Sunday, March 27, 2016




I'm a bit late celebrating this week, as life has been pretty busy. But I always like to join in this celebration when I can. Celebrate the Small things is a blog hop co-sponsored by Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate. I recommend it, because it's always fun to see positive news that others are celebrating, and to share your own as well. 



Today I'm celebrating the Kickstarter Campaign I mentioned last week for the anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories that will be published in June.  The campaign started last week and has been amazingly successful so far. It runs until the end of this month, and if you join in, you can win prizes -- among them, a copy of the book when it comes out. If you go to THIS SITE and scroll down the page, in the right margin you will see what the prizes are for each level of support. The book will have 12 original tales about Sherlock Holmes, told from different perspectives  than Dr. Watson. (Thus the title -- Beyond Watson).

I'm also celebrating my niece's new CD, Enjoy the Ride, that will be released April 8th. She's a blues singer (Debbie Bond) and lives in Alabama with her husband, Radiator Rick. I'm a proud auntie, for sure. At this point, in the States, they play mainly on the east coast, but they've toured in Europe several times, and we are hoping to get them out here to California some day. You can hear a teaser from the album HERE, and learn more about her at her website HERE.  Go have a listen.

Happy Easter, and may you have a basketful of things to celebrate!


Friday, March 18, 2016

This is kinda big, actually


 Celebrate the Small things is blog hop co-sponsored by Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog, and you can go to any of these sites to get all the links and add your name to the links, if you want to participate. I recommend it, because it's always fun to see positive news that others are celebrating, and to share your own as well. 




Today I'm celebrating the launch that begins tomorrow of a new anthology, Beyond Watson, coming out in June. It will have 12 original tales about Sherlock Holmes, told from different perspectives, the majority not Dr. Watson's. The anthology comes out in June and will be a real keeper. A story by me -- "Kidnapped" -- will be included, and it was so much fun to write.


But I've had the good fortune to read some of the other stories, and they are just delightful. One such story is "Mrs. Hudson's Lodger" by Geri Shear, which tells how Mrs. Hudson met Sherlock Holmes.

Here's a little taster: It was the spring of 1877. I was with my friend and neighbour Mrs Prescott and we were examining some ancient manuscripts. Such pretty illustrations. Suddenly she froze. Mrs Prescott, I mean, and hissed, “Oh dear, come quickly into another room, Mrs Hudson. I cannot bear to see that insufferable young man.” The young man in question is Sherlock Holmes, new to London, and already set on solving crimes. And a very interesting crime indeed has been visited on Mrs. Hudson. 

The anthology comes out in June. Watch for it. Beyond Watson, published by Belanger Books.

What are some of your favorite anthologies? 

Saturday, March 5, 2016

You Buy Bones, A New Book of Sherlock Stories


My apologies for not posting earlier yesterday -- medical appointments interfered, and I'll share more about that in a later post. But I have been enjoying reading a series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, and this latest really absorbed my interest: 

Bones are at the crux of Marcia's main novella in this story collection. The title comes from a 17th-century English proverb: “You buy land, you buy stones; you buy meat, you buy bones.” Throughout, the stories give us Scotland Yard’s view of Holmes as being brilliant, but a bit crazy, while Dr. Watson wins the Yard’s sympathy and growing respect. Watson, in fact, is the hero of the title novella:

Watson has come across disturbing information at a medical convention—the skeleton of a young female exhibited by someone he knew in the past. Watson suspects the skeleton is that of someone related to Inspector Lestrade’s sidekick, Bradstreet. Since the suspect is in the medical profession and a fellow Scotsman, Watson feels personal responsibility to track him down. Because it may be a difficult case to prosecute, he leaves Holmes out of it to avoid jeopardizing the consulting detective’s career.

As the case progresses, body thieves, grave robbers, and ancient folklore about selkies (seal people) come into play, along with genetic traits inherited in certain North Sea cultures. To say more than that would involve spoilers.

What I particularly enjoyed in this collection of stories was the new take on Watson and Holmes, as well as the interplay between Lestrade and Gregson. The latter two show up in the cannon as inspectors working with Sherlock Holmes, but here we see their personal rivalry and individual personalities, with Lestrade the more complex and sympathetic lawman who shares Watson’s temperament and approach to things.

Watson himself becomes more three dimensional than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s returning war soldier. The cannon wavers between whether Watson’s leg or shoulder has been wounded. Given realities of modern warfare (of the 20th century), Wilson shows Watson suffering from recurring pain in both his leg and shoulder, as well as giving him a certain cynicism, despite his sturdiness of character. Watson becomes a modest hero one can root for without ever detracting from the brilliance of his roommate at 221b Baker Street. Additionally, Wilson gives a reader the texture of London’s backstreets, as well as that of late 19th century Edinburgh.


This fine story collection is a good addition for any collector of Sherlock Holmes fiction and a good find for anyone who enjoys a complex mystery.

You can buy this book at:
Amazon
and all good bookstores and e-bookstores worldwide

Do you have a favorite Holmes and Watson mystery to share here? Or even any mystery? I'm always on the lookout for recommendations.