Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes

PROFESSOR CHALLENGER ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

2011-04-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

Professor Challenger Anthology Submission Guidelines

Editors: J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec

Publisher: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing

Genres: SF, Fantasy, Horror, Steampunk, Adventure

Submission deadline: May 31, 2012

Story Length: Approx. 7, 500 words to a maximum of 10,000 words

What we’re after:

A broad range of new and original stories built around Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s LOST WORLD character Professor George Edward Challenger. Stories derived from the aftermath of events in the Lost World are welcome, however simply revisiting or rehashing the Lost World without good cause is not. Challenger is a man of science first and foremost, not an explorer. Mash-ups or crossovers with public domain literary characters are welcome.

For inspiration think X-files, Quatermass, Dr. Who, cryptozoology – Yeti, Nessie, etc…, aliens among us, supernatural occurrences, science gone awry in a Dr. Moreau, Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll vein, nature run amuck, monsters large and small, world threatening cataclysm, Lovecraft mythos, think H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, E. R. Burroughs, John Wyndham, Nigel Kneale, alternate history, new lost places, steampunk, whatever.... Be creative.

Mine the potential for all it's worth! Push it out there, get weird, play, have fun!

Notes: This is a professional market. Full rate to 7,500 words, half rate for balance to 10,000 words. One time publication rights. The anthology is part invitation and part open submission. Priority will be given to invited authors, but an invitation to submit is not a guarantee of acceptance. A minimum of two slots will be held for open submissions. Acceptance is based entirely on suitability of story and quality of writing. No reprints.

Submission Format:

Email submission in Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Microsoft Word (.doc) attachments only. Use standard manuscript format. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuscript_format#Basic_manuscript_formatting)

Send submissions to charles@bakerstreetdozen.com and/or themightyjrc@shaw.ca

GASLIGHT ARCANUM: UNCANNY TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES in 2011

2010-11-19T23:59:00.003-07:00

GASLIGHT ARCANUM: UNCANNY TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

Edited by J.R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec
Published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy
Publication date: Fall 2011

Cover art by Dave Elsey
Frontispiece by Mike Mignola

Contents:

Introduction by Charles Prepolec

The Comfort of the Seine by Stephen Volk
The Adventure of Lucifer’s Footprints by Christopher Fowler
The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes by Tom English
The Colour that Came to Chiswick by William Meikle
A Country Death by Simon K. Unsworth
From the Tree of Time by Fred Saberhagen
Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell by Simon Clark
The Executioner by Lawrence C. Connolly
Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game by Kevin Cockle
The Greatest Mystery by Paul Kane
The House of Blood by Tony Richards
The Adventure of the Six Maledictions by Kim Newman

Publication details will be available from our publisher EDGE SF&F at their website http://www.edgewebsite.com/ in due course.

This is the third book in the series, following on from GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (2008) and GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009). For info on the previous volumes please visit the EDGE SF&F website at http://www.edgewebsite.com/ or your favorite retail or online bookseller.

To order a copy of GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES - http://astore.amazon.com/bakerstreetdo-20/detail/1894063171

To order a copy of GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES - http://astore.amazon.com/bakerstreetdo-20/detail/1894063317

LIVE GASLIGHT GROTESQUE AUTHOR CHAT AT BITTEN BY BOOKS APRIL 21, 2010

2010-04-20T15:10:00.000-06:00

A live real-time online chat with various contributors to GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES will take place on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Bitten By Books site. Simply sign-in, post a question and whichever author or editor is close to hand will answer it. To RSVP please click here.

Gaslight Grotesque Reviewed - The SF Site

2010-02-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES has been reviewed by Mario Guslandi as a featured review on SF Site

"Following in the steps of the previous volume, Gaslight Grimoire, the new Sherlockian anthology edited by J.R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec explores again the unpredictable effects of the encounter of Holmes' rational mind with the supernatural. Although I enjoyed many stories from the first volume, I had my reservations about the book because of the inclusion, besides a few excellent tales, of some mediocre material.

I'm happy to say that the present anthology is definitely of superior quality and that the large majority of the thirteen stories assembled therein are accomplished examples of dark fantasy, apt to satisfy even the more demanding readers, either Sherlockian enthusiasts or horror fans or just fiction lovers seeking out entertaining and well written stories.

The highlights of the anthology are numerous. Mark Morris contributes "The Affair of the Heart," an engrossing, ingenuous tale where Holmes and Watson..."(click here to visit The SF Site for the full review)

Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes is available now at Amazon.com

RADIO: GASLIGHT GROTESQUE EDITORS INTERVIEWED ON CKUA RADIO

2010-01-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES editors J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec talk about their book with Brenda Finley on CKUA Radio's BOOKMARK program for January 10th, 2010. The podcast is available on the CKUA archive page here or you can launch the Windows Media file directly by clicking here.

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: FORGET THE PURISTS, CALGARY PUBLISHER KEEPS HOLMES EVOLVING

2009-12-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Back to Baker Street

Forget the purists, Calgary publisher keeps Sherlock Holmes evolving

December 21, 2009

By Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald

Photograph by: Christina Ryan, Calgary Herald

Charles Prepolec did not want to add to the perception that Sherlock Holmes fans, or Sherlockians as they call themselves, are rigid and overly protective of their territory when it comes to interpretations of the famous detective.

But the Calgarian admits he has found it necessary to enforce at least one rule when gathering short stories for collections that mix Arthur Conan Doyle's famous Baker Street investigator with horror scenarios: Do not bring a certain serial killer into the mix.

"No Jack the Ripper stories," says Prepolec, one of the editors of Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 336 pages,$16.95) "We see him in short stories so often, and novels. No Ripper stories."

After all, having Holmes face the historical slasher isn't exactly a new idea. With an encyclopedic knowledge of all-things Sherlockian, Prepolec and co-editor J.R. Campbell can rhyme off the more notable attempts to bring the two Victorian icons together. The 1979 film, Murder by Decree with Christopher Plummer and 1965's A Study in Terror with John Neville were among the high-profile trips to that particular well.

So if you want to get your story into one of the collections, you will need to find Mr. Holmes a more original opponent.

"There are some things you have to avoid," says Campbell, who also contributed two stories to the book. "Your stories still have to be exciting. There's a lot of pastiche that tends to be more style over storytelling. You have to avoid that. There's a lot of stories that bring in a historical person. Which is fine . . . if they have a place."

With the Christmas Day release of Sherlock Holmes, a high-octane blockbuster featuring smirking Yank Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, it could be argued that this latest release of short stories is perfectly timed to cash in on what could be a full-blown resurgence.

But Prepolec and Campbell are hardly bandwagon jumpers. Gaslight Grotesque is the fourth book that has been put together featuring creepy Holmes tales and the second to be published by Calgary-based genre kings Edge Publishing. They are working on a fifth. Both are members of Calgary's Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen, a group that has been getting together in one form or another since 1987 to discuss the constant evolution of Doyle's character in the pop-culture consciousness.

And both have fairly high standards when it comes to what they'll accept as additions to the Holmes legend. The 13 tales come from a wide variety of authors who hail from Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and Australia. The book has gotten some high-profile shout-outs from Canuck sci-fi king Robert J. Sawyer and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.... (click to read the full article at the Calgary Herald)

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: REVIEWED BY SHERLOCKIAN PHILIP K. JONES

2009-11-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Sherlockian reviewer, and compiler of the pastiche database, Philip K. Jones has provided the following review of GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES to the editors and has also posted it to Amazon.Com.

"This is a collection of Sherlockian tales in which, to quote Leslie S. Klinger's Forward, "...the pillar of Victorian reason and intellect, Sherlock Holmes, would be called upon to confront the forces of darkness in every form." Make no mistake. This is a collection of horror stories, not the usual Sherlockian investigations of human crime. In this book, Holmes and Watson deal with monsters, not twisted humans, but horrors out of myth and nightmare

In the opening tale, "Hounded," by Stephen Volk, Watson attends a seance. What he finds there is what he had hoped to escape, his own memories of The Hound. Once confronted, they lead him to his only escape. "The Death Lantern,"by Lawrence C. Connolly, tells of a magician who filmed himself practicing one of his illusions, catching an explosive bullet in his teeth. The early silent movie is destroyed after Holmes, Watson and Lestrade witness the death(?) of the magician. William Meikle's "The Quality of Mercy" is a story of an old Army friend of Watson's yearning for a dead sweetheart. The form that desire takes is gruesome to say the least.

"Emily's Kiss," by James A. Moore, is one of the most horrifying tales in my opinion. The events are described but the cause and explanation are never stated explicitly, leaving the imagination of the reader to fill in the blanks, over and over and over again. "The Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy," by William Patrick Maynard, has an Aleister Crowley surrogate, disguised as one "Christopher Frawley," preying on an ambitious `stage mother' to control the income generated by a young violinist. "The Last Windigo," by Hayden Trenholm, has Holmes an Watson sent to Canada by Mycroft on The Queen's Business. While waiting for the situation to develop, they stumble on a land theft scheme that is being contested by the local natives. Resolving that dispute requires more than logic and diplomacy.

In "Celeste," by Neil Jackson, Holmes and Watson work, at the request of The Prince of Wales, to put a final end to the recurring nightmare of a ghost ship. "The Best Laid Plans," by Robert Lauderdale, presents an alternative view of events in "The Final Problem," as seen through the eyes of Inspector Lestrade. The view is neither pretty nor simple. "Exalted Are the Forces of Darkness," by Leigh Blackmore introduces Aleister Crowley, this time as an ally of Holmes in dealing with a conjured Demon attacking members of The Golden Dawn. "The Affair of the Heart," by Mark Morris, introduces Holmes to a sort of time travel, which engulfs him and Watson in a trap of double jeopardy. "The Hand-Delivered Letter," by Simon Kurt Unsworth, brings back Moriarty, in a truly stunning and terrifying revenge. "On the Origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles," by Barbera Roden, fills in the untold bits of HOUN deftly and seamlessly and horribly. J. R. Campbell's "Mr. Other's Children" finishes the book on a note of true terror. It's villain escapes and leaves the world at risk.

Sherlockians are not as likely to recognise many of the authors, other than Barbera Roden and J. R. Campbell, since most have worked in the horror genre rather than in detective tales up to this time. That takes nothing away from their abilities and the errors for purists are mostly confined to the villains and `ghosties' introduced, rather than to Canonical problems. In addition, most are not Americans, so the `slanguage' problems are not nearly so much in evidence as in most recent anthologies."

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES CALGARY SIGNING

2009-11-12T19:01:00.001-07:00

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES has now been released. For anyone in the Calgary area, the editors J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, will be signing at a local Chapters store on Saturday, November 28th, 2009. Come on by and pick up a copy or just say hello!


Time:	17:00 - 21:00
Location:	Chapters - Spectrum (Sunridge)
Street:	#500 - 2555 32nd St NE
Town/City:	Calgary, AB, Canada

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Coming Soon!

2009-07-22T12:16:00.009-06:00

Our follow-up volume to GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is rapidly coming together for a release in November 2009.

THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON BAKER STREET!

Between the shadowy realms of fear and the unforgiving glare of science lies a battleground of unspeakable horror. In vile alleyways with blood-slick cobblestones, impenetrable fog, and the wan glow of gaslight, lurk the inhuman denizens of nightmare.

CAN REASON PREVAIL WHEN ELIMINATING THE IMPOSSIBLE IS NO LONGER AN OPTION?

Faced with his worst fears, Sherlock Holmes has his faith in the science of observation and deduction shaken to the core in all-new tales of terror from today’s modern masters of the macabre!

GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
Edited by J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec

Foreword: Tales of Terror & Mystery by Leslie S. Klinger
Introduction by Charles V. Prepolec

Hounded by Stephen Volk
The Death Lantern by Lawrence C. Connolly
The Quality of Mercy by William Meikle
Emily's Kiss by James A. Moore
The Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy by William Patrick Maynard
The Last Windigo by Hayden Trenholm
Celeste by Neil Jackson
The Best Laid Plans by Robert Lauderdale
Exalted Are the Forces of Darkness by Leigh Blackmore
The Affair of the Heart by Mark Morris
The Hand Delivered Letter by Simon K. Unsworth
Of the Origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles by Barbara Roden
Mr. Other's Children by J.R. Campbell

Available November 2009 from EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing.

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE Reviewed at Dust & Corruption

2009-06-21T19:35:00.002-06:00

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES was reviewed on the Dust & Corruption blog. To read the review click here to visit the Dust & Corruption blog.

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed - The Passenger's Log: January 6, 2009 Summer Issue

2009-04-13T15:10:00.007-06:00

The Passenger's Log: January 6, 2009 Summer Issue
Gaslight Grimoire
Edited by J.R. Campbell & Charles Prepolec
Reviewed by Rosane McNamara

Gaslight Grimoire is a terrific read. At this point, several of my fellow Passengers have probably just fainted as I am known for my dislike of , not all, but most pastiches - not because I can only be satisfied by “the real thing” but because I have so often been disappointed by pallid, sometimes inept, imitators who think it sufficient to dress up a quasi-canonical plot line with a few typical situations (Holmes ticking Watson off for being a lousy writer) and some Victorian sounding dialogue.

This book is different however as all involved are so deeply imbued with the world of Sherlock Holmes that the stories flow naturally and convincingly. Instead of attempting to slavishly reproduce canonical look-alikes, these authors use the original as a point of departure to have fun with the Holmesian milleur and, so assured is their grasp of the original, that the result is witty, imaginative and very entertaining. Moreover, each of the authors writes confidently in the style of Doyle’s era, without self-conscious imitation or jarring anachronisms.

Although the eleven adventures have a common theme - Holmes encountering the world of the supernatural - the range of stories is amazingly varied and inventive: e.g Barbara Hambly sets Holmes the problem of finding the missing Darling children of Peter Pan; Martin Powell plants Holmes in The Lost World searching for Professor Challenger; Kim Newman uncovers a very funny “reminiscence” by Colonel Sebastian Moran; Barbara Roden matches Holmes against a rival detective more in touch with things that go bump in the night; and Bob Madison brings Holmes and Philip Marlowe together in a clever stylistic combo that produces some hysterical verbal exchanges. The contributions of Sydney Passengers Chris Sequeira and Peter Calamai are outstanding, Peter intriguing us with the “real” solution to the murder of John Openshaw (‘Five Orange Pips’) and Chris presenting a chilling exposé of the “real” Sherlock Holmes.

To add to the enjoyment, each story is illustrated by the one and only Philip Cornell. Everyone involved with this book is to be congratulated on taking us so amusingly back into the world of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
ISBN-10: 1894063171; Paperback: 304 pages
US$11.53 + postage from Amazon.com

Note: Reprinted with the kind permission of Rosane McNamara

Visit the website of The Sydney Passengers at http://www.sherlock.on.net/

Gaslight Grimoire Nominated for Prix Aurora Award

2009-03-17T11:30:00.003-06:00

We are pleased to note that GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES has been nominated for a Prix Aurora Award in the category of Best Work in English (Other). The Aurora Awards recognize Canadian science fiction and fantasy artwork, writing, and fan activities. The full list of nominees is available here. The Aurora Awards will be presented at Anticipation, The 67th World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal from August 6^th - 10^th, 2009. Voting is open to all Canadians until July 15, 2009 at the Aurora Awards site. Click here now to cast your ballot.

The editors would like to thank all our readers who nominated GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE!

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed - SF Site

2009-02-16T09:31:00.004-07:00

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES has been reviewed by Mario Guslandi as a featured review on SF Site

Excerpt:

"By far the best contributions come from Barbara Roden, Bob Madison and editor J.R. Campbell.

In Roden's "The Things That Shall Come Upon Them," Holmes finds himself unexpectedly teaming with occult investigator Flaxmen Low to unravel the mystery of some strange disturbances taking place in a country mansion. Entertaining and elegantly written, the story would have pleased Conan Doyle Himself.

Madison provides "Red Sunset," where an ultracentenarian Holmes, now living in USA helps a hardboiled PI to defeat the invasion of bunch of vampires imported from Romania. An extremely amusing piece, crafted with skill and a touch of humour.

Campbell's story is an excellent, well balanced mix between a typical Holmesian case and an effective horror story featuring a series of related murders and a girl torn between two worlds."

Read the full review by clicking here.

Full Link:
http://www.sfsite.com/02b/gg290.htm

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed - The National Post

2009-01-31T13:29:00.006-07:00

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES was reviewed in Canada's The National Post on January 31, 2009.

Excerpt:

"...all of them will leave you wanting more of the detective who just won't die. Hm, perhaps an anthology of Sherlock Holmes zombie stories is next?" Buy it."

Read the full review by clicking here.

Full Link:
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1238363

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE Reviewed in CM Magazine

2009-01-13T08:18:00.004-07:00

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE has been reviewed by Ronald Hore in the January 9, 2009 edition of CM Magazine and was rated ***½ /4 stars. Click here to read the review.

Full link: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol15/no10/gaslightgrimoire.html

Gaslight Grimoire In-stock at Amazon Once Again!

2008-12-27T10:30:00.003-07:00

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is now apparently once again in-stock and ready to ship from Amazon.ca and Amazon.com

Click here now to order your copy from Amazon.ca!

Click here now to order your copy from Amazon.com!

Ordering Gaslight Grimoire

2008-11-23T10:31:00.003-07:00

While Amazon.com appears to be currently sold out of GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, never fear, you can still order directly from the publisher - EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing - through their website.

Click here to visit the EDGE ordering page.

Gaslight Grimoire Chapters Signing Photos

2008-11-16T13:34:00.003-07:00

Editors J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec signing copies of GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at a Chapters-Indigo (Sunridge Spectrum) store in Calgary, AB, Canada. Our thanks to the wonderful Chapters staff and customers for putting together a fun and successful evening.

Gaslight Grimoire Signing in Calgary - November 15

2008-11-13T11:50:00.005-07:00

Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes editors J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec will be signing copies of the book at Chapters - Indigo Spectrum (Sunridge) in Calgary from 5-9 PM on November 15th. If you're in the area please stop in and say hello!

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008
Time: 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Chapters - Indigo Spectrum (Sunridge)
Street: #500 - 2555 32nd St NE, Calgary, AB, Canada
Telephone: (403) 250-9171

Click here for Google map.

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed - Booklist

2008-11-04T11:57:00.002-07:00

Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes.
Campbell, Jeff (editor) and Charles Prepolec (editor). Oct. 2008. 336p. EDGE, paperback, $16.95 (9781894063173).

REVIEW. First published October 15, 2008 (Booklist).

This one seems like a natural. It’s well known that Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, was deeply interested in the paranormal, a subject bursting with possibilities for the kind of mystery that only Holmes could solve—except that Conan Doyle had firmly established Holmes as investigating only real-world cases with real-world, logical solutions. This anthology, featuring such writers as Barbara Hambly, Chris Roberson, and Kim Newman, purports to present the kinds of Holmes stories Conan Doyle might have written if he had allowed Holmes to become involved with the otherworldly. The stories are a mixed lot, with characters ranging from Peter Pan to a 1940s Los Angeles private eye to old friends like Professor Moriarty and Inspector Lestrade, but unfortunately some of them read not like a story Conan Doyle might have written but like fan fiction—long on imagination but short on execution. Others, however, are a lot of fun, well written and entertaining. Holmes devotees may be a bit disappointed, but fans of fantastic fiction should be happy to see the famous detective stepping into their world.

— David Pitt

Gaslight Grimoire Launch at World Fantasy Convention

2008-10-29T10:00:00.003-06:00

Although Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes is already available online and in shops the book is receiving an "Official Launch" at World Fantasy Convention 2008. The convention is held in Calgary, AB, Canada this year and runs from October 30 through November 2. Gaslight Grimoire contributors Barbara Hambly (a Guest of Honor at WFC 2008), J. R. Campbell, Barbara Roden, Chris Roberson and Charles Prepolec are all expected to be on hand for signings and readings during the course of the convention. If you're at the Con be sure to come along to the EDGE booth on Friday morning or to the Saturday afternoon launch and say hello!

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Barbara Hambly

2008-10-26T10:59:00.007-06:00

Barbara Hambly
Story: The Lost Boy

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

My Dad is a Holmes fan, so I knew about Holmes from very small childhood. When I was eight I bought (with my own meager allowance) an abridged-for-kids version of about five Holmes stories - Speckled Band, Blue Carbuncle, Case of Identity, Scandal in Bohemia, and Red-Headed League - put out by Classic Comics (though it was prose, not comic version). After that I asked for The Complete Sherlock Holmes in hardcover (which was expensive, for 1959) which I got for Christmas and read pretty much cover-to-cover (I was nine, by then). After that I wrote my own Holmes stories, which were, of course, just God-awful.

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

There are so many in the canon that are favorites, but I think my all-time re-read fave has to be Hound of the Baskervilles.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I am not now nor ever have been involved in any Sherlockian society.

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

I'm not currently doing any Holmes projects, though I've done two other Holmes short stories: "The Dollmaker of Marigold Walk" for Michael Kurland's My Sherlock Holmes collection; and "The Adventure of the Antiquarian's Niece" for the Shadows Over Baker Street collection - Sherlock Holmes meets the Chthulu Mythos, which was a lot of fun. Both of these - like "Adventure of the Lost Boy" - involve Mary Watson in one way or another.

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

I've just finished a straight Civil War novel, Home Land, which should be out in 2009; I'm more or less regrouping at the moment. The first volume of my graphic novel for PennyFarthing Press - Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness - should be out next spring. I also have a Hellboy short story in the new collection, Oddest Jobs. Everything else is still too up in the air to talk about.

Gaslight Grimoire Now Shipping From Amazon.com

2008-10-22T11:50:00.003-06:00

Just noticed that Amazon.com is finally listing Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes as being in stock and shipping now. Order your copy today!

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed in Library Journal

2008-10-20T11:32:00.002-06:00

Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes was recently reviewed in the Library Journal.

Excerpt: "....an excellent addition to the Holmesian apocrypha. A good addition to any library."

Click here to read the full review.

Gaslight Grimoire - On the Edge Podcasts

2008-10-15T12:05:00.006-06:00

Marie Bilodeau hosts On the Edge, a regular podcast feature for EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing writers, artists, editors, etc...and currently up on the EDGE website are two podcasts related to Gaslight Grimoire.

First up is Gaslight Grimoire cover artist Timothy Lantz. Click here to access the podcast directly.

In the second podcast Marie chats with Gaslight Grimoire editors J. R. Campbell and me, Charles Prepolec. Click here to access the podcast directly.

If you prefer, you can also visit the EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing website and listen there. Both interviews can be found a little ways down on the right side of the page.

Gaslight Grimoire: Now Shipping from Amazon.ca and EDGE

2008-10-13T10:55:00.005-06:00

Just a brief note to indicate that Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes is now in-stock and shipping directly from both the publisher, EDGE, and Amazon.ca. Expect it to appear in more outlets shortly.

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Martin Powell

2008-10-10T10:56:00.003-06:00

Martin Powell
Story: Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

It was in the sixth grade, I think. Conan Doyle's "The Norwood Builder" was in our English text book and we were assigned to read it. I remember being very excited by the story, especially impressed with the Great Detective's solution to the mystery. I really admired his cleverness. Still do.

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

Several come to mind. I think "The Speckled Band" is the perfect, iconic Holmes adventure. It's the first one I always suggest for new readers. I love "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Dying Detective", too.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I'm not, actually. Perhaps I should be, though.

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

Always. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE LOST WORLD was my seventh Holmes adventure and my eighth and ninth tales of the Great Detective will see print very soon, including a graphic novel adaptation of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, from Stone Arch Books. That one is, by the way, the only Conan Doyle adaptation I've ever done. The others have all been original stories. It was lots of fun, returning to the source.

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

Well, I'm sorely tempted, but I won't. Sherlock Holmes is the star here, and that's as it should be.

Gaslight Grimoire - J. R. Campbell's Lady Sannox Radio Play

2008-10-07T13:06:00.007-06:00

Gaslight Grimoire co-editor and contributor J. R. Campbell (The Entwined) has written a number of scripts for Imagination Theater's THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES radio series. Jeff's latest script produced by Imagination Theater - The Lady Sannox Investigation - can now be heard for free online at the Imagination Theater site. Sherlock Holmes investigates the events depicted in Arthur Conan Doyle's non-Sherlockian short horror story The Case of Lady Sannox.

Click here to visit Imagination Theater now.

GG Artist 5...erm...4 Sherlockian Questions - Phil Cornell

2008-10-02T19:16:00.014-06:00

Phil Cornell
Gaslight Grimoire Interior Illustrations

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

In 1964, when I was nine, my parents gave me The Readers' Digest Young Peoples' Annual which contained 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band'. When Holmes rattled off his series of deductions about how Miss Stoner had travelledby dog-cart (even though I had no idea what a dog-cartwas), I was hooked. Discovering the rest of the Canon in the John Murray editions at my local library cemented the fascination!

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

'The Sign of the Four' is the epitome of everything I love in a Holmes yarn. A fair client in distress, a spooky old house, a hidden treasure, romance, a death in a locked room, some great Holmesian dialogue, the thrilling pursuit down the Thames...what more could one ask for?

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I am the "expedition artist" for 'The Sydney Passengers'.

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

I am currently working with fellow Sydney Passenger Chris Sequeira, cover artist (and Oscar nominated make-up artist) Dave Elsey, and penciller Tim McEwen on a new dark and gritty Sherlock Holmes comic for new comics publisher Black House Comics. Watch out for 'Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes'

Two full page illustrations by Phil Cornell from Gaslight Grimoire.

Gaslight Grimoire Reviewed at SF Revu & Gumshoe Review

2008-10-02T18:42:00.003-06:00

Gaslight Grimoire is clearly something of a genre-bending book as Gayle Surrette has reviewed Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes for both online mags SF Revu and Gumshoe Review. Click here to read the review on Gumshoe Review or here on SF Revu. Same review either way.

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

2008-09-30T07:43:00.004-06:00

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

2008-09-26T19:39:00.003-06:00

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

2008-09-23T08:35:00.002-06:00

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

2008-09-22T19:30:00.004-06:00

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

2008-09-19T11:35:00.003-06:00

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

2008-09-19T08:17:00.004-06:00

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

2008-09-16T07:52:00.007-06:00

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

2008-09-14T12:00:00.003-06:00

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

2008-09-13T08:54:00.007-06:00

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

2008-09-09T07:54:00.005-06:00

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

2008-09-07T11:34:00.002-06:00

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

GG Authors 5 Sherlockian Questions - Barbara Roden

2008-08-30T07:48:00.008-06:00

Barbara Roden
Story: The Things That Shall Come Upon Them

1) When did you first encounter Sherlock Holmes?

My first encounter with Sherlock Holmes came when I was eight; I remember being ill in bed, and my mother brought me a volume of Holmes tales from the library, perhaps figuring that as I'd exhausted my store of Nancy Drew mysteries I might appreciate another type of detective story. Sad to say, what stood out for me were the Paget illustrations, although I do recall being thrilled by 'The Speckled Band'. A year later my grade 5 class did a radio play of 'The Red-Headed League', and I was cast in the minor role of Major Duncan Ross. However, come the day, and the classmate cast as Holmes got a severe case of stage fright; so it was decided that she would swap with someone who had a smaller role. Thus it was that I played Holmes; but even that didn't quite do the trick. It wasn't until my grade 7 year, when we were assigned 'The Speckled Band' as an assignment in English class, that I was well and truly hooked. I immediately went out and bought all nine of the original canonical volumes, and it wasn't long before I was immersing myself not only in the canon, but in any books about Holmes and Conan Doyle that I could find. I wrote a Holmes play (shamelessly ripped off from the plot of 'The Speckled Band'), began writing - or at least trying to write - Holmes stories, and watched the Rathbone/Bruce films whenever they appeared on television, back in those far-off days before VCRs and DVD players. I can still recite the pubkeeper's eerie opening monologue from SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH at the drop of a deerstalker: 'There's folks hereabouts swear they've seen corpse-lights round the old greenhouse, and heard a wailing, like lost souls, in the Lime Walk.'

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

Of the novels, my favourite would be THE SIGN OF THE FOUR, because it seems in many ways to be the novel where Holmes is most fully integrated as a character. Of the short stories, probably 'The Final Problem'; it isn't much of a mystery, but the introduction of so great a villain as Professor Moriarty, and the climactic confrontation at the Reichenbach, makes it a gripping thriller from start to finish, overlaid with sadness on the part of Watson, who knows at the beginning what the tragic outcome will be, but still feels compelled to write it down in vindication of his friend.

3) Are you active in any Sherlockian societies?

I've been a member of the Bootmakers of Toronto since the mid-1980s, and was made a Master Bootmaker in 1990. In 1987 I co-founded The Stormy Petrels of British Columbia, and have belonged to the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and The Northern Musgraves, although at the moment am a member of three societies in addition to the Bootmakers: The Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota, The Pondicherry Lodgers of 44th Street, and the Baker Street Irregulars , in which I was investitured, as 'Beryl Stapleton', in 2005. Since 1992 I've co-run, with my husband Christopher, The Arthur Conan Doyle Society, which examines the life and work of Holmes's creator.

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

For the past year I have been editor of Canadian Holmes, the journal of The Bootmakers of Toronto; I've been a regular contributor to the journal since 1988, and in 2002 was awarded the Society's Derrick Murdoch Memorial Award for my contributions to the journal. I've contributed numerous articles to Sherlockian publications in three countries, have spoken at many Sherlockian conventions and meetings, and co-edited, with my husband Christopher, several books about Holmes and Conan Doyle for our Sherlockian imprint, Calabash Press, as well as for The Arthur Conan Doyle Society.

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

In addition to my Sherlockian work, I co-edit All Hallows, the World Fantasy Award-nominated journal of The Ghost Story Society. My husband and I run Ash-Tree Press, an award-winning press which specialises in the publication of classic supernatural fiction. Amongst the 140 or so books we have published are four—soon to be five—anthologies of original supernatural tales; the third of these, Acquainted With the Night, won the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards for the Best Anthology of 2004. I've been writing short supernatural; fiction for several years; in 2005 my short story 'Northwest Passage' was nominated for the Stoker, International Horror Guild, and World Fantasy Awards for short fiction. In fall 2009 a collection of my dark fiction, Northwest Passages, will be published by Prime Books.

Gaslight Grimoire on YouTube

2008-07-16T10:09:00.005-06:00

Having a bit of time, for a change, I figured I'd try to get the feel for a bit of software I had available to put together a book trailer for Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes. The result of my testing, rather overlong I'm afraid, is the video below. If nothing else, it certainly gives a glimpse of Phil Cornell's excellent interior art.

Entering the Fray

2008-06-04T13:54:00.001-06:00

Well, it appears the time has arrived for me to start testing out Blogger. Let's see where this goes...