Giving Thanks with Sherlock Holmes and Solar Pons Books for Causes
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
For this holiday of giving thanks, we wanted to highlight some Belanger Books publications and some publications from our friends at MX publishing where the proceeds of the books are donated to charitable causes. As you start your holiday shopping, please consider these books as gifts. You will be buying excellent story collections and also helping children, schools, and other worthy causes throughout the world.
Belanger Books for a Cause - The Beacon Society
We donate the proceeds from the following books to The Beacon Society, a Sherlock Holmes Scion Society which gives grants to teachers, libraries, and Sherlock Holmes organizations to help introduce students to Sherlock Holmes.
The New Adventures of Solar Pons
In the 1920's, college student August Derleth wrote to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, asking if any more Sherlock Holmes adventures were going to be published. Upon receiving a negative reply, Derleth decided to provide some of his own. However, rather than relating more tales of Holmes and Dr. Watson, he ended up introducing the world to Solar Pons and Dr. Lyndon Parker, living in London during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Pons 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.
Now, for the first time ever, the estate of August Derleth has authorized the first ever anthology of Solar Pons stories! These twenty new adventures range from soon after Pons and Parker met in 1919 to a story that occurs after Germany has been defeated in World War II. Each of them fully and traditionally falls within the Pontine Canon.
The authors of these stories have contributed their royalties to the Jan Stauber Grant Fund for the Beacon Society, which provides scholarships to educators, schools, and Sherlockian Scion societies, allowing them to purchase Sherlock Holmes books and materials in order to introduce young people to The Canon.
Join us again at 7B Praed Street where The Game is Afoot! You can get the paperback or eBook here.
The Irregular Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The First Ever Collection of Traditional Sherlock Holmes Stories Specifically Written for Young Adults!
Belanger Books is proud to present a new collection of over twenty traditional Sherlock Holmes stories written specifically for young adults -- including a brand-new MACDOUGALL TWINS adventure!
The story collection is written by professional writers such as David Marcum (The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes stories), Derrick Belanger (Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Seven), Elizabeth Varadan (Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls), Will Murray (creator of Marvel Comics Squirrel Girl), Rob Nunn (The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street), Robert Perret (Sherlock Holmes: Before Baker Street), Peter Eckrich, Dick Gillman (Sherlock Holmes, The Collector's Edition), Kieran Judge, and Derek Nason (Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells), as well as a variety of student writers. Plus an introduction by Shannon Carlisle, BSI.
The adventures in this collection had to adhere to Derrick Belanger’s “10 Rules for Writing a Sherlock Pastiche”.
Holmes and Watson are as Doyle intended them with cases taking place in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, none later than the 1920’s. If you are looking for a fun, traditional collection of British mysteries then you will enjoy The Irregular Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The proceeds from this book will be donated to The Beacon Society, a Sherlock Holmes Scion Society which gives grants to teachers, libraries, and Sherlock Holmes organizations to help introduce students to Sherlock Holmes.
Get your paperback or eBook copy here.
Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere!
Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere! What makes Sherlock Holmes so special? Why is he one of the most recognizable characters in all of literature? How do people throughout the world connect to the character? Why is Sherlock Holmes embraced by the LGBTQ+ Community? Why do people collect Sherlock Holmes memorabilia? Why do people experience Sherlock Holmes in everything from Science Fiction to Martial Arts?Find out the answers to these questions and many more in Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere! a collection of essays on how people throughout the world embrace the great detective.
All proceeds from the essay collection will be donated to the Beacon Society, a scion society of the BSI which provides scholarships to schools, libraries, and Sherlock Holmes groups for educational purposes.
"Derrick Belanger, Sonia Fetherston, BSI, and David Marcum are editing this volume that includes contributions from a variety of Sherlockians new and old from across the globe. Forty essays...capture the essence of why we love Sherlock Holmes." - Scott Monty, I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
You can get your paperback and eBook copy of the book by clicking here.
MX Books for a Cause - Stepping Stones at Undershaw
Started in 1994, Stepping Stones is a nonprofit special needs school in the U.K. whose charitable objectives are the advancement of education, promotion of health, the relief of poverty and to assist other established charities with similar objectives. Stepping Stones has a school currently housed at Undershaw, the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle where he wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles.
The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes stories - Volumes I to XVIII
In 2015, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories burst upon the scene, featuring stories set within the canon’s correct time period, written by the very best of today’s Sherlockian authors from around the world. That first anthology, spread over three huge volumes, contained sixty-three stories and was the largest collection of its kind assembled at the time. Response was immediately and overwhelmingly positive, and soon there were calls from fans for additional collections.
Over 150 contributors so far have joined together from around the world to produce well over three hundred new adventures to honour Sherlock Holmes, the man described by Watson as “the best and wisest whom I have ever known.”
The authors are donating all the royalties from the collection to preservation projects at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former home, Undershaw.
Get one or all of the volumes in the series in paperback, hardcover, or eBook by clicking here.
MX Books for a Cause - A Happy Life
Okay, this one's not a Sherlock Holmes or Solar Pons book, but this book supports such a great cause, I just had to add it into the blog. The Happy Life Children's Home supports abandoned children in Kenya with a home, medical care, and schooling.
This fully updated edition of The Happy Life Story tells the history of an inspiring children's home project near Nairobi, Kenya. It is told through the eyes of Sharon Emecz, who after twenty years on the corporate treadmill in London, took a career break and spent a month in Africa including volunteering at Happy Life. The Children's Home was founded in 2002 to "Provide the abandoned children of Kenya with a Home and a Hope for adoption." This is the heart-warming story of a small group of people saving the lives of hundreds of Children and arranging for many of these children to be adopted into "Forever Homes". Since 2002 over 500 children have been rescued with 300 being adopted.
Happy Life Children's Home now has 3 missions: To rescue and enable adoptions; to provide a Christian education, and to provide pediatric care in the Jesse Kay Children's Hospital. To accomplish this mission there are 2 Campuses: one campus is for infants to 3 years of age and the Hospital while the other campus is for the children who are 3 years and older. At this campus there is a church, Happy Life Christian School, and 3-bedroom homes for the children.
The first edition was completed when Sharon and her husband, Steve, returned from their 2nd Christmas at Happy Life. This new edition shares the great progress from 2014-2018. There are new stories, case studies, and news about the School and the Children's Hospital. All royalties from the book go to Happy Life Children's Home.
Get your paperback or eBook copy here.
The Art of Sherlock Holmes Series - Books for Multiple Causes
This latest series from MX Publishing pairs incredible Sherlock Holmes stories with gorgeous artwork inspired by each tale. These wonderful coffee table books make great gifts, and a portion of the proceeds is donated to Happy Life, Stepping Stones School, and the American Cancer Society.
The Art of Sherlock Holmes is a totally unique experience. Imagine a dozen or more of the finest artists in the U.S. creating art for some the best new short stories written by some of the finest Holmes authors in the world. Each artist has envisioned their version of one story specifically selected for them. All stories and art in one large, hardcover, coffee table presentation volume. This first edition features artists from West Palm Beach, Florida. Future editions will be global, with participating artists contributing from all over the world. The Art of Sherlock Holmes was conceived and curated by Phil Growick, himself a renowned Holmes author.
You can get the West Palm Beach edition of the Art of Holmes by clicking here.
You can get the USA edition of the Art of Holmes by clicking here.
I recommend getting them in the deluxe hardcover editions!
That wraps up this blog post. Stay tuned for more gift ideas for the holiday season!
That wraps up this blog post. Stay tuned for more gift ideas for the holiday season!
--Derrick Belanger
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