Spotlight on C. Edward Davis: From H.G. Wells to Sherlock Holmes and Beyond

The Voyage of the Lunar Schooner is currently on sale at Amazon and Amazon UK for 99 cents.


This is the first in a series of blog articles spotlighting authors whose work has impressed me and who I've gotten to know on a personal level. When I made the decision to start this series, I knew that my first entry would be about my buddy Chuck Davis who goes by the name C. Edward Davis when publishing books and stories.

Chuck is a plethora of knowledge when it comes to the history of flight, and he is my go to guy when I have questions about any gliders, airships, or airplanes in my writing. A lover of all things golden age science-fiction, C. Edward Davis has shown himself to be an outstanding author in his own right. His latest novella The Voyage of the Lunar Schooner is currently on sale for 99 cents at Amazon and Amazon UK.

Chuck's first book was Phantoms of the Skies co-written with author J. Allan Danalek. This coffee table sized book gives an overview of the history of flight from ancient times through the Wright Brothers and makes an argument about who should really be known as the first to achieve heavier than air flight (i.e. who made the first airplane). This book is painstakingly detailed and includes images of over 300 blueprints of early flight devices.

It was Chuck's detail in Phantoms of the Skies and his passion for flight which made me ask him to contribute to my first book A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. This collection of Doyle's horror and supernatural stories included scholarly essays explaining the importance of these writings. Chuck's essay, "Oceans of the Skies," explains how close Doyle came to predicting near future advances in flight.

After working on A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural Volume 1, Chuck and I wrote a series of articles about mystery aircraft sightings at http://www.mysteryaircraft.com/, mainly debunking outlandish theories, and it was during this time that Chuck told me he would be interested in writing a story where Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of the White Bird, the possibly first transatlantic flight which occurred before Charles Lindburgh made his historic journey from New York to Paris in 1927. The White Bird left Paris and was supposed to reach New York, but the flight never arrived. What happened to the flight is an unsolved mystery to this day.

When David Marcum approached me about writing a story for the MX Sherlock Holmes anthology, I jumped at the opportunity (my story, "The Case of the Vanished Killer," appears in The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part I: 1881 to 1889), and I also recommended having C. Edward davis write his "The Adventure of the White Bird" as well. Chuck's story is a highlight in volume 3, and I think it may be the best story where Holmes is specifically dealing with a real life mystery of flight. FYI - If you don't yet have all three volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories then you are missing out on what has been called the greatest Sherlock Holmes anthology ever written. Chuck promises more Sherlock Holmes stories in the near future.

Chuck has followed his Sherlock Holmes story with a novella which is a tribute to his all time favorite author, H.G. Wells. A steampunk treasure of a story, C. Edward Davis's story is best summarised by the book's online description:

Voyage to the Moon!

At the dawn of the 20th century, brilliant inventor E.D.C. Ballantine embarks on a most extraordinary venture – to be the first human being to orbit the moon! Working in secret with “The Society for Lunar Exploration,” Ballantine designs the vessel for his orbital voyage - The Lunar Schooner! But can he keep his mission a secret? And is the moon really the lifeless orb we assume it to be, orbiting the Earth in the night sky? Find out in this exceptional adventure.
Written in journal form, C. Edward Davis shows his mettle as a master of the Steampunk novella. Fans of Golden Age Science Fiction, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, and even H.P. Lovecraft will not be disappointed in this extraordinary story of a man’s journey to overcome the impossible.

This Golden Age sci-fi delight is currently on sale for 99 cents. Don't miss out!! Get your copy before the sale ends!!

Before I wrap this up, I would like to add that my own MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes series has been greatly improved with the advice I've received from Chuck. The airships and glider devices which are important parts of The Amazing Airship Adventure and Attack of the Violet Vampire! - The MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes Book #2were improved and any errors which I used were corrected under his editing guidance. Even the dinosaur in Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur was improved upon with his advice. The guys is a walking encyclopedia!

What do we have to look forward to from Mr. C. Edward Davis? I can tell you that he has just completed a draft of The Lunarnauts, his sequel to H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon. I am excited to report that Chuck will also be co-editing an anthology Belanger Books is compiling for next year which will be called A Tribute to H.G. Wells. All stories in the anthology will be inspired by the writing of Wells and some will be direct sequels to his books. More on that collection and the submission guidelines early next year. For those who can't wait, send me an inquiry at derrick@belangerbooks.com.

That wraps up this installment of my author spotlight. Next up is author Gregg Rosenquist. Be back 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.