GG Authors 5...erm...4 Sherlockian Questions - Chris Roberson

Chris Roberson

Story: Merridew of Abominable Memory

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

When I was a kid, my father introduced me to all of the classics that he’d read as a child. So while other kids my age were reading Judy Blume and the like, I was working my way through Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Wells’s The Time Machine, or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I drifted away as I grew older, as we all do from the things of our childhood, only to return to the fold a few years later after a chance viewing of Jeremy Brett in the role of the great detective in the Granada Television adaptations. I’ve been here ever since.

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

I have approached the canon several times, and I think I come away with a different favorite each time. It probably says more about me at various ages than it does about the stories themselves. But my most recent trek through the canon was a few years ago, while researching for a novel, and the story that most connected with me at that point was “The Red-Headed League.”

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

Sadly no, but then I would tend to question the wisdom of any organization that would have me as a member...

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

My forthcoming novel End of the Century features as one of its three plot-threads a gaslight mystery set in London during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, in which consulting detective Sandford Blank and his companion Roxanne Bonaventure are called upon to uncover the truth behind a string of grisly murders that may just be motivated by a search for the Holy Grail. Any resemblance between Blank and any other consulting detectives may not be entirely coincidental.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Chico Kidd

Chico Kidd
Story: Grantchester Grimoire

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

In a radio series in around 1960 -- the first tale I heard was "The Speckled Band" and it scared me for years: Over my bed was a ventilation grille.......

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

I like the almost-supernatural ones such as "The Devil's Foot", but my favourite has got the be "The Hound".

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

Afraid not.... I don't have the time!

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

Not at present, but I must say I enjoyed this one tremendously and would do it again!

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

My Captain Da Silva is Holmes's contemporary (at least in the great detective's later years), and the short stories will be published by Ash-Tree Press in two volumes at some stage; the first novel featuring the Captain will appear in Portugal fom publishers Saída de Emergência (publishers of George R R Martin & many others -- http://www.saidadeemergencia.com/) probably next year. You heard it here first!

Gaslight Grimoire Advance Review at Critical Mass

Don D'Ammassa has reviewed Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes at the "Critical Mass"site. Click here to visit Critical Mass and read the full review.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Bob Madison

Bob Madison
Story: Red Sunset

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

Oddly enough, I first encountered Sherlock Holmes on radio. Though I am way too young to have been part of the old time radio generation, when I was a boy of 10 or so, a local radio station rebroadcast the Norman Shelley/Carleton Hobbs Sherlock Holmes radio show. I was hooked. Very soon after that, I came across the Basil Rathbone Holmes films on television – and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be Holmes or Rathbone when I grew up.

I devoured the stories at a rapid clip, and had the openings of many of them memorized while still in grade school. I was doubly-fortunate as it turned out the Chris Steinbrunner, a great Sherlockian and historian of the mystery genre in general, was a very near neighbor of mine. He was the author of The Films of Sherlock Holmes, so you could say I learned at the feet of two Masters. We were working on The Films of Charlie Chan shortly before Chris became unwell and died – sadly, the project was never completed.

2) Do you have a favorite story from the canon?

Without a doubt, my favorite story in the Canon is The Sign of Four. Holmes is at the absolute top of his game, Watson is at his most active, the boat chase is a wonder, and … well, who can resist pygmies and blowguns and unknown poisons? Also, it has the Baker Street Irregulars, touches upon Holmes’ drug addiction and it all seems fresh and new; you could tell Doyle was having a great time and not slogging on to meet demand (see Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, most of which are execrable).

If I can pick multiples, I would have to say Scandal in Bohemia, Second Stain, Illustrious Client, Thor Bridge, Creeping Man, Yellow Face, Devil’s Foot and Copper Beaches are all top-notch.

Valley of Fear is interesting without being particularly good; I think Hound is vastly over-rated.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I was the youngest-ever member of the Priory Scholars, and New York-based scion started by Chris Steinbrunner and others, but have not really been active for many years. I am still slavishly devoted to Holmes, but my interests broadened and I could either continue to write books or take painting and drawing lessons (some of my work has been displayed at the Arts Students League), or continue on with Sherlockiana. (Which reminds me, many years ago, I illustrated the souvenir book for a Sherlockian cruise to Bermuda!)

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

I am currently developing a script for a one-shot Sherlock Holmes radio play for WBAI in New York.

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

I am currently shopping around a historical novel about Buffalo Bill Cody, called Buffalo Bill’s Last Interview.

Gaslight Grimoire Final Cover Art

The full cover design for Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes featuring the striking artwork of Timothy Lantz.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Christopher Sequeira

Christopher Sequeira

Story: His Last Arrow

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

Probably at about 8 to 10 years of age, via the Rathbone Holmes movies being re-run once a week on TV in Sydney when I was a child.

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

I have more than one favourite! HOUN is great, but from a social justice point of view, and being the son of a (white) Irish-Australian and a very brown Indian-Australian, The Yellow Face is a remarkable effort that means a lot to me.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

You bet! Australia's premier one, The Sydney Passengers! Twenty-five or so years of membership, I think.

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

You get a scoop -

http://www.blackhousecomics.com/

Will be doing a Holmes comic that I will be writing, Tim McEwen and Phil Cornell will be drawing, whilst Academy Award Nominee Dave Elsey does covers and story and design elements!

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

The Black House project grew out of a screenplay Dave E and I are working on intermittently. Forget Guy Ritchie! Our stuff is something fresh yet totally respectful of Doyle by two blokes who KNOW the material, not some upstarts (OK, just joking - I wish Mr Ritchie the best of luck. In fact, if he really wants luck, tell him to email me so he can have a good script).

Also, you might enjoy my blog:-

http://comicbookwriter.blogspot.com/

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - J. R. Campbell

J. R. Campbell (Co-editor)

Story: The Entwined

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

I remember my Grandmother asking, when I was quite young, who my favorite detective was. My answer, (Coloumbo), won me an approving nod. Growing up everyone in the family was expected to have a favourite detective, I didn't think anything of it. Sherlock Holmes was always there, a familiar figure, and I do remember reading a story or two as a schoolboy. It wasn't until I'd read the stories as an adult that Sherlock earned topdetective ranking. At the time I was very keen on reading short stories and it was in that format that I truly discovered Holmes. Not to take anything away from the novels but it's in the short stories that Holmes really comes to life. Found myself fascinated by Holmes' eccentric nature and the way he evolved over the course of the stories. Holmes doesn't just evolve in Doyle's writing but throughout pop culture as well, making Sherlock just too fascinating a character to pass up.

2) Do you have a favorite story from the canon?

'Silver Blaze'. I love the quote about 'the incident of the dog in the night'. Impressed when the mystery was solved not by a clue but by the absence of a clue. Holmes in this tale isn't a terribly upright citizen, waiting until after he's cashed in a bet before bringing the guilty parties to justice. For some reason that appeals to me.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

Sadly no, although the good folk at the Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen here in Calgary very kindly allow me to tag along to some of their functions.

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

This is the third Sherlock Holmes anthology I've co-edited with Charles, each of which has been great fun.Whenever an opportunity arises allowing me to take up a pen and write for Holmes and Watson I'm quite willing to do so. As well as contributing stories I've had the good fortune of working with the talented folk at Imagination Theater contributing to their radio drama 'The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'. It's great fun to hear the Great Detective speak your words.

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

Well, I'm always writing and have been lucky enough to have stories turning up in anthologies and magazines now and again. I work mostly in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres but whenever a murder clever enough, or a thought scary enough, enters the imagination I've been known to cross the genre boundaries. Among other places, I've been published in Challenging Destiny , Spinetingler Magazine and in the forthcoming anthology Fantasical Visions IV . Imagination Theater looses me on the airwaves now and again, broadcasting my Holmesian and non-Holmesian work with reckless abandon. Enjoy putting together anthologies so you may tumble across my name there. Would love to do another Sherlock Holmes anthology, something in Science Fiction or Horror sounds like great fun.

Gaslight Grimoire Advance Review in The Harrow

Dru Pagliassotti has reviewed Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes in "The Harrow: Original Works of Fantasy and Horror", Vol 11, No 9 (2008). Click here to visit The Harrow site and read the full review.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - M. J. Elliott

M. J. Elliott
Story: The Finishing Stroke

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

When I was growing up, the BBC had an annual tradition of screening the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies... and I had an annual tradition of watching them. When I was about 10 or 11, I checked a copy of His Last Bow out of the library... and I was lost forever.

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

An unexpected choice: Wisteria Lodge. I suppose everybody has a fondness for the first story they read, but I admit, at age 11, I didn't have the faintest idea what this one was about! It was all horribly confusing. Now, I read it again, and it seems to be the Sherlock Holmes story with a bit of everything: murder mystery, international politics, voodoo...

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I host the annual film evening of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, screening rare Holmes movies for the members. Of course, in this DVD age, it's getting harder to find anything really rare.

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

For the past five years, I've provided scripts for Imagination Theater's Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes radio series, starring John Patrick Lowrie as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Dr Watson. I've also dramatised several stories from the Canon for their series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The achievement of which I'm proudest must be my three-hour version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (in which I had the small role of Cartwright, the boy from the District Messenger's office!). The shows can be heard and purchased here: http://jimfrenchproductions.com/zc137m/

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

I've just finished a three-part radio mini-series for Falcon Pictures Group entitled The New Adventures of Mike Hammer, in which Stacy Keach will re-create his famous role. I'm also scripting several new episodes of Falcon Pictures Twilight Zone series - it's hoped at this stage that Mena Suvari, star of American Beauty, will play the lead in my first show. You can read more about it here: http://twilightzoneradio.blogspot.com/ I'm also working with the cast of cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 on their new project, Rifftrax. If you were a fan of the show, you'll be pleased to hear that Rifftrax is much the same. I've recorded commentaries for two movies thus far, Dark Water and House of Wax (in which Paris Hilton has a metal pole thrust through her head - anywhere else on her body, and it could've done some real damage). At the moment, I'm preparing for a collaboration with MST's very own Mike Nelson. Visit their website: http://rifftrax.com/ I've edited five volumes for Wordsworth Editions: two collections of H P Lovecraft stories, two of Robert E Howard, and the forthcoming Charlie Chan Omnibus. You can find out more here: http://www.wordsworth-editions.com/jkcm/default.aspx?pg=34 For Imagination Theater, I supply scripts for many series, including my own creation, The Hilary Caine Mysteries. Other shows include Raffles the Gentleman Thief, The Adventures of Harry Nile and Kincaid the Strangeseeker. For Colonial Radio Theatre, I've scripted a sixteen part series based on G K Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries. I've also written the second in a continuing series based on the original Perry Mason novels of Erle Stanley Gardner. Colonial's website is here: http://www.colonialradio.com/ and the first eight episodes of The Father Brown Mysteries can be purchased here: http://www.blackstoneaudio.com/ If, after visiting all those links, you have any strength left, you can follow the trials and tribulations of a writer's life on my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/matthewjelliott

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Kim Newman

Kim Newman
Story: The Red Planet League

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

Probably first in some comedy sketch program on UK TV in the late 1960s - maybe Peter Cushing on the Morecambe and Wise Show, just possibly a forgotten Welsh comedy team called Ryan and Ronnie who did a knockabout serial with Holmes and Watson versus Dracula. My copy of the Complete Short Stories was given to me for Christmas in 1971 by my grandmother. I also have early memories of a radio Hound of the Baskervilles with Carleton Hobbs. I think the first Holmes film I saw was the Hammer Hound, on TV in the early '70s, but I remember seeing the posters for The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes up on the London underground during its first release.

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

Not really.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

No

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

I seem to have three or four loosely-related series of stories that relate to the subject - the story in this book fits in with a series I've been doing about Professor Moriarty ('A Shambles in Belgravia', 'A Volume in Vermillion' - with 'The Hound of the d'Urbervilles' due next); Irene Adler was in the first of a series of stories ('Angels of Music') about the Phantom of the Opera in J-M Lofficier's Gentlemen of the Night books; and the Diogenes Club, Mycroft Holmes and others appear in the Anno Dracula novels and, in a slightly different way, the stories collected in The Man From the Diogenes Club and Secret Files of the Diogenes Club. To date, the only time I've actually written Holmes himself has been in a chapter ('The Private Files of Mycroft Holmes') I deleted for structural reasons from my novel The Bloody Red Baron (it's appeared a few times since).

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

I've just finished a science fiction play for BBC Radio ('Cry-Babies'), and am working on a couple of book notions in fiction and non-fiction. I'm also fiddling with some film projects. Eventually, I'd like to glue the Moriarty series into a book.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Peter Calamai

Peter Calamai
Story: The Steamship Friesland

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

Not a date fixed in my 65-year-old memory but I suspect on the silver screen with Rathbone rather than in the books. My childhood detective was Freddy the Pig and then I graduated to the Swallows and Amazons series (Arthur Ransome) from England.

2) Do you have a favourite story from the canon?

The Hound. But you'd expect that from someone whose BSI investiture is The Leeds Mercury, wouldn't you?

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

The Bootmakers, BSI, Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Sydney Passengers

4) Are you involved with any other Sherlock Holmes projects?

Yes.

5) Any other of your projects you’d like to tell our readers about?

Very slowly compiling a collection of the original newspaper accounts about SH's cases, some snippets of which are also quoted by John Watson in the cannonical versions.
Also travelling to Portsmouth, England to take part in a SHSL weekend there Sept 5-7