. Timothy McVeigh comes to mind."

Lowe further explained that because handwriting reveals your motivations, in addition to the needs that mean most to you—love, security, etc.—the size of your handwriting reveals how much space you feel you deserve in the world. "Height reveals your ego's needs and width reveals your ego's strengths."

The handwriting expert emphasized that you can't generalize. "You have to look at the whole picture. It's like looking at a portrait: You don't just notice the eyebrows or the nose; you have to look at the whole thing to understand and appreciate it."

She added, "Handwriting reveals a lot of important information but it doesn't reveal everything about yourself."

For more information on the author or her book, visit claudiaroseseries.com.

The Next Chapter for Legacy Books
Come November, Legacy Books is becoming A Real Bookstore in the Village at Fairview, located on the east side of Hwy. 75 on Stacy Road.