Derrick Belanger's Blog: Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Ramblings of a Sherlockian - Posts Tagged "beyond-watson"

As I write this, the Kickstarter campaign for the World's Largest Collection of New Sherlock Holmes stories has come to a close. With 342 pledges, the anthology came in at over 23,000 dollars, well above the 3,000 dollars needed to make the project happen. We had great press from The Radio Times, various blogs, and even NBC News did an article on the poor conditions of Undershaw, the estate the Kickstarter campaign funds were going to help restore.

I am proud to say I did my part to help along the campaign with four author interview blogs on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. You can read interviews with almost all sixty authors by going to the Derrick Belanger page on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere by clicking here: http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search...

Now I am on to supporting another Kickstarter campaign, which only has a few weeks left and needs a bit of a boost. This anthology is titled, My Peculiar Family, and it is a really cool concept book. All of the authors were given a tin type photo of a person, and we then had to come up with a story about that person. My story is a horror story which has an O.Henry twist to it. There are some New York Times bestselling authors in the mix including Christopher Golden, Tracy Hickman,William Meikle, Rob WattsKristi McDowell, and many other talented writers (including me, Derrick Belanger).

Look for an interview article with William Meikle at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere in the near future. Also, I hope to have a few interview articles with the authors on this blog as well. Stay tuned, and check out My Peculiar Family at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/....

More updates on my upcoming Sherlock Holmes anthology, Beyond Watson, plus my publishing venture, are coming soon!!

While my blog usually focuses on authors of new Sherlock Holmes books, I am doing a series of author interviews on Belanger Books current Kickstarter project,My Peculiar Family . This is a gothic horror anthology like no other and as I said in a previous post, I believe this book will be remembered as the best gothic horror anthology of 2016. For those of you only interested in Holmes, this entry also includes a Beyond Watson update at the end.

I thought I'd start this series off with a bang! This post includes an interview with not one but two huge names in the publishing world. Christopher Golden is the co-author of the Cemetery Girl series ( The Pretenders) with Charlaine Harris. He has written multiple fantasy, horror and science fiction novels and graphic novels, and is currently working on a series of novels based on the show Sons of Anarchy.

James A. Moore has written everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dr. Who. He is known for the Subject Seven series and the Chris Corin Chronicles (Possessions). I interviewed these greats via email about their contribution to My Peculiar Family.

1. Your story, "The Geneology of Chastity Willingham Dinsdale," sets the tone and theme for the anthology My Peculiar Family. Did you realize, when crafting the tale, that it would have such importance for the collection?

Christopher Golden (CG): The interesting thing about the story is that it only came about because we got our wires crossed a bit when communicating with the Dome about the book. He’d given us a photo and a little write up of the history of Chastity Willingham Dinsdale, and we just sort of assumed that “origin” story was the story he wanted us to write. So this story that lays the groundwork for the whole anthology wasn’t supposed to even exist. It was going to be done in a sort of foreword or introduction where he told readers about those events. Instead, we dramatized them. And though it started as a mistake, I definitely think it makes for a better, more textured presentation when readers can go into the other stories having first read hers. Jim and I are very pleased with our accident.

James A. Moore (JM): Chris really covered it all here. It was an accident but it was one that was a lot of fun and a challenge. I don;t normally work under the constraints of someone else's plot and that is exactly what we THOUGHT was going on. It was a very differrent way of working but we had fun.

2. This story is co-written by both of you. How did you go about writing the story together?

CG: Collaborating is usually a lot like playing tennis, just batting it back and forth to each other. In this case, we worked a bit differently just based on time constraints. We fleshed out the plot of the story, agreed on what exactly would be in it, and then Jim went off and wrote the first draft. He’s much faster than I am anyway. Like the Flash of horror writing. I came in after him, added some things, revised it to something that sounded a bit more like us together than just him, and also filled in some of the texture of what I thought the Dome was looking for. With Jim doing the heavy lifting, I wanted to make sure I did my part. Though Jim and I have done the more traditional collaboration on other projects together, I think this one really benefited from that division of labor.

JM: The thing about collaboration is you never quite know how it will shape itself. Chris and I have worked together on multiple projects and the one guarantee so far, for me, is that I'm going to enjoy it.


3. What makes the story so peculiar?

CG: The Dome, man. Have you met the guy? Heh heh. His twisted imagination provided the concept for our story. We just wanted to bring his nightmares to life.

JM: What Chris said!

4. This question is for Chris. One of the Kickstarter awards is the Christopher Golden Novella Award where you are offering a signed personalized hardcover copy of your book Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism: A Novella. Tell us a little about the book which you co-wrote with Mike Mignola (Hellboy).

CG: This is a hardcover novella published by St. Martin’s Press and I’ve offered ten copies, personalized and signed for the donors who choose that level. Father Gaetano’s Puppet Catechism is set during World War II on the island of Sicily. The Allies have just taken Sicily from the Germans, but in the bombing during that battle, many people were killed, many children left without parents. A church rectory has been turned into an orphanage, and a young new priest has arrived to teach the children. Trouble is, after being made orphans, many of them are having trouble with the idea of a loving God, so Father Gaetano is struggling to find a way to get through to them. He finds an old puppet theater in the basement along with a wooden box full of old puppets. Each day, he repaints and recostumes the puppets to tell Bible stories—Noah’s ark, David and Goliath—but what he doesn’t know is that each night, the puppets BECOME whatever characters they were made to be during that day. Which is fine, and wonderful for the orphans…until the day Father Gaetano tells the story of the fall of Lucifer….

5. What are your current projects?

CG: I’m just wrapping up my new novel ARARAT, a crazy horror thriller that’ll be out early next year, and working on BALTIMORE, the comics series I do with Mike Mignola.

JM: I just finished THE SILENT ARMY, the fourth book in an epic Fantasy series that comes out in May. I'm about to start another series called TIDES OF WAR, and before that happens I need to finish a novel called SPORES. I like to stay busy.

6. Any last thoughts?

CG: Just that I hope folks will support this Kickstarter,My Peculiar Family . Not only do you get a great anthology of weird fiction, you get to support one of the best genre podcasts out there!

JM: Once again, Chris beat me to it!

You can support the Kickstarter project here at My Peculiar Family !

Beyond Watson Update and Sherlockian News

I am happy to report that almost all of the stories are in for Beyond Watson, an anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories not told by the Dr. John H. Watson. The Kickstarter campaign will officially launch on March 15, so stay tuned for more details. Both Beyond Watson and My Peculiar Family will be released by Belanger Books in May.

If you haven't seen my "split" review of Abominable Bride, the latest episode of Sherlock, you can read it here (http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/0...).

Look for an interview article with Sally Sugarman, BSI on the silver anniversary of her Scion group, The Baker Street Breakfast Club to be published on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere soon.

That's it for now. Look for more interviews and more big news from me coming soon...

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

Time to go Beyond Watson

Would you like to know how Holmes met Mrs. Hudson? How about the time when Charlie Chaplin befriended Billy the Page? Or, the time when a little girl learned that Yes, Virginia, There is a Sherlock Holmes?

Those are just three of the incredible adventures recounted in Beyond Watson, the first Sherlock Holmes anthology published by Belanger Books, and what is sure to be our second successful kickstarter campaign. All of the stories are told, at least in part, by a character who is not John Watson, and are written by some of the best current Sherlock Holmes authors including David Marcum, Daniel D. Victor, Don Everitt Smith Jr., Elizabeth Varadan, Geri Schear, Kieran Lyne, Luke Benjamen KuhnsMarcia Wilson, David Ruffle, and me, Derrick Belanger. I am also excited to announce that the great science fiction author Jack McDevitt will have his first Sherlock Holmes story in this collection, and another sci-fi author, Richard Paolinelli, will have his story included as long as we reach our Kickstarter stretch goal.

I will post more updates on the Beyond Watson anthology as we get closer to the Kickstarter date in March. Look to this blog for author interviews and other exciting news about Beyond Watson and other upcoming Sherlock Holmes anthologies. And if you'd like to preview some of the products we will offer as Kickstarter rewards, check out the Belanger Books Redbubble page here: http://www.redbubble.com/shop/belange...

My Peculiar Family FUNDED

Yes! The horror anthology My Peculiar Family which was the first anhology and first Kickstarter by Belanger Books is fully funded! There is still a week to go to get your copy of My Peculiar Family and help us reach our stretch goal! Please follow the link to My Peculiar Family and check out the best horror collection of 2016! A huge thank you to Les Rosenthal (a.k.a. The Dome) for putting together such a wonderful anthology and pulling in both new authors and NY Times bestsellers. To wrap up this campaign, I have posted below the table of contents for the anthology as well as my final author interviews for My Peculiar Family.

It is my pleasure to share with you the stories included in the anthology.

Christopher Golden and James A. Moore - The Genealogy of Chastity Willingham Dimsdale
Stacey Longo - Miss Elizabeth’s Poison
Jason J. Mooers - Law and Mother
Robert Mayette - Solomon’s Mirror
William Meikle - The Luck of Walter Dimsdale
F. Allen Farnham - Tuckahoe Marble
Samantha Boyette - A Twisted Vine
David Schechter - Just Words
Rob Watts - Crowninshield’s Apothecary
Kristi McDowell - With This Ring, I Thee Bind
Karen Gosselin - Eggsetential Circumstances
George O'Conner - Joshua Was My Favorite
Derrick Belanger - Pieces of Rosalee
Bracken MacLeod - Know All Men
John Pallisano - The Space Between
Tracy Hickman - (TBD)
STRETCH GOAL STORY - Scott Thomas (Agatha)

Original Artwork by Sara Richard and Peter Vinton, Jr..



F. Allen Farnham Interview

1. Tell us a little about your story. What makes it so peculiar?

While just a boy, Victor’s parents were taken ill with rashes, debilitating nausea, body aches, and unusually high fevers. Doctors of the time were stumped, finding nothing they could bleed or cut away, and it was an herbalist’s healing medicine that saw his parents well again.

Amazed by such artistry, Victor followed in the Herbalist’s footsteps. He studied at the best schools, absorbed everything his mentor would share. Books were not nearly enough to sate his curiosity, and Victor set off to make his own discoveries in the jungles of the Amazon.

What Victor found in the lush tangles more accurately found him.


2. What made you want to participate in My Peculiar Family?

It’s a brilliant concept! Dome and I have been friends and associates for years, and when he told me of his idea, I was immediately interested. I mean, how could I not? One glance at these old tintypes and I had to know their history.

Then he told me some of the other authors on the project, and I knew it was more than an idea. It was happening.


3. What are some of your other projects you’d like to tell the readers about?

The Angry Ghosts series ( Angry Ghosts) is hard, post-apocalyptic Sci Fi for the reader who wants more than space battles with alien baddies. Ultimately, it’s a story of redemption and the high price that must be paid for it.

Deeper descriptions can be found here:

https://cadreonepublishing.wordpress....

There’s a section reserved for the more interesting dreams I’ve had. Going to throw a cover around them and publish, because some of them are just out there:

https://cadreonepublishing.wordpress....

Samantha Boyette Interview

1. Tell us a little about your story. What makes it so peculiar?

Raised by her uncle after the death of her parents, Jessamine has a way with plants. A few words or a touch and she can make them do what she wants, growing wild or returning to a seed. She keeps the gift to herself as she grows up, never sharing it with her Uncle until years later when another young girl moves in with them.


2. What made you want to participate in My Peculiar Family?

I loved the whole idea right away. Whenever I look at old pictures I can't help but imagine what the lives of the people in them were like. This was a chance to actually write one of those stories.

3. What are some of your other projects you'd like to tell the readers about?

I have five ebooks currently available on Amazon.com (see Samantha Boyette). My next book 18 Months will be available in December 2016 through Bold Strokes Press.


4. Any last thoughts?

I hope readers are as eager to find out the stories behind the pictures as I am!

Jay Mooers Interview

1. Tell us a little about your story. What makes it so peculiar?

For My Peculiar Family I was given an odd looking young man named Edward and he was a lawyer. He didn’t look like a heavy hitter to me, so I figured Edward was trying to become a lawyer and get away from his odd relationship with his mother. But he seems to stumble from one entrapment to another as his first client may be his last. I made my short story a kind of prequel to a series I’ve been working on called Bloodlines. It reveals secrets about characters from that series, but also stands on it’s own.


2. What made you want to participate in My Peculiar Family?

I’m always looking for a new challenge. I’ve spent years doing artwork and only a few writing. I love pushing myself and trying new kinds of story telling techniques. This is my second published short story, and I’m rather proud of it. I know many of the people involved in the anthology and love being associated with them all. They are good people and I’m happy to be a part of this Peculiar family.


3. What are some of your other projects you'd like to tell the readers about?

My second novel, Scales and Sand will be released this spring 2016. It’s a children’s novel about a fantasy world where the daughter of a merchant is chased across a terrible red desert only to discover herself and grow up along the way. My comic book, Autumn Grey will be available this summer after my kickstarter campaign to fund the printing and is already available on comixology. It’s an urban fantasy tale about a young girl in the years between school and adulthood who is drawn into the fantastic world of faeries and monsters with devastating results. There’s many more things coming soon so keep an eye out via my website, www.edenparktales.com


4. Any last thoughts?

I’d just like to thank Dome for all his hard work on this and every project he embraces. His podcast has been a great way of promoting not only myself, but many others whom I’d never have known anything about otherwise. We are all a part of his Peculiar family.

Karen Gosselin Interview

1. Tell us a little about your story. What makes it so peculiar?

Isabelle is an artist living on her own in Civil War era New York City. She receives an unusual commission from a very wealthy, and eccentric man. The commission puts her in the middle of a battle between good and evil, opening her eyes to things she thought were myth.


2. What made you want to participate in My Peculiar Family?

I love writing! I have my own stories I want to tell and share. This was a great way to get my start, cut my teeth on writing fiction and having it published.

3. What are some of your other projects you'd like to tell the readers about?

Mostly artwork for now. Creating a series of pieces that are my interpretations of gods and goddesses from other cultures. I'm also writing a series of urban fiction stories that incorporate various supernatural creatures balancing "battling evil" with living a "normal" life and "fitting in" with modern society. Example: a married couple with supernatural powers not only fight to protect others, but try to raise their children at the same time. Or a Lesbian Werewolf having to deal with a nosy neighbor who is insulted that the "dog" pooed on his lawn. They still have to save the world, but they also have to do their taxes.

4. Any last thoughts?

Really excited about this project and can't wait to share what I wrote with others.

Go to My Peculiar Family to back the Kickstarter campaign and to see some of the astounding prizes still available!!

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

There's only a mere 48 hours or so left in our current Kickstarter campaigns!! Yep, just a few hours to be the first to get your hands on two of the best books to be published this year. I can say this with confidence because the first three volumes of the MX Anthology of New Sherlock Holmes Stories was called the greatest collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories ever published by Sherlockian legend Philip K. Jones who has literally read thousands of Holmes pastiches. You know that with David Marcum, one of the best current Sherlock Holmes authors, at the helm as editor, MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part IV will be just as incredible as the last three. So don't delay. Follow the link to the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part IV now!

The other book which is a must have for fans of horror and Holmes alike is the gothic horror anthology My Peculiar Family which surprisingly, still has some incredible awards available!! As of my writing this blog post, backers can still get:

7 of the "Vanished Killer" Reward
You get both the e-book version of My Peculiar Family plus the illustrated e-book of my Sherlock Holmes story, "The Case of the Vanished Killer" all for just 10 bucks!! Plus, your name will be published in My Peculiar Family as a patron of the project.

5 of the “Second Chance Collections Edition” Reward."

This award gets you the softcover My Peculiar Family , your name in the book as a patron, plus an original historic tintype used as a basis for a story in the collection.

2 of the "Stacey Longo Book and Bloody Pillow" Reward.

One of my favorite stories in the collection was penned by horror writer Stacey Longo. For just 75 dollars, you get a horror anthology with one of her stories, a handmade bloody pillow designed to look like a blood splot, My Peculiar Family, and your name published as a backer in the book. Personally, I can't believe this award is still available!! I think this one is a steal. So, definitely check it out at the My Peculiar Family Kickstarter page.

3 of the “Co-Host Sci Fi Saturday Night For An Episode” Reward.

Yes, you can co-host an episode of the show that has had such sci-fi legends as Harlan Ellison and Tracy Hickman as guests. Imagine which literary legend could be talking with you. Maybe it would be one of the NY Times Bestselling authors who are part of the My Peculiar Family anthology.

8 of the “Christopher Golden Signed AND Personalized Book” Reward.
And “The “Tracy Hickman Challenge” Reward.

You can get the My Peculiar Family book, your name published as a patron, and a signed and personalized book by Christorpher Golden and Mike Mignola. Since it is personalized, you can say who Mr. Golden makes the book out to and a small amount of text you'd like him to include.

The Tracy Hickman Challenge Reward

Ever want to be a published author? How about co-writing a story with a living legend NY Times Bestseller? That's what you get for the Tracy Hickman reward. You will get a tintype image sent to you. You tell Mr. Hickman the names of the characters in the story and the basic plot, and he will write the tale based on your plot and descriptions. You will be listed as a co-author, so this is a huge opportunity!! Only one available!! Check it out at My Peculiar Family!

Remember, there's only a few hours left to get in on these FUNDED Kickstarter projects!


For one last time, it is my pleasure to share with you the stories included in the My Peculiar Family anthology.

Christopher Golden and James A. Moore - The Genealogy of Chastity Willingham Dimsdale
Stacey Longo - Miss Elizabeth’s Poison
Jason J. Mooers - Law and Mother
Robert Mayette - Solomon’s Mirror
William Meikle - The Luck of Walter Dimsdale
F. Allen Farnham - Tuckahoe Marble
Samantha Boyette - A Twisted Vine
David Schechter - Just Words
Rob Watts - Crowninshield’s Apothecary
Kristi McDowell - With This Ring, I Thee Bind
Karen Gosselin - Eggsetential Circumstances
George O'Conner - Joshua Was My Favorite
Derrick Belanger - Pieces of Rosalee
Bracken MacLeod - Know All Men
John Pallisano - The Space Between
Tracy Hickman - (TBD)
STRETCH GOAL STORY - Scott Thomas (Agatha)

Original Artwork by Sara Richard and Peter Vinton, Jr..



So, get your copy of MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part IV and My Peculiar Family today!!

Next month comes another incredible Sherlock Holmes anthology, Beyond Watson, more info on that collection and how you can submit a Sherlock Holmes story to two additional upcoming anthologies in my next blog post. Stay tuned!!

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

Belanger Books just wrapped up our first official Kickstarter campaign. The horror anthology My Peculiar Family not only met its goal, but it also met its stretch goal. A big thank you to all of the authors involved, and especially a huge thank you to The Dome (a.k.a Les Rosenthal), the host of the podcast Sci-Fi Saturday Night, for not giving up on his dream project. Rest assured, Les, you'll be the first person to hold a copy of the anthology in your hands come May.

Also, a big congratulations to David Marcum and Steve Emecz for another successful Kickstarter campaign in support of Undershaw. The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories met its goal early in the campaign and was a smashing success. Here's to more MX anthologies in the future.

So, what's next? well, we have four additional Kickstarter projects in the works. The first, which will launch next month, is Beyond Watson. The campaign for this anthology of new Sherlock Holmes stories NOT told by Dr. Watson is set to run March 20 - April 18th. All of the stories are told, at least in part, by a character who is not John Watson, and are written by some of the best current Sherlock Holmes authors including David Marcum, Daniel D. Victor, Don Everitt Smith Jr., Elizabeth Varadan, Geri Schear, Kieran Lyne, Luke Benjamen KuhnsMarcia Wilson, David Ruffle, and me, Derrick Belanger, plus an introduction co-written by Mark Levy, BSI. I am also excited to announce that the great science fiction author Jack McDevitt will have his first Sherlock Holmes story in this collection, and another sci-fi author, Richard Paolinelli, will have his story included as long as we reach our Kickstarter stretch goal.

Call for Sherlock Holmes Stories

We are also planning on two additional Sherlock Holmes collections. The first, Holmes Away from Home: Tales of the Great Hiatus will be an anthology of stories which take place during May, 4th, 1891 - April 5, 1894, or the time when Sherlock Holmes was believed to be deceased having "perished" in his confrontation with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. the second anthology is called Before Watson: Sherlock Holmes in Montague Street, and it is a collection of stories that take place before Holmes met Watson and resided in rooms in Montague Street.

If you are interested in submitting a story, it should be between 5,000 - 10,000 words (though if you go over or under some it is okay as long as it benefits the story). Entries for Holmes Away From Home should be received at submissions@belangerbooks.com no later than July 1st, 2016. Entries for Before watson should be received before September 1st, 2016. Again, please send all entries to submissions@belangerbooks.com.

You are also welcome to contact me at derrick@belangerbooks.com with any questions you may have. Thank you,

Derrick Belanger

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

Beyond Watson Makes Half of its Goal in First 24 Hours on Kickstarter

What a great first day! Within the first 24 hours Beyond Watson is already more than halfway to its goal. Thank you to everyone who has backed the project so far!!

Also, we heard from many of you that you wanted Beyond Watson to be available in Germany or France or Sweden. We did not expect such an outpouring of support from the EU, but because of you, we have now made it so that there is free shipping to any EU country. If you could not order your copy yesterday and you live in an EU country, please go back and make your order.

Remember, all of the stories in Beyond Watson are told, at least in part, by a character who is not John Watson, and are written by some of the best current Sherlock Holmes authors including David Marcum, Daniel D. Victor, Don Everitt Smith Jr., Elizabeth Varadan, Geri Schear, Kieran Lyne, Luke Benjamen KuhnsMarcia Wilson, David Ruffle, and me, Derrick Belanger. I am also excited to announce that the great science fiction author Jack McDevitt will have his first Sherlock Holmes story in this collection, and another sci-fi author, Richard Paolinelli, will have his story included as long as we reach our Kickstarter stretch goal.

I would love to see Beyond Watson meet its goal by the end of the first week of the campaign. The best thing we all can do to help continue the momentum (besides buying a copy) is to let others know about this project. Please share via Facebook, Twitter, Email, Instagram, or any other social media method you employ. I will have an author interview series with the Beyond Watson participants throughout the campaign, so look back here for author interviews in the near future.

Thank you and looking forward to sending you advanced copies of Beyond Watson after the Kickstarter meets its goal.

Historical Festival Update

The Endeavour Press Historical Festival is just around the corner. The festival will run from April 18th - 22nd and each participating author will have a 30 - 60 minute time slot where you can ask them questions and interact with them via their Goodreads author page. At least two Sherlock Holmes authors, Derrick Belanger and David Stuart Davies (Ed.), will be participating. I have requested a time on April 18th or 19th. When I know the precise time, I will update on this blog. You can check out all the authors and events at: https://historicalfestival.wordpress.....

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

"What would Holmes be like without Watson?" Mark Levy, BSI, ponders in the introduction to Beyond Watson:

"The result of Holmes without Watson would be like Gilbert’s lyrics without Sullivan’s melodies, or Simon trying to harmonize without Garfunkel, or Rogers attempting to produce a musical without Hammerstein, or Englebert without Humperdink. Imagine Fred Astaire gliding along the dance floor without Ginger Rogers, like an orchestra conductor without a baton."

And yet, Beyond Watson does just that. This has been a Great week for Beyond Watson! In just five days, we met our funding goal, and we are now advancing towards meeting our stretch goal. And there's still over three weeks left in the campaign!! If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories and have not backed this project, you really should! The stories are top notch and written by some of the best authors in the field.

One such author is Mark Levy, BSI, who, as stated above, contributed to the introduction of the anthology. I interviewed Mr. Levy on his contribution to Beyond Watson, his investiture as a Baker Street Irregular, and his Sherlock Holmes short story in which Wason learns to juggle!

1. Your portion of the introduction to Beyond Watson was not originally written to be included in the anthology. Can you tell the readers why you wrote your piece, originally as a toast, and how it ended up in Beyond Watson?

Mark Levy (ML): Our local scion (Dr. Watson's Neglected Patients) had an annual dinner for which I volunteered to toast my favorite Sherlockian character and Sherlock’s best friend, Dr. John H. Watson. We tend to overlook Watson’s importance to Sherlock and to the readers. Let’s face it: without Dr. Watson, we wouldn’t know anything about Sherlock.


2. You are an invested member of the Baker Street Irregulars. Tell us a little about your Sherlockian history. How did you become interested in Holmes? How did you end up as a BSI?

ML: I began reading Sherlockian tales as a young teenager and my interest increased when I obtained a copy of Baring-Gould’s The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. I discovered the Baker Street Journal and submitted an article to that publication. The editor at the time, Julian Wolff, was kind enough to print my article in the March, 1971 issue.

Sometime later, I moved to Binghamton, NY and made the acquaintance of Kate Karlson, a BSI, who introduced me to a number of scions in New York State. I eventually submitted another article to the Baker Street Journal that was published in the winter, 2011 issue, some 40 years after my first BSJ article. About that time, at the suggestion of Kate and one or two other BSIs, the head of the BSI, Michael Whelan (“Wiggins”) invited me to the annual BSI dinner as a guest in New York City. After a few years of attending those dinners, I received my investiture as “Don Juan Murillo” in January, 2013.


3. You wrote a rather unusual Holmes pastiche called "Juggling with Sherlock's Friend" for Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #15. Tell us a bit about this unique story.

ML: I thought it would be fun to place Holmes and Watson in a contemporary setting and to give Watson the limelight, for a change. About the time I was thinking about the story, I was also trying my hand (unsuccessfully) at juggling. And that’s often how ideas arrive: a juxtaposition of two or more situations. It turns out, Watson is a natural juggler, much more adroit at this skill than I.


4. Besides being a Holmesian author, you also dabble in science fiction. Tell us about your sci-fi writing.

My interest in science fiction goes back to the third grade when I discovered a book of linked short stories by Eric Frank Russell titled, Men, Martians and Machines. One thing led to another and I convinced my high school English teacher, Kurt Paul, to help me start a science fiction club and magazine we called Nebula, a year before the Science Fiction Writers of America adopted the name for their annual awards and registered the trademark. I met with the iconic editor, John Campbell, and Isaac Asimov gave our readers advice in a fantastic essay. That was a pretty good introduction to the literature of science fiction. I am working on an SF novel now, and someday I intend to write a Sherlockian novel set in the future.


5. Do you have any upcoming Sherlock Holmes stories or other writings?

ML: I’m working on a story that takes place during and immediately after the great hiatus, in which Sherlock meets John Kellogg of breakfast cereal fame. Editor's note: This story will be included in the next Belanger Books Sherlock Holmes collection, Holmes Away From Home: Tales of the Great Hiatus.]


6. Any last thoughts?

ML: Over the years, I’ve joined an Albany scion (“Altamont’s Agents”), a Syracuse scion (“The Mycroft Holmes Society”), and a new scion Kate Karlson organized in Binghamton (“Watson’s Holmestead”). When I moved to Miami, FL, I joined yet another scion (“The Tropical Deerstalkers”). Now I am a member of a Denver, CO scion (“Dr. Watson’s Neglected Patients”), the fifth scion I’ve been associated with in my short life. Meetings of scions are a great way to keep Sherlock alive. I’ve found the members to be intelligent, interesting, and friendly. I strongly encourage everyone who loves Sherlock to find a local scion and attend at least a few meetings to enrich their Sherlockian experience.

Mark Levy, BSI has worked at Fortune 500 corporations as a technical writer and as an intellectual property attorney. He has also been managing partner at two law firms, representing individuals, partnerships, large and small corporations, and universities. In addition to many legal opinions relating to patents, trademarks, and copyrights, he has drafted and prosecuted some 850 issued patents over the last 35 years.

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

It goes without saying that out of all the current Sherlock Holmes authors out there today, David Marcum is one of the very best. His books The Papers of Sherlock Holmes: Volume One, The Papers of Sherlock Holmes: Volume Two, and Sherlock Holmes – Tangled Skeins - Stories from the Notebooks of Dr. John H. Watson are some of the closest in voice to Doyle. He also edited and assembled the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes series which is probably the best collection of Sherlock Holmes stories ever published outside of the original canon. I am proud to say that Mr. Marcum contributed a story to Beyond Watson, the Sherlock Holmes anthology currently available on Kickstarter.

I interviewed Mr. Marcum about his Beyond Watson story, the fourth volume of the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, and his forthcoming Sherlock Holmes novel.

1. Your story "Some Notes upon the Matter of John Douglas", is a "sort-of" sequel to The Valley of Fear, partly retold by Colonel Sebastian Moran. What made you decide to have some of your Beyond Watson story told by one of the great villains of the Canon?

David Marcum (DM): My method of coming up with these new Holmes adventures is to block out a few hours in front of the computer, sit down with coffee, and go into The Holmes Zone where Watson talks and I type, no plan or outline involved. I come back in a few hours with a few thousand words on the screen, an empty coffee cup, and a need to get up and walk it off. In this case, it wasn’t Watson that started talking to me, but rather Colonel Sebastian Moran. I think this story all came together to show that something that has long been perceived as one of Holmes’s failures was actually a triumph after all.

2. You have the only story in the anthology not completely told by someone besides Watson. Why did you decide to keep Watson's voice, instead of say Holmes or Lestrade, for some of your tale?

DM: Without giving anything away about the story before people read it, one can see that in the part narrated by Colonel Moran, he – like all of us – is trapped within his own head, and only knows of the events that he witnessed. If the story had ended with just his section, then the reader wouldn’t know the countermoves that Holmes, as the player on the other side, also made.




3. Beyond Watson has a unique requirement that the stories must be told, at least in part, by a character besides John H. Watson. Doyle rarely told his stories by anyone besides Watson (and if he did, it was either in third person or told by Holmes). Why do you think Doyle limited his tales to Watson's point of view?

Well, I play The Game with extreme seriousness, so the answer has to be that, as Watson’s Literary Agent, nearly all of the material that Doyle had to work with came from Watson, so of course it’s from Watson’s viewpoint. Later, Doyle Literary-Agented a couple of cases written up by Holmes, and also two others that worked better to be narrated from a third person perspective. After Doyle gave up Literary Agenting, and as Watson’s various other papers began to come to light, a lot of other more modern Literary Agents have helped to get these additional narratives into the hands of a public starving for more Holmes adventures. Additionally, over the years there have also been a great deal of other tales showing Holmes from points of view other than Watson’s, and they all work great as well.

4. Recently, you have become well known as the editor of The MX Books of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, the latest of which will be released on May 22nd, followed by a Christmas story collection to be released in autumn. All of the royalties from these books go to helping to restore Undershaw. Can you give the readers an update on the success of the anthologies as well as the ongoing restoration of Undershaw?

DM: It’s really exciting how this whole thing has happened. From the time I popped awake early one morning in January 2015, dreaming about editing a new Holmes anthology, to the appearance of the first collection of three books (The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part I: 1881 to 1889, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part II: 1890 to 1895, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part III: 1896 to 1929) in October, was an incredible ride of contacting authors, making decisions, keeping things on track, and most of all getting to read all of these new Holmes stories, fresh out of the Tin Dispatch Box. I can’t ever thank all the authors enough for participating. Now the renovation at Undershaw is nearing completion, and soon the school will be able to move in. The royalties from these books have already started being sent there and helping out.

After the books came out, I soon realized that the “machine” was still in place to make more of these anthologies, the Stepping Stones School at Undershaw can always use the additional support, and there is always a need for more great traditional Holmes stories – as shown by the success of Beyond Watson as well!

I put out the call for new adventures to both previously participating authors and also some new ones, and had 22 stories in my greedy fingers by the first part of 2016. In fact, there were so many people interested in participating that Steve Emecz and I decided to have two volumes this year, the Part IV – 2016 Annual, to be published on May 22nd, and the Part V – Christmas Adventures for later this year. And I already have half-a-dozen stories in hand and edited for the Part VI – 2017 Annual for next year!

5. You have been working on a new Sherlock Holmes novel. Without giving too much away, can you tell the readers what to expect from your latest Sherlock Holmes pastiche.

DM: I sat down last November with the intention of writing a short story for the proposed and upcoming collection featuring Holmes’s adventures while still living in Montague Street, before he moved to Baker Street. As always, I had no plan, and just eavesdropped and transcribed while Holmes told Watson about one of his old cases. At the end, the mystery having been cleared up, Holmes mentions that the next day he and Watson should take a trip to look at the object of this earlier investigation. And it should have ended there as a self-contained story. But then Watson kept talking to me about how they went the next day to look at the object, setting in motion a chain of events that could very well lead to a full-scale war. If I had ignored the good Doctor, it would have just been a short story, but it turned out to be my second Holmes novel, almost twice as long (114,000 words) as my first, Sherlock Holmes and A Quantity of Debt (2013). Even as I type this, I’ve finished the new book, except for the final final read-through. And now I’m getting ready to transcribe another Montague Street adventure for the upcoming collection – who knows where that will lead? Not me, since Watson hasn’t started talking yet.

6. Any last thoughts?

DM: As always, I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been over the last few years to get to play in this sandbox. From finding Holmes when I was ten in the mid-1970’s to when I was in my mid-40’s, I studied Holmes in solitude, reading and collecting thousands of pastiches, but living in a part of the country that has no Sherlockian interest in terms of clubs or societies. After writing and publishing my first Holmes book, The Papers of Sherlock Holmes (2011, 2013), I’ve been able to meet some really great people, and also participate in incredible Sherlockian conversations. And on top of all of that, more and more new and wonderful Holmes adventures keep getting published, and my addiction still isn’t anywhere near satisfied. This is truly a wonderful time to be a Sherlockian!

David Marcum first discovered Sherlock Holmes in 1975, at the age of ten, when he received an abridged version of The Adventures during a trade. He is the author of The Papers of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 and 2, Sherlock Holmes and a Quantity of Debtand Sherlock Holmes – Tangled Skeins - Stories from the Notebooks of Dr. John H. Watson. Additionally, he is the editor of the three-volume set Sherlock Holmes in Montague Street (Sherlock Holmes In Montague Street Volume 1, recasting Arthur Morrison's Martin Hewitt stories as early Holmes adventures,) and the massive three-volume "The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories" (The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part I: 1881 to 1889, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part II: 1890 to 1895, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part III: 1896 to 1929). He has contributed essays to the "Baker Street Journal", "The Solar Pons Gazette", and "The Gazette", the journal of the Nero Wolfe Wolfe Pack.

Beyond Watson is currently available for a limited time on Kickstarter. Get your copy today!

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur and edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

I've discovered that there is not one but two very cool Sherlock Holmes projects currently available on Kickstarter. One of the projects is ending soon and is almost at goal. The other, my own Beyond Watson, has passed its first stretch goal, and we have an incredible offer to help us reach our second stretch goal.

I'll start with Beyond Watson. We are currently at 33 backers for the project and are looking to get the number of backers up to 50. So, we need to get 17 more backers in just under two weeks. To do so, for stretch goal #2, if we reach 50 backers, each backer will receive a personal thank you e-mail from one of the book's authors. That's right! You could get a personal e-mail from Jack McDevitt, David Marcum, Derrick Belanger, Geri Schear, or another author in the book. And you don't have to give any particular amount to be a part of the reward. If 17 people backed us with just a dollar each, we'd still make goal #2. So, if you haven't backed Beyond Watson, pleasee check it out on Kickstarter and consider backing it today!

The second cool Sherlock Holmes project available on Kickstarter is Baker Street RPG: Jack the Ripper and Missions From Mycroft (http://kck.st/22nHalK). This incredible roleplaying game allows you to explore the world of Sherlock Holmes. I interviewed Kirby Young of Fearlight Games about this project and what fans of Holmes can expect from Baker Street RPG:

1. Your current Kickstarter is for your second Sherlock Holmes roleplaying game. After already creating one RPG game, What made you decide to create another?

Kirby Young: The new project is for a supplemental book and a second collection of cases for the original Baker Street RPG, so it's not really a new RPG, but supporting material for it.

2. What can players look forward to with this edition?

Kirby Young: Between the two new books, there are a bunch of new cases for investigators to solve, new Professions for investigator creation, and more Reprobates for the Mastermind to pit against the party.


3. You have some fun Kickstarter rewards for this campaign. Tell us about some of them.

Kirby Young: We have all of the variations of the new books in PDF or Print, Add-ons for any of the original materials, a few limited rewards where backers can be illustrated into the material in some fashion, and even a level where you can get everything we've created for Baker Street.


4. Any plans for future Sherlock Holmes RPG games?

Kirby Young: We don't know that we'll do any variations of the Baker Street theme at this time, but we're certainly going to keep creating material for new cases and for supporting our players.

For more information about Fearlight Games, see their website at http://www.fearlightgames.com/. Please support their Kickstarter at http://kck.st/22nHalK.

Beyond Watson is currently available on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/....

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur and edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.

It is a difficult enough task to write a great Sherlock Holmes book, but to write a great Lestrade one, that task seems almost impossible. And yet, the very talented Marcia Wilson has done just that with her exceptional hybrid short story collection/ novel You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and His London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard. rather than make her Lestrade a novice inspector or a bumbling fool (much the way I did in my Holmes children's book Attack of the Violet Vampire! - The MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes Book #2), Ms. Wilson makes her Lestrade a knowledgeable Scotland Yarder who rivals Watson in his analyses and understanding of the great detective. I interviewed Ms. Wilson, via email, about Beyond Watson (which is still available for a limited time via Kickstarter), her work for MX publishing, and her forthcoming projects.

Your Beyond Watson story "The Mortal Condition" is told from the perspective of Inspector Lestrade as are your two books You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and His London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard and the sequel Test of the Professionals. What draws you to Lestrade and the officers of Scotland Yard?

It started because I recognized that if I didn’t want to risk mundanity, I would have to find my own voice. As I write this, I’m staring at the entry someone posted on me—I officially created a trope for the Hiatus, how cool is that?? At the time I began, I was directly and indirectly guided to the Yarders because of what was going on at the FF.NET board.

It was very different then. This was before ELEMENTARY, SHERLOCK, and the Robert Downey Jr. movies. We had a core of writers and betas I call “the Greats”: GM, Protector of the Grey Fortress, Westron Wynde, Pompey, Chewing Gum…10-15 Canoncentrics poking fun at themselves when things got too serious, gently correcting errors, and supportive. They held high standards; I asked myself why I enjoyed them. Well, they all had the common quality of “real” writing. No one had a cardboard character. These pastiche writers were all inspired by actors who loved ACD’s Canon too! Some actors were not well known—there were even fics based on voice roles. We saw tributes to Wilmer, Barrymore, Laurie Main’s Watson, Livanov and Solomin, etc., who in turn respected ACD’s creations.

When you show this partnership of equals you have a better story. But where was the right POV? Someone was already writing Mrs. Hudson. Westron Wynde was unbeatable as Holmes’ voice and Watson’s eyes. The Baker Street Irregulars had books and their own TV series. I had no interest in using Irene Adler; I couldn’t put myself through the “did he or did she?” Mycroft was perilously close to Nero Wolfe. Who did that leave?

Very few people were writing any Yarder’s POV but there is a long, respectable tradition of police crime fiction from the UK. ACD named Lestrade after a St. Lucien he loathed. Deep is my fear of turning “fangirly” and Lestrade infuriated me (OK, I was young). I figured if I used a character that annoyed me, I’d be in less danger of fan-worship. I even gave him the first name of Geoffrey because I thought it suited him the least. It was my private warning to myself. (I still do this when creating OC’s). On the plus side, he really didn’t have a lot going for him in the pastiche world. The Sholto Lestrade series by Trow felt like a parallel-Mirror-Universe so I didn’t feel like I was stepping on anyone’s toes if I used Lestrade. John Hall’s SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DISGRACED INSPECTOR was the only one where Lestrade gets as high as third billing in a pastiche (good reading, BTW).

Exaggerating the hero is a staple of western culture, but I was sick of all the badly written shows where the Hero was “made greater” by lowering everyone around him. Not only is this lazy writing that feeds on every scrap of desire we have to idolize our role models, but it makes everyone look bad. Sherlock Holmes doesn’t shine when he’s surrounded by idiots. Put him around competence and initiative, and you can appreciate his genius all the more. Pit him against a worthy foe or rival and you have the real Holmes.

Everyone else at the Yard has some stand-out mental quality, but Lestrade does not. He is an overworked, under-thanked workaholic with a heavy quota and a fierce vanity for his achievements. We can trust Lestrade to do what is right and proper in the eyes of procedure—dragging for a body, searching all the train cars, or arresting the wrong person—because the right thing to do in the eyes of the law is actually the wrong thing to do. More than Watson, he sees without observing but he doesn’t give up. When he’s wrong he apologizes. When he’s right he’s insufferably pleased because a solved case means his system works. He is the anthropomorphic face of British Law. His mistakes are the actual mistakes in the law, and his strengths are the parts of the law that work. Hopkins is the future of British Justice; Baynes is its frustrated divergence in the regional demographic between city and country crime. Gregson is the ambitious politician. But Lestrade is his own fixed point in a changing age. I think of him as like Jackie Chan, who was in a prestigious arts school because even though he was surrounded by the incredibly gifted specialists, he was the only one who was “good enough in ALL things.” That’s Lestrade. On some level we can relate to him and share his imperfections.

Because I needed a reason for Lestrade being on the Force 30+ years, I made him a Breton. Most of the Canonical era has France and England at loggerheads over territories and it fueled a terrific spy system and underhanded crime rings. Bretons were squeezed between the two superpowers and disdained by both. I was gratified when a professional researcher from London told me that making Lestrade a Breton “works” because the Yard kicked you out if you didn’t promote or prove a keepable quality in 10 years. So he’s the Yard’s personal sacrifice zone. He stays but he never promotes. He gets cases that are dirty and career-damaging. And he just happens to know this private consulting madman on Baker Street…

It is no secret I’m affected by Colin Jeavons’ Lestrade. Inspector Hopkins (Sherlock Peoria) has a charming paragraph on how Jeavons did the impossible in conveying ferrety and bulldog at the same time. I first saw him in NORW and initially I just couldn’t stand that he was doing all the things that I thought he shouldn’t: He wasn’t being properly worshipful of Brett’s Holmes (and what a shock to see him playing Moriarty at the same time in THE BAKER STREET BOYS). But Jeavons is the greatest Lestrade of his generation, and his work has repercussions to this day. He played with respect to the role as ACD saw him: vain, hidebound, overly confident, quick to act but brave and unshakeable in his morality. Like the ideal of British Law, he is incapable of corruption. Thanks to him, we soon see that no mere milksop would be able to constantly stand up to Holmes and argue with him and mock the lack of evidence for Holmes’ statements. Without Lestrade’s role as Doubting Thomas we really can’t experience Holmes’ genius. Watson is the conductor of light; Lestrade is the dark background for that lens. He isn’t a foil so much as he is that infuriating Voice of the Establishment. Holmes has to work harder to convince the Establishment, harder than he has to solve the case.

And is that a bad thing? No. Conjecture and hypothesis is the realm of the well-educated and well-born. It is not a privilege for the old copper who can only stand in court and resist being picked apart by Defense and Crown with the stubborn, hard-headed, “I saw what I saw.” This hard-headedness is a symptom of a flawed system. Because Lestrade is being hard-headed, he forces the proof, breaks the case down into terms that no one can fail to understand. If it is plain enough for a blockhead copper to see, then it will be plain enough for court! Holmes is being clever when he doesn’t explain his methods; he’s giving us the chance to see what he sees. He’s being fair. When Lestrade is being smug, it’s because he thinks his getting proof that his system, which Holmes criticizes, is the right one. There’s more than professional rivalry going on: this is a war between two opposing schools of thought in crime solving.

I spent a LOT of time writing Hiatus stories to prove this point. In Holmes’ absence the power vacuum is acute. It takes a lot of different people working from all directions to do a palliative job that Holmes could have solved in a month. But it was also the best way to show how Holmes affected people. The reactions were positive—often I didn’t know how positive, but then I’d run into things like this TV TROPES webpage:

“Everybody wants to write about what Sherlock Holmes did during his Great Hiatus (the three-year period during which he faked his death), right? It's been the subject of numerous pastiches and online fics. Aragonite a.k.a Marcia Wilson has made the argument that none of these stories, however, deal with Dr. Watson, Inspector Lestrade, and Scotland Yard, and the adventures they must have been having in that time period. So she wrote her own series… …but that's not the only thing Aragonite started. She was arguably the first Fan Fic author to give any serious depth to the men of Scotland Yard and use them as the protagonists, rather than using Holmes or Watson. She also bestowed the name Geoffrey upon Inspector G. Lestrade, and that name has gained popularity among both the canon and Sherlock branches of the fandom.”

Great Scott, someone noticed! Not only do I see “Geoffrey” popping up more and more, my created background in his Breton roots is being used as well. May all of my ideas be so benevolent!



2. Because your stories are told from Lestrade's perspective, we get a somewhat different version of Holmes and Watson than we do in the canon. In your opinion, does either Watson or Lestrade have a more honest interpretation of Holmes? Do you think we ever can really know what goes on inside Holmes' mind?

Imagine you are looking down the eyepiece of a microscope. There’s an organism at the bottom of it that is the key to everything you want to know. Unfortunately for you, what you see is a blur because it is out of focus. After some adjusting and fine-tuning, you see the outline of the thing, and this gives you a flash of satisfaction because you can ID it! There it is! The Holmes Organism! Dashed useful in wiping out those crime epidemics, or Diseases of Morality. Quite effective in taking on hostile Thug Organisms that are much larger than itself.

Then after you’ve written this down, you take another look and see that parts of that H.O. aren’t completely in focus. Back to the lens again, and it takes a lot more fine-tuning and frowning…but suddenly you move it to a higher magnification and now you can see INSIDE that organism, down to its organs and cilia, the flickers of a brain that never turns off; it is markedly different from all the other similar organisms in the slide. That flickering brain is why it is different; why it does what it does.

Watson and Lestrade each see Holmes according to their own lens. Neither is more honest, but they are different. Watson of course would be the higher magnification—he lives with him, knows him, and it is quite clear he supports and protects his friend. Lestrade’s lens isn’t that fine-tuned, but he knows from his own training that the Holmes Organism is identifiable as a consultant and a weapon against the criminal disease that affects his city. Watson can see the cause—that amazing brain. Lestrade only sees the effects of that amazing brain. And yet we will never completely know Holmes’ genius. How can we? I feel like I’m pitching for the Sherlock Peoria world right now, but Plugs & Dottles, May 1996, had this to say:
“Sherlock Holmes was Sherlock Holmes. He was the world's first and foremost consulting detective. He was unique. And the way you get to be unique is by being different from everyone around you”.

3. An edition of You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and His London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard was released from MX publishing in 2015. Do you have any plans on reissuing Test of the Professionals through MX as well?

I’m working on TEST right now, having absolutely terrified myself discovering I’ve used a word that has no place in Victorian Anywhere. So one last re-read and off to MX! After that, THE MOON-CURSERS, which is the Yarder’s version of events as Holmes and Watson go running from Moriarty.



4. David Marcum has said that he loves your writing so much that he wrote his first fan letter to you. Tell us about your friendship with Mr. Marcum. How have you gotten to know each other over the years?

He is an Ambassador, guiding by example the value of canon-centric work. Someday I expect to see him write a Holmesian version of The Deluxe Transitive Vampire, because an awful lot of pastiche writing definitely falls under its category of “grammar for the eager, the innocent, and the doomed.” David may have the largest collection of canonical Sherlock Holmes fan fiction in the country! One day I was fixing up a cliffhanger during the Hiatus. Then I got his fan letter and it made me think, well gee… …maybe I should go into print. That evening I met my family at Pizza Hut and my sister, who had read the letter, gave me this prickly glare that only twins can make and said, “See, I’m not alone. Go.”

I let myself get talked into going through a press by some people. They weren’t very honest. David did more homework for his publishing and went to MX. I followed on his urgings and I’m much happier. Our friendship is on the Geek Interpreter Side—and I’m the Geek! How many drops of raw eel blood will kill? Can you really stun a man with tobacco? David knows I can answer that! We’re both Holmesians—David’s approach is “So many pastiches! So little time!” And I’m all, “Ooh. Library Sale. Shiny.” I am the Incurable Nonfiction Collecting Poster Child. We’re both Appalachian, which is a language all its own. David is supported by a great family and we should all be so lucky. His wife is his core strength, and an editor too! What I wouldn’t give to have one of those in my house…

For the last five years, I had to go into hiding to escape a violent predator, and David was one of the few who knew this. I’m gunshy, and content with being a loner. I was the first writer he approached about the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories. Once I picked my jaw up from the crack where it had wedged in the floorboards, I pulled out my card and threw my lot in with him. All I could think of was De Kelley’s reaction to STAR TREK: “Going to be the biggest hit or the biggest miss God ever made.” This was definitely a hit! Even if I didn’t believe in him, I knew his goal was worth fighting for, every step of the way. And honestly, who else could have pulled this off? His ability to find all these writers and bring them together for such a worthy cause has lifted the bar on what is possible. Few people could have put this together, because even fewer would have conceived of such a project. This has changed the genre!

5. What are your current projects?

Proofing TEST for MX. I’m in the category of “barely employed” so I’m also looking for work, and keeping up with my illustrations. I have finally settled on a style that accommodates the color-impaired. My artistic work is posted at gravelgirty.deviantart.com and I’d love to get more work as an artist!

One important dream is to convert the lost film, PAUL OF TARSUS, into an online graphic novel, and I’m currently on a detective hunt for that data/support. I want to make this happen for a dear friend who is dying of cancer. Think fast: the lead actor in PAUL played what role in this version of THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEVIL’S FOOT?

6. Any last thoughts?

Thanks to the Internet a lot of good writers and editors can find each other and collaborations fly thick and fast. After too many years of famine, we’re seeing a sudden resurgence in pastiches that honor detail and history. I wonder how many of my old friends are still out there, writing under new names? Many gave up from the larger public’s lack of courtesy on their boards. They were tired of being the few sane voices in a world that grew increasingly more disrespectful, but that wasn’t as bad as the disassociated elements that hadn’t heard of ACD’s Canon at all! A lot has been lost since then, swallowed up by an overwhelming amount of “self-gratification”, “projection fantasy”, “comfort fiction”, and what The Best of Trek editors rightly call “characterization rape”. I was almost one of those who left, for said stalker was determined to break down anything positive in my life. I wasn’t alone. Some left when their joy was weaponized by a former friend or relative. One vanished in a war-torn country.

Don’t even get me started on mirror sites and people who steal others’ work, because I get livid that we struggle through these minefields only to be robbed.

One thing I’d bring back if I could, is some of the old writing styles. I miss the old 221B challenge on the Internet, where you had to tell a short story totaling 221 words, and the last word of the story had to begin with B. It was flash fiction before its time! Writers shouldn’t give up if they feel they have something to say, and if you can’t write, try reading and reviewing. There aren’t enough of them! Share your love and be supportive. You will be noticed, I promise.

Marcia Wilson calls herself "a polymath without the grand genius--I just like to learn and I love to find out things." Her book You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and His London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard is currently available through MX Publishing.

Beyond Watson is currently available on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/....

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur and edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. His latest novella Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Primal Man is currently available as an ebook from Endeavour Press. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.