Call for Submissions to Two New Sherlock Holmes anthologies; Fight the Coronavirus in Style with Belanger Books Face Masks; Author Interview with Derrick Belanger, Chris Chan, and Harry DeMaio on Their Sherlock Holmes and the Great Detective Stories
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Two New Sherlock Holmes Anthologies from Belanger Books (One Featuring Solar Pons)!
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| For the first time ever, an anthology teaming up London's two greatest detectives! |
Belanger Books is accepting submissions for two upcoming anthologies:
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and Solar Pons, Adventures of the Great Detectives
Throughout the Pontine canon, Solar Pons refers to Sherlock Holmes as his illustrious predecessor and explains that much of his skills of deduction were honed with the guidance of Sherlock Holmes. Remarkably, Dr. Parker and his agent August Derleth never published an adventure with the two detectives working together. How did Holmes instruct Pons? What cases did they work together? How did Solar Pons earn the moniker of The Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street?
Find out the answers to these questions and more as for the first time ever an anthology brings London’s two greatest detectives.
Submissions: Stories must fit traditional Holmes and Pons stories. Submissions should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length (it is okay to go over or under some).
Additional Notes:
Although some Solar Pons stories involved fantasy and science fiction, they would not fit with the format of this anthology, as Holmes never worked those types of cases.
Please adhere to the Klinger/ Baring-Gould timelines for Holmes and Watson. For example, if your adventure takes place in the 1930s it cannot include Watson as a character as he passed away in 1929.
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) 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.
Submission Due Date: July 15th 2020. Send submissions to derrick@belangerbooks with the subject line ATTN: CASEBOOK SUBMISSION. Make sure to include your name and the best way to contact you.
Publication Date: November – December 2020.
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| "His Last Bow" is the last Sherlock Holmes adventure (chronologically) that Watson penned; however, we know the detective and his Boswell lived for years after that adventure. What happened next? After the East Wind aims to answer that question. |
After the East Wind Blows: World War I and Roaring Twenties Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
“Stand with me here upon the terrace, for it may be the last quiet talk that we shall ever have… There’s an east wind coming, Watson.”
Those were some of the last words spoken by Holmes to Watson in Watson’s last published adventure (chronologically speaking) entitled His Last Bow. While there was an East Wind Blowing which resulted in The Great War, there was still a full 15 years left in the life of Dr. John H. Watson, and we can’t imagine that in that time this was the last quiet talk the great detective and his Boswell ever had. In fact, we believe they had many adventures in their old age fighting for Britain in World War I and continuing to meet with clients into the 1920s.
After the East Wind Blows recounts some of those thrilling adventures. Join a much older Holmes and Watson as they continue their cases into the early 20th century.
Submissions: Stories must be traditional Holmes and Watson stories that occur between 1914 – 1928 (no 1929 stories as we don’t want authors competing to write the last Holmes and Watson adventure). Submissions should be between 5,000 – 10,000 words (it is okay to go over or under some).
A Few Other Notes:
Please adhere to the Klinger/ Baring-Gould timelines for 1914 – 1928.
No Baker Street – Holmes and Watson stopped living in Baker Street in 1903.
Remember the time period – Holmes and Watson should be using the telephone and riding in cars.
Payment: Authors shall receive a payment of $100 OR $50 plus a percentage of the Kickstarter project profits (whichever amount is GREATER) 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.
Submissions Due: September 15th 2020 - Send submissions to derrick@belangerbooks with the subject line ATTN: AFTER THE EAST WIND SUBMISSION. Make sure to include your name and the best way to contact you.
Publication Date: January – February 2021
Author Interviews
As of this blog post, there's just over two days left in the campaign for Sherlock Holmes and the Great Detectives on Kickstarter! We've already met the first two stretch goals, and we are on our way to reaching stretch goal #3. As a reminder, the stretch goals are:
Stretch Goal #1 - If we reach $1,000 in backing, a Bonus story of Sherlock Holmes teaming up with Carnacki, the Ghost Finder is automatically added to the anthology!!! - (GOAL MET!!!)
Stretch Goal #2 - If we reach $3,500 in backing, a Bonus story of Sherlock Holmes teaming up with Poe's C. Auguste Dupin is automatically added to the anthology!!! - (GOAL MET!!!)
Stretch Goal #3 - If we reach $5,000 in backing, a special thank you section listing all of the backer's names is automatically added to the anthology!!!
You can back this amazing collection of Sherlock Holmes stories on Kickstarter by CLICKING HERE.
Throughout the campaign for Sherlock Holmes and the Great Detectives, we have been posting interviews with our authors about their stories. Today is our last set of interviews. It includes interviews with Chris Chan (Father Brown), Harry DeMaio (Toby, Sherlock Holmes's faithful canine), and me (Carnacki, the Ghost Finder).
Author Interview with Chris Chan
Tell us about your great detective.
Chris Chan (CC): Father Brown is the creation of G.K. Chesterton. A man of both faith and reason, Father Brown's detective skills depend more on his knowledge of human nature rather than scrutinizing tangible clues. Chesterton's character is very different from how he is portrayed in the current eponymous British TV series.
How does the detective end up working with Holmes?
CC: In my story, Father Brown and Sherlock Holmes met during the investigation of the case of the Vatican Cameos, a case that was briefly referred to in the original Holmes Canon.
What are your current and upcoming projects? Are you working on any additional Holmes adventures?
CC: I am currently in the middle of writing the first full-length Funderburke novel, and I am also writing a lengthy monograph in the tradition of The Great Game called Sherlock and Irene, exploring the possibility that the great detective deliberately and purposefully let "The Woman" win in "A Scandal in Bohemia."
Any last thoughts for the readers?
CC: I hope that "The Chapel of the Holy Blood" inspires you to read the original Father Brown mysteries by G.K. Chesterton, as well as Chesterton's other work!
Chris Chan is an educator and writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of the Funderburke mystery series, about a children's rights advocate working at a school, who helps his students with various problems. His Funderburke mystery "The Six-Year-Old Serial Killer" was just nominated for this year's Derringer Award for Best Flash Story. His work has been published in Mystery Weekly, Strand Magazine, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, Nerd HQ, Gilbert!, The Wisconsin Magazine of History, and Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine. He works for Agatha Christie Ltd. as a researcher and "International Goodwill Ambassador."
Author Interview with Harry DeMaio
Tell us about your great detective.
Harry DeMaio (HD): My great detective (The Wet Nosed Irregular ) Is Toby the phenomenal flop eared nondescript dog who is introduced to Holmes by Wiggins et alia. He goes on in a series of adventures to assist, amaze and capture Holmes’s respect and affection. Even Mycroft, no animal lover, is taken by this canine criminologist.
How does the detective end up working with Holmes?
HD: The Baker Street Irregulars want to include Toby in their group. Holmes, at first skeptical, is won over by the dog’s demonstrated talents. The story, related to a fascinated reporter, tells of his highly talented skills.
What are your current and upcoming projects? Are you working on any additional Holmes adventures?
HD: Books 11 and 12 of the Casebooks of Octavius Bear are ready for launch and I’m going to take on Solar Pons for the first time.
Any last thoughts for the readers?
HD: I fell in love with Toby. I hope you do too.
Harry DeMaio is a nom de plume of Harry B. DeMaio, successful author of several books on Information Security and Business Networks as well as the twelve-volume Casebooks of Octavius Bear for MX Publishing. He is also a published author for Belanger Books and the MX Sherlock Holmes series edited by David Marcum. A retired business executive, former consultant, information security specialist, pilot, disk jockey and graduate school adjunct professor, he whiles away his time traveling and writing preposterous books, articles and stories.
He has appeared on many radio and TV shows and is an accomplished, frequent public speaker.
Former New York City natives, he and his extremely patient and helpful wife, Virginia, and their much loved Bichon Frisé, Woof, (who is now late and lamented) live in Cincinnati (and several other parallel universes.) They have two sons, living in Scottsdale, Arizona and Cortlandt Manor, New York, both of whom are quite successful and quite normal, thus putting the lie to the theory that insanity is hereditary.
His e-mail is hdemaio@zoomtown.com
You can also find him on Facebook.
His website is www.octaviusbearslair.com
His books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, directly from MX Publishing and at other fine bookstores.
Author Interview with Derrick Belanger
Tell us about your great detective.
Derrick Belanger (DB): Carnacki, the Ghost Finder, is an early 20th century detective who investigates supernatural hauntings. Carnacki's stories concluded with both normal and paranormal explanations of his cases. The Ghost Finder also had some very cool inventions he used to help determine if a case involved the supernatural. My personal favorite was his electric pentagram.
How does the detective end up working with Holmes?
DB: In "The Wilhelm House Curse", Carnacki tells of a case involving a haunted house. The Ghost Finder collects clues about the case but has a difficult time piecing it all together. He calls on Holmes to help him draw the adventure to a close.
What are your current and upcoming projects? Are you working on any additional Holmes adventures?
DB: I always am juggling multiple Holmes projects. In addition to the upcoming Holmes and Pons anthologies mentioned above, I am currently editing the entries for In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, our next collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures aimed at young adults and children, and entries for Beyond the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of sequels to Doyle's first Holmes story collection. I'm also excited about upcoming Belanger Books releases: a Sherlock Holmes card game coming in late summer, an upcoming Sherlock Holmes Christmas collection, and a few non-Holmes books including a sequel to Jane Eyre entitled Not Forgetting Adele.
I'm also planning on collecting some of my previous published Sherlock Holmes adventures into a hybrid novel/ short story collection. Like Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, it would be a collection of previously released material, but it would also include new material to glue everything together into a cohesive narrative.
Any last thoughts for the readers?
DB: The covid-19 pandemic has upended all of our lives. I was glad that Belanger Books was able to offer free eBooks throughout the months of March and April to provide people with reading material. There's still a few hours left to get free copies of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson:The Early Adventures Vol. III, The Chronicles of Solar Pons, The Pontine Dossier, and our MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Curse of the Deadly Dinosaur. We hope to continue to offer free eBooks to our readers at times throughout the time of this pandemic.
Stay healthy and be safe.
Stay healthy and be safe.
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