New Lovecraftian Kickstarter Project Plus 5 FREE Sherlock Holmes Horror eBooks

 

Hi everyone,
We wanted to let you know about our latest Lovecraftian/ weird fiction Kickstarter campaign from John Linwood Grant that launched today! In honor of the campaign, we are giving away FIVE FREE Kindle edition of some of our Sherlock Holmes horror anthologies. We also have our other Sherlock Holmes Kickstarter campaign which just announced a STRETCH GOAL, an auction and benefit from MX Publishing to help Undershaw, and our current calls for submissions. Let's get to it!

A Darker Continent - Lovecraftian Tales of the World at War

BELANGER BOOKS is excited to present A DARKER CONTINENT: Strange Tales of Europe at War, our second collection of all-new strange and weird fiction, written by talented contemporary authors.  This unique volume explores the impact of the Second World War on civilians and military alike, with 17 brand-new tales spanning from Ireland to the Adriatic Sea, from Portugal to the Russian forests.

Witness the struggle for survival during war and the sacrifices which must be made; the monsters inside us and those on our doorsteps.  There are ghosts, and the ghosts of dark and terrible deeds, incomprehensible threats, and the inevitable losses that come with such conflicts.  As we said of our first volume, ALONE ON THE BORDERLAND: "Some come out alive; none come out unchanged".

PART ONE: THOSE WARRED UPON

Coming Home in the Dark –– Marion Pitman
Dark Forest, Dancing Bear –– Wayne Faust
Kindertransport –– Trixie Nisbet
Borders –– Erica Ruppert
Puttin’ on the Blitz –– Lee Mitchell
War, Projected –– R. Wren
The Grasshopper –– Elana Gomel
Carry Me in your Lungs –– J.R. Santos

INTERLUDE –– Maxwell Ian Gold

PART TWO: THOSE WHO WAR

Grandmother Bones –– Matthew Cook
Better Angels –– Matthew Willis
The Ruination –– Rhys Hughes
The Sky Hunter –– David E. Kruegger
The Winds of Szalajka Volgy –– Stephen Herczeg
Defiant –– Sam Dawson
Babushka –– Harris Coverley
After Anchises –– Paul StJohn Mackintosh
Blood and Soil –– DJ Tyrer

Undershaw Event and Live Auction

This event is from our friends at MX Publishing and benefits the special needs school at Undershaw. There are some awesome auction items including a number of cool BBC Sherlock items. Check out the information below:

The countdown has begun to a special livestream event honouring a decade of the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, broadcasting live to fans worldwide on Saturday, May 17th (6:00 PM-7:30 PM UK / 1:00 PM-2:30 PM EST). Live Stream tickets via Eventbrite - An Evening With Sherlock Holmes.

But the thrill begins with our pre-event auction! Discover a fascinating array of rare Sherlockian collectibles as well as extraordinary travel and dining experiences, from budget-friendly finds to truly exceptional opportunities. You can bid on as many items as you like.

A massive thanks to our donors, including Stephen Fry, Bonnie MacBird and Roger Johnson who have donated some of the prizes.

Your Sherlockian Adventure Starts Now. Bid on Incredible Items Before Our 10th Anniversary Celebration. Don't leave it too late as the auction finishes ahead of the event late on the 16th May!

SHERLOCK HOLMES 5-MINUTE MYSTERIES

We just added a STRETCH GOAL to this campaign! All backers will have their names included in a special thank you section of the book! Become a part of the book by backing the campaign today!

Each self-contained tale gives readers an opportunity to consider the evidence and deduce the solution before Sherlock Holmes reveals the truth, and then Doctor Watson concludes with a moral lesson reflecting on the story.

Drawing heavily from Kel Richards’ extensive knowledge of the Canon, these stories reveal the truth behind a multitude of baffling mysteries, enabling you to see and observe while Sherlock Holmes:

• Solves the mystery of “The Disappearance of James Phillimore” (THOR)
• Exposes a scandal at “The Nonpareil Club” (HOUN)
• Unravels “The Porlock Puzzle” (VALL)
• Investigates a “Murder in the Diogenes Club” (GREE)
• Takes on a second case for the Duke of Holdernesse (PRIO) at “The Deadly Garden Party”
• Prevents one of Moriarty’s most sensational crimes in “The Adventure of the Crown Jewels”
• Encounters the brother of Charles Augustus Milverton (CHAS) in “The Bungling Blackmailer”
• Explores the aftermath of the Ricoletti case (MUSG) in “A Sailor’s Yarn”
• Responds to another request by Morrison, Morrison, and Dodd (SUSS) in “The Headless Ghost”
• Assists Stamford (STUD) with the case of “The Patient in St. Bart’s”
• Matches wits with Colonel Sebastian Moran (EMPT) in “The Big Game Hunter”
• Finds time for another case near the Reichenbach Falls (FINA) that proves “As Cold as Death”

Come along with Holmes and Watson as they investigate these and 38 other mysteries that demonstrate the Christian faith underpinning all their work.

In his introduction to the book, author Kel Richards tells us that Doctor Watson’s “battered dispatch box has now been found and opened, so you can decide for yourself whether you have the deductive powers to pick up the clues and solve the puzzles along with Sherlock Holmes.” Will you meet the challenge?

Get this delightful collection of puzzling Sherlock Holmes mysteries today by CLICKING HERE!

FREE Ebooks

Here is a selection of some of our finest books mixing horror and Sherlock Holmes. They are FREE to download from April 14 until April 18. Get your FREE Kindle copies below:

Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives vol. 3 

Sherlock Holmes may be the world’s only consulting detective, and the most brilliant investigator of his time, but there are other detectives in the shadows, ones who are willing to look ‘beyond humanity’ for answers. Some share a degree of Holmes’s scepticism; others embrace the spectral and ab-natural with an enthusiasm and determination which can be positively alarming.

Belanger Books return to the world of the occult detectives, with a further two volumes of Sherlock Holmes tales concerning matters which do indeed appear to be inexplicable by any normal standards. The canonical Holmes and Watson are on the trail in twenty brand new cases of murder, mystery, and lies. And as you might expect, they find themselves – willingly or unwillingly –accompanied by stranger bedfellows than usual.

In these pages, a range of contemporary authors explore what happens when the Great Detective confronts mysteries which defy even a slipper of shag tobacco and the vibrant tones of the violin. A child’s body appears – and disappears – on the remote Dorset coast; a cardinal dies in mysterious circumstances in the Vatican, and a death at a country house offers a locked room mystery with no natural explanation. From Calcutta to Carshalton, from Suffolk to South Kensington, deceptions are practised, bodies are inexplicably mangled – and souls may well be in peril.

For Volumes Three and Four, Holmes finds himself at odds with Bram Stoker’s Harkers, exasperated by the hapless Gerald ‘Budleigh’ Salterton, and intrigued by a Mlle. Castaigne, who suggests that a terrible use has been made of the Lumière brothers’ photographic innovations. Was there really ever a play called ‘The King in Yellow’? He meets for the first time the gifted Mrs Hudgins, and once again encounters the talented Miss Trelawney, amongst others. Margaret Murray, the famous real-life anthropologist, has a puzzle for him on the Nile during the Great Hiatus, whilst in London, Holmes crosses the paths of more historical figures in the shape of spiritualist Tennessee Claflin and her sister Victoria Woodhull. And what is he to make of Vernon Lee’s Lady Tal, never mind Aleister Crowley’s Simon Iff?

Join us as Holmes works with psychic investigators old and new in pursuit of answers, and must confront his own scepticism. Tales in the traditional style – but with a twist. Can Holmes’s logic work alongside the occult detectives’ willingness to accept another set of rules entirely? Are their proposed solutions paranormal – or poppycock?

Get your copy today by CLICKING HERE!

Sherlock Holmes: The Maplecroft Message

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson become embroiled in one of the most famous murder cases in history!

Holmes and Watson are on holiday in the United States, when they receive an urgent letter requesting their assistance:

Once again, I find myself being accused of a murder that I did not commit… I hope that your sense of justice will prevail, and that you will come to the aid of an innocent woman in her time of distress.

Signed by none other than the infamous Lizzie Borden!

Despite the warnings of the locals, it’s not long before the Great Detective and his Boswell find themselves in Fall River, Massachusetts; their every step hampered by belligerent townsfolk and an unfriendly police force. Why is their client so cold and aloof? What secrets lie within the original Borden house? Did Lizzie really get away with murder? Holmes is determined to bring the guilty party to justice – even if that person is his client!

Author Joe DeSantis delivers another gripping Holmes adventure with a supernatural twist. Get your copy by CLICKING HERE!

The Necronomicon of Solar Pons

From Sherlock Holmes to the Cthulhu Mythos

August Derleth introduced the world to Solar Pons and Dr. Lyndon Parker in the 1920's. Pons, like Sherlock Holmes, solved crimes using deduction and ratiocination, often referring to Holmes as “The Master” or “My illustrious predecessor”. Since his first appearance, Pons has been a favorite with Sherlockians.

In the 1930's, Derleth coined the term "Cthulhu Mythos" to describe the weird fiction written by the writers in the Lovecraft circle. After Lovecraft died in 1937, Derleth created Arkham House Publishing to make certain Lovecraft and other writers of the Cthulhu mythos, himself included, remained in print. Derleth wrote a number of tales of the Cthulhu mythos including The Mask of Cthulhu, The Trail of Cthulhu, and The Watchers Out of Time (collaborating with Lovecraft).

Now, for the first time ever, the estate of August Derleth has authorized a one of a kind anthology combining Derleth's Solar Pons, the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street, with his Cthulhu Mythos and horror tales.

Join us in the foggy streets of early 20th Century London where horror is lurking on the streets and also at the veil of reality.

Get your Lovecraftian collection of Solar Pons adventures by CLICKING HERE!

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe

Imagine Sherlock Holmes solving cases where the clues include a mysterious cask of Amontillado – the haunting cries of a raven – an unnerving asylum – a man’s uncanny doppelganger! These are just some of the stories in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe.

This one-of-a-kind anthology features traditional Holmes stories, blended with one or more tales from Edgar Allan Poe, including The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Masque of the Red Death, The Gold-Bug, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, William Wilson, The Tell-Tale Heart – and many more!

Get this mashup of Holmes and Poe by CLICKING HERE!

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of HP Lovecraft Volume One

SHERLOCK HOLMES: the Great Detective.

A man obsessed with cold logic and focused rationality.

H. P. LOVECRAFT: the 20th century’s undisputed master

of macabre madness and cosmic horror.

What if the darkness of Lovecraft’s decadent New England overlapped into the Victorian era of Sherlock Holmes? Twenty-five new stories across two volumes pit Holmes and Watson against myriad nightmares from Lovecraft’s fiction––and against those nightmares which his writings have inspired. Join us as we journey from the familiar fog of Baker Street to the rotting gambrel roofs of Arkham, the blasphemous library of Miskatonic University, and beyond….

Get this collection of Holmes fighting Cosmic horrors by CLICKING HERE!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR UPCOMING BELANGER BOOKS ANTHOLOGIES!

Here is our latest Calls for Submission. They were in the last blog entry, but I wanted to make sure I posted them again so no one misses out.

Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1889 & 1890

Edited by Richard T. Ryan

“When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years '82 and '90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” - Dr. Watson

Synopsis: The year 1889 was a particularly busy one for Holmes with a number of cases including The Hound (Sept. 25-Oct. 20); “The Beryl Coronet” (Feb. 19-20); “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (June 18-19);  “The Naval Treaty” (Aug. 1); “Cardboard Box” (Aug. 31- Sept. 2); “The Engineer’s Thumb.” (Sept. 7-8);  “Crooked Man” (Sept. 11-12);  and “Blue Carbuncle) (Dec. 27). Although things slowed a bit in 1890, prominent cases included “Copper Beeches” (April 5-20); “Silver Blaze” (Sept. 25-30) and “The Red-Headed League” (Oct. 9-11). But what other cases did our heroes encounter in these years? Find out in  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1889 &  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1890.

Submission Guidelines: The stories must be Canonical in nature and fit with the timeline. Holmes and Watson should act like they do in the original stories. As you can see above, a number of the original cases from this period are specifically dated, so please bear that in mind when you are writing your story.

Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story.

Submission length: 5,000 – 10,0000 words (it is okay to go over some).
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of 125 dollars and a complimentary copy of the paperback edition of the book.

Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.

Submission deadline for proposals is April 30th, 2025. Submission deadline for stories is June 30th, 2025.

Publication: Late Summer/early Fall, 2025

Send proposals and submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to rich.ryan52@gmail.com with the heading ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES A YEAR OF MYSTERY 1889 or ATTN: SHERLOCK HOLMES A YEAR OF MYSTERY 1890.

Cover to the 1887 volume of  Year of Mystery series

The Necronomicon of Sherlock Holmes

Edited by Derrick Belanger & Brian Belanger Description: Imagine Holmes investigating the disappearance of a college student in the mysterious town of Innsmouth, matching wits with a man who can reanimate the dead, or using his deductive skills to help fight creatures from beyond the realm of time and space. These are just some of the stories which could be included in the new anthology The Necronomicon of Sherlock Holmes. The anthology will feature traditional Sherlock Holmes stories blended with one or more of Lovecraft’s tales. Belanger Books is calling for submissions from writers, new or established, which are between 5,000 – 10,000 words (it is okay to be over some). Guidelines: The stories must feel like traditional Holmes and Lovecraft stories. The stories should have the traditional Holmes and Watson working with the traditional characters, creatures, and/or gods of H.P. Lovecraft. Remember, there was a logic to the writing of Lovecraft, a rationale behind the otherworldly beings even if humans couldn’t conceive it, that should blend well with the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes. Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $125 and a paperback copy of the anthology. Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication. Authors are welcome to submit more than one story for the anthology. Send submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to derrick@belangerbooks.com with the subject line ATTN: SUBMISSION FOR THE NECRONOMICON OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Submission Deadline: June 15, 2025.

Publication Date: Winter 2025/2026

The new anthology will be a nice companion to our previous Holmes/ Lovecraft book 

Solar Pons: A Year of Mystery 1919

Edited by David Marcum

Introducing a new series of Solar Pons books, each one encapsulating a year in the life of Solar Pons with twelve new mysteries, one for each month of the year!

“I soon learned that I had taken up my abode with a private detective of no mean ability, a man who, openly espousing the old-fashioned methods of ratiocination and deduction, had already established for himself a reputation for skill and intelligent sleuthing for which he was held in high regard by many persons connected with Scotland Yard and His Majesty’s Government.” --Dr. Parker

1919 was a very important year in the life of Solar Pons, the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street. The detective was building up his practice, solving crimes in the months after the end of The Great War. Then, in July, he met the man who would be his Watson, the noted Dr. Parker. Find out what mysteries Pons solved in the beginning of his career both solo and with his Boswell in this collection of twelve all new Solar Pons adventures.

Submission Guidelines: Stories must be canonical in nature and follow the Solar Pons timeline. Word count should be between 5,000 - 10,000 words (it is okay to go a little over or under).

Authors interested in participating should first send a synopsis of their adventure and the month of the year they wish it to take place. Remember, stories that take place from January through May would not involve Dr. Parker as he hadn’t met Pons yet. The stories from June through December would (or could) involve the doctor. If your story does not need a specific month (i.e. it takes place in autumn and could be in September, October, or November) please let us know that as well. Once your synopsis has been accepted, you should begin drafting the story.

Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of 100 dollars and a complimentary copy of the paperback edition of the book.

Rights: Authors shall retain rights to their work. We only retain the rights to the story within the publication.

Submission deadline for proposals is May 1st, 2025. Submission deadline for stories is July 15th, 2025.

Publication: Fall 2025

Send proposals and submissions in a word document that is double spaced, in Times New Roman, and in 14 point font to thepapersofsherlockholmes@gmail.com  with the heading ATTN: SOLAR PONS A YEAR OF MYSTERY 1919 

Belanger Books is a small press owned by artist Brian Belanger and author Derrick Belanger specializing in new Sherlock Holmes books, Solar Pons, Children's books, Classic Sci-fi, Steampunk, and genre specific anthologies.  Some of our books have been #1 bestsellers in their categories on Amazon.