Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai


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Kickstarting The Consultation of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes used to introduce himself as a “consulting detective” – one to which other detectives and police officers could go to for, yeah, a consultation, during their own investigations.
This side of Holmes’ business was not often presented in the Canon, and now Belanger Books, purveyors of fine Holmesian pastiches, has decided to tackle this issue by publishing a thick anthology, called The Consultations of Sherlock Holmes, that is currently being financed on Kickstarter.


The volume collects a selection of new apocryphal tales in which Holmes is merely the consultant, and other investigators take center stage, following cases until they get stumped, and need to compare notes with the gentleman living in Baker Street.

The Consultations of Sherlock Holmes includes my new story, The Consultation of the Edinburgh Smoker, in which Holmes will help a colleague working for an Edinburgh department store, investigating a baffling and apparently absurd crime – the theft of some gramophone needles.
I could add that the story was inspired by real events, but don’t you hate too when that label is bandied around?

So, here you go – if this sounds like your sort of thing, check the link provided.
The book will also be in shops as soon as the kickstarter is successfully closed, but by financing it through the Kickstarter platform, you get a load of extras, and help the authors make a little extra.


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Nefarious

I’ve just got my contributor copy of The Nefarious Villains of Sherlock Holmes, edited by David Marcum for Belanger Books. The volume includes my story “The Tiger and the Bear”, featuring Sebastian Moran.

As for the photo, I can quote the late Leonard Cohen and point out “I don’t usually look this good, or this bad (depending on your politics)”.


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Kickstarting the Bad Guys

The Nefarious Villains of Sherlock Holmes is a two-volume anthology of new original stories featuring… well, the nefarious villains of Sherlock Holmes. The anthology is currently being launched on Kickstarter, and it features, among many fine stories, a piece by yours truly, featuring (not yet) Colonel Sebastian Moran, and with a notorious pulp psicopath as a guest star.
Check it out.


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Good night, miss Nelson Douglas

I am saddened by the news of the death of American writer Carole Nelson Douglas. A prolific author of both mysteries and fantasy (both straight and urban), I discovered her work in 1992 when I bought in a London bookstore the first two novels of her Irene Adler series, Good Night, Mister Holmes, and Good Morning, Irene. The Irene Adler novels (there’s six more of them) are Sherlockian pastiches focusing on the adventures of The Woman, and are among the best Holmes-related fiction I ever read.

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133 years in scarlet

It was on the first of December 1887, in Beaton’s Christmas Annual, that Sherlock Holmes made his debut with A Study in Scarlet, changing the history of popular literature forever.

I will refrain from talking about how Holmes was a central character in the building of my growth as a reader, as you can probably find other Holmes-related posts linked below through WordPress’ handy algorithm.
To celebrate the birthday, anyway, and to start the Christmas season in the right mood, here’s the BBC 1968 adaptation of A Study in Scarlet, featuring Peter Cushing as Holmes.
Enjoy!


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Sherlock Holmes & the Occult Detectives

I am happy to report that the massive two-volume collection published by Belanger Books and presenting a wide selection of mysteries and adventures featuring Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives is available both in paperback and ebook through Amazon.

In these stories, Holmes must work with some colleagues of his that are better versed in the ins and outs of the occult and the supernatural, while not relinquishing his powers of observation and deduction.

The first volume includes my story The Case of the Manchester Mummies, the first outing of the delectable miss Valerie Trelawney. More adventures of miss Trelawney will hopefully see the light in the future. But it all starts here.

I hope you’ll check out these books – they are absolutely fabulous.


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Kickstarting Holmes and his Occult Colleagues

I am very pleased to announce that the kickstarter for Belanger’s Books new anthology, Sherlock Holmes & The Occult Detectives is now live, and seems to be going quite nicely. The books are coming, and by backing the kick, you can get them at a special reduced price, with some added extra perks thrown in

The massive two-volumes anthology will collect 21 new stories featuring the Great Detective and a small army of his unusual, eccentric and occult colleagues, from Carnacky to Hesselius to Van Helsing, and many more – including my very own Miss Valerie Trelawney, in The Adventure of the Manchester Mummies.

Because we all know that Holmes does not care for the supernatural, but there are cases when, if you eliminate the impossible, you still need the help of a specialist in things that go bump in the night.

The Kickstarter offers many perks and extras for those that will feel like putting a higher figure on the plate, in the form of a number of other collection of Holmesian apocrypha.

Check out the page of the Kickstarter for details.