Invitation to Join Five Miles from Anywhere, a new Online International Scion Society; An Excellent new Sherlock Holmes Book on Kickstarter from Richard Ryan; Call for submissions still open for two Sherlock Holmes anthologies

Join Five Miles From Anywhere - a new Online International Scion Society

One of the very few positives to come out of the pandemic is how we Sherlockians have connected online. Many scion societies like my own Dr. Watson's Neglected Patients in Denver moved our monthly meetings to Zoom. I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere has had some interactive recordings through Facebook Live, and the summer conference A Scintillation of Scions has moved to a virtual format for 2020.

With all of these wonderful virtual Holmesian events, a few of us thought it was time to start an online only Scion Society. Thus, Five Miles from Anywhere was born. The Board of the group is made up of members from four continents. We will hold monthly meetings the first Saturday of the month alternating between 5 pm Eastern time and 5 pm London time (BST).The format is that we read and discuss a Sherlock Holmes story either from the canon or a pastiche. A speaker starts the meeting by giving a 10 - 15 minute talk and then a lively discussion of the story follows.The stories will always be made available to members for free. 

For the first meeting on June 6th, we will be reading "A Scandal in Bohemia". Chris Chan (The Strand) will start the meeting by giving a brief talk about the validity of Irene Adler's marriage. We will then have a lively discussion about the story. This meeting will start at 5 pm Eastern time.

If you are interested in joining the discussion, please send an email to derrick@belangerbooks.com, and I will send you the Zoom link and pass code to join us. You can also join the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/FiveMilesFromAnywhere. And you can RSVP for the meeting on Facebook here.

Now on Kickstarter - Through a Glass Starkly

For those of you who like high quality, traditional Sherlock Holmes novels, you can't go wrong with Richard T. Ryan. The Vatican Cameos, his first novel, is an international bestseller. Author Lee Childs called it "An extravagantly imagined and beautifully written Holmes story”.

Rich is back with his fifth book, Through a Glass Starkly, which is currently being funded through a Kickstarter campaign. Here is the description of the book from the Kickstarter page:

After surviving an attempt on his life in Paris, Sherlock Holmes returns to London, where the Great Detective is almost immediately enlisted by his brother to secure the safety of the delegates at a top-secret peace conference. With Europe a veritable powder keg in the years before World War I, Holmes understands any misstep on his part could prove fatal and possibly plunge the continent into war.

Check out the Kickstarter campaign which has some wonderful rewards including autographed editions of the book by clicking here.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Two New Sherlock Holmes Anthologies from Belanger Books (One Featuring Solar Pons)!

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.

"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

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.