Interview with Mark Levy, BSI and Beyond Watson Update

"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.