On the Final Day of "A Fortnight on Baker Street" - we are pleased to introduce you to the entire Gaslight series

Thank you for having joined us for "A Fortnight on Baker Street".  We have very much enjoyed meeting with the authors and the editors, etc. over this last two weeks.  Although the Fortnight event has officially ended, we will be still be posting answers from some of the authors who have not been able to yet join us and look forward to having a very special conversation with Joan Spicci Saberhagen, widow of Fred Saberhagen, who is managing his literary estate.

Also, as reviews, and interviews occur around the series, we will be posting them on this blog.  So, now to close off the Fortnight event, we are pleased to introduce you to the entire Gaslight series...

J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, editors of The Gaslight Series

About the series:

"Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes" is the third in the series following "Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes", and "Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes". All of the previous editions have been edited by Charles Prepolec and Jeff Campbell, and have received critical acclaim from prominent reviewers such as National Post, Library Journal, Booklist, Globe & Mail, etc.

Gaslight Grimoire:
Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes

ELIMINATING THE IMPOSSIBLE JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT HARDER!

The fabled tin dispatch box of Dr. John H. Watson opens to reveal eleven all-new tales of mystery and dark fantasy. Sherlock Holmes, master of deductive reasoning, confronts the irrational, the unexpected and the fantastic in the weird worlds of the Gaslight Grimoire.









"Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes" features:

"The Lost Boy" by Barbara Hambly

"His Last Arrow" by Christopher Sequeira

"The Things That Shall Come Upon Them" by Barbara Roden

"The Finishing Stroke" by M. J. Elliott

"Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World" by Martin Powell

"The Grantchester Grimoire" by Rick Kennett & Chico Kidd

"The Strange Affair of the Steamship Friesland" by Peter Calamai

"The Entwined" by J. R. Campbell

"Merridew of Abominable Memory" by Chris Roberson

"Red Sunset" by Bob Madison

"The Red Planet League" by Kim Newman

With 12 Full Page B&W
illustrations by
Phil Cornell

For further information about Gaslight Grimoire, please visit the EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing catalog page: http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/gaslightgrimoire/gg-catalog.html
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Gaslight Grotesque:
Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes

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 13 all-new tales of terror from today's modern masters of the macabre!



"Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes" features:

Leslie S. Klinger - "Foreward

Charles V. Prepolec - "Introduction"

Stephen Volk - "Hounded"

Lawrence C. Connolly - "The Death Lantern"

William Meikle - "The Quality of Mercy"

James A. Moore - "Emily’s Kiss"

William Patrick Maynard - "The Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy

Hayden Trenholm - "The Last Windigo"

Neil Jackson - "Celeste"

Robert Lauderdale - "The Best Laid Plans"

Leigh Blackmore - "Exalted are the Forces of Darkness"

Mark Morris - "The Affair of the Heart"

Simon Kurt Unsworth - "The Hand-Delivered Letter"

Barbara Roden - "Of the Origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles"

J. R. Campbell - "Mr. Other’s Children"

For further information about Gaslight Grotesque, please visit the EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing page: http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/gaslightgrotesque/ggrot-catalog.html

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Gaslight Arcanum:
Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes


MY NAME IS SHERLOCK HOLMES.
IT IS MY BUSINESS TO KNOW WHAT OTHERS DO NOT.

In the dark lurk horrible secrets. Long buried and hidden from prying eyes are the twilight tales of the living and the dead - and those that are neither. The stink of a Paris morgue, the curve of a devil's footprint, forbidden pages torn from an infernal tome, madness in a dead woman's stare, a lost voice from beneath the waves and the cold indifference of an insect's feeding all hold cryptic clues. From the comfort of the Seine to the chill blast of arctic winds, from candlelit monasteries to the callous and uncaring streets of Las Vegas are found arcane stories of men, monsters and their evil...



"Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes" features:

"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

For further information about Gaslight Arcanum, please visit the EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing catalog page here: http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/gaslightarcanum/gaslightarcanum-catalog.html

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Our thanks to all of the authors, artists, editors, and all of the people behind the scenes who have helped bring the Gaslight series to life, the booksellers who make them available and the readers who have enjoyed them!

On the Thirteenth Day of "A Fortnight on Baker Street", A Visit by Kim Newman

We are happy to welcome Gaslight Arcanum author Kim Newman to "A Fortnight on Baker Street".

GG:  Welcome to the Gaslight Gallery. I am delighted you could join us for a quick visit. Where are you located?
    
Kim Newman: I live in London.

GG:  What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum? Without providing a spoiler, please give us a summary of your story?
    
Kim Newman:  The Six Maledictions - it's a self-contained extract from my just-published collection-cum-novel Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d'Urbervilles (Titan Books), in which Colonel Sebastian Moran, Moriarty's Number Two, recounts the various crimes he was involved with.  Here, Moriarty is approached by a rogue who has committed the not-uncommon imperial crime of prising a jewel off an idol in a far-flung corner of the globe and found himself persecuted by fanatical priests out to avenge the sacrilege.  This sets Moriarty to musing about the number of cursed objects and fanatical factions in circulation.

GG:  What do you like the most about this collection?
    
Kim Newman:   Sadly, I've not had time to read the rest of it - but I look forward to getting the chance.

GG:   What is the most "uncanny" thing that has happened to you personally.  Please take the opportunity to tell the strangest tale you want.
    
Kim Newman:  I seem to be immune to the uncanny.

GG:   What is the best piece of writing advice that you have either received, or given?

Kim Newman:   Get a good start on your second novel before the first one comes out.
============================
GG:    In our Bitten by Books event many of the authors sent questions for other authors to answer.   Stephen Volk posted a question directly to you.

Stephen Volk to Kim Newman – what were Moriarty and Moran doing during the crimes of Jack the Ripper in 1888 and did they know his true identity?
    
Kim Newman:    Admittedly it takes place in an alternate world, but my novel Anno Dracula (Titan) does have an answer for this.  I thought the world didn't need another Ripper story so I didn't mention the case in the Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d'Urbervilles.  Nevertheless, here's the skinny - they didn't know who the Ripper was or much care but they weren't happy about the way the increased police presence and activity in Whitechapel cut into their other businesses and so they tried to pin the crimes on Montague Druitt, then murdered him and made it look like suicide, hoping to close the case.

GG: Thanks Kim, for being with us today.
------------------------------------------

KIM NEWMAN is a novelist, critic and broadcaster. His fic­tion includes Anno Dracula, Life’s Lottery and The Man From The Diogenes Club. His non-fiction includes Nightmare Movies, Horror: 100 Best Books and BFI Classic Studies of Cat People and Doctor Who. He is a contributing editor to Sight and Sound and Empire. His Moriarty and Moran story ‘The Red Planet League’ appeared in Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic tales of Sherlock Holmes

Day Twelve on "A Fortnight on Baker Street": The Trailer, The Bios, The Blog.

We have met many of the authors of "Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes", during our Fortnight on Baker Street on The Gaslight Gallery.

In order to make sure that all have been acknowledged for their contribution to this stellar anthology, we are posting the trailer, which includes all of the authors' pictures, and their bios from the book. 

===============================================

STEPHEN VOLK was recently nominated for both the Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy Award for his novella Vardoger. His writing has appeared in Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Best British Mysteries, Best New Horror and Gaslight Grotesque. Stephen is the creator/writer of the series Afterlife and Ghostwatch as well as many other film and television projects. The Society of Fantastic Films awarded him their International Award for contributions to the genre.

CHRISTOPHER FOWLER is the multi-award winning author of over thirty novels including the recently released Bryant and May Off the Rails, the eighth novel to feature Bryant and May. In addition to writing novels and short stories Christopher has written comedy and drama for BBC Radio One (including the Sherlock Holmes story The Lady Upstairs), has written articles and columns for a variety of publications and recently completed Celebrity for the stage.

TOM ENGLISH is an environmental chemist for a US defense contractor. As therapy he runs Dead Letter Press and writes curious tales of the supernatural. His recent fiction can be found in the anthology Dead Souls (edited by Mark Deniz for Morrigan Books) and issues of All Hallows (The Journal of the Ghost Story Society). He also edited Bound for Evil, a 2008 Shirley Jackson Award finalist for Best Anthology, featuring stories about strange, often deadly books. Tom resides with his wife, Wilma, and their Sheltie, Misty, deep in the woods of New Kent, Virginia.

WILLIAM MEIKLE is a Scottish writer with ten novels published in the genre press and over 200 short story credits in thirteen countries. He is the author of the ongoing Midnight Eye series among others, and his work appears in a number of profes­sional anthologies. He lives in a remote corner of Newfoundland with icebergs, whales and bald eagles for company. In the winters he gets warm vicariously through the lives of others in cyberspace and drinks a lot of beer … some of it from Chiswick.

FRED SABERHAGEN is the author of many popular sci­ence fiction and fantasy books including the Berserker series, Swords trilogy and Lost Swords series. A special tip of the deer­stalker for the classic novels The Holmes-Dracula File and Séance for a Vampire.

The LAWRENCE C. CONNOLLY novel Veins was a finalist for the Black Quill and Hoffer awards as well as inspiring the audio CD Veins: The Soundtrack. His new supernatural thriller Vipers was released in 2010. In addition he has two short story collections available, Visions: Short Fantasy and SF and This Way to Egress.

SIMON KURT UNSWORTH story ‘The Church on the Island’ was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. His short story collection Lost Places was recently released by Ash Tree Press. Simon’s work has also appeared in the anthologies Shades of Darkness, Lovecraft Unbound, Exotic Gothic 3, At Ease with the Dead and Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes.

KEVIN COCKLE lives in Calgary, Alberta and often incor­porates Calgary-style boom-town themes in his work. A frequent contributor to On Spec magazine, Kevin has dabbled in screen writing, sports journalism and technical writing to fill out what would otherwise be a purely finance-centric resume.



SIMON CLARK lives in Doncaster, England with his family. When his first novel, Nailed by the Heart, made it through the slush-pile in 1994 he banked the advance and embarked upon his dream of becoming a full-time writer. Many dreams and nightmares later he wrote the cult zombie classic Blood Crazy. Other titles include Darkness Demands, Vengeance Child and The Night of the Triffids, which continues the story of Wyndham’s Sci-Fi classic.

Simon’s latest novel is Whitby Vampyrrhic, a decidedly grue­some and ultra-violent horror-thriller set in World War Two.

PAUL KANE is the award-winning author of the novels The Gemini Factor and Of Darkness and Light, plus the post-apocalyp­tic Robin Hood trilogy Arrowhead, Broken Arrow and Arrowland. His non-fiction books are The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark, and he is the co-editor of anthologies like Hellbound Hearts and Terror Tales. His work has been optioned for film and in 2008 his story ‘Dead Time’ was turned into an episode of the NBC/LionsGate TV series Fear Itself, adapted by Steve (30 Days of Night) Niles, directed by Darren (SAW II-IV) Lynn Bousman. Paul also scripted a film version of his story ‘The Opportunity’, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

TONY RICHARDS is the author of such novels as The Harvest Bride, Postcards from Terri and more recently Night of the Demons. His collection Going Back was nominated for the British Fantasy Award.

KIM NEWMAN is a novelist, critic and broadcaster. His fic­tion includes Anno Dracula, Life’s Lottery and The Man From The Diogenes Club. His non-fiction includes Nightmare Movies, Horror: 100 Best Books and BFI Classic Studies of Cat People and Doctor Who. He is a contributing editor to Sight and Sound and Empire. His Moriarty and Moran story ‘The Red Planet League’ appeared in Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic tales of Sherlock Holmes

=====================================================

Introducing Charles Prepolec's "The Sherlock Holmes News"

We spoke to co-editor Jeff Campbell the other day.

Today's featured Gaslight Arcanum editor is Charles Prepolec.

As an active Sherlockian, Prepolec is an excellent ongoing source of information. This is evidenced in his blog, "The Sherlock Holmes News", which is described as "Sherlock Holmes related books, DVDs, films and general news, reviews and unsavory opinions by Charles Prepolec".

If you have not yet discovered the blog we welcome you to explore it. The latest post by Charles Prepolec talks about the new Russian Sherlock Holmes.

http://www.sherlocknews.com/2011/12/tv-new-russian-sherlock-holmes.html
===============================================
Charles Prepolec has contributed articles and reviews to All Hallows, Sherlock Magazine, Scarlet Street, and Canadian Holmes. An active Sherlockian for more than 20 years with The Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen, Charles lives in Calgary with his wife Kristen and their cat Karma.

Day Eleven of A Fortnight on Baker Street, "Bitten by Books revisited".

For those of you who missed the author interviews on Bitten by Books, I have reposted them here.  To see the amazing comments, and conversations that happened underneath this initial interview, you can go to http://www.bittenbybooks.com/49346/49346/#comments

It is an amazing conversation.

Enjoy!
==================================================

MY NAME IS SHERLOCK HOLMES.
IT IS MY BUSINESS TO KNOW WHAT OTHERS DO NOT.

In the dark lurk horrible secrets. Long buried and hidden from prying eyes are the twilight tales of the living and the dead – and those that are neither. The stink of a Paris morgue, the curve of a devil’s footprint, forbidden pages torn from an infernal tome, madness in a dead woman’s stare, a lost voice from beneath the waves and the cold indifference of an insect’s feeding all hold cryptic clues. From the comfort of the Seine to the chill blast of arctic winds, from candlelit monasteries to the callous and uncaring streets of Las Vegas are found arcane stories of men, monsters and their evil…

Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes includes works by:
Stephen Volk, Christopher Fowler, Kim Newman, Paul Kane, Simon K. Unsworth, Tom English, Tony Richards, William Meikle, Fred Saberhagen, Kevin Cockle, Lawrence C. Connolly, and Simon Clark.
=================================

BBB: Welcome editors Charles Prepolec and J. R. Campbell, and the many authors from “Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes who have joined us today. Our authors are joining us from a variety of places from around the world. Where in the world are you from originally? Where are you currently writing from (as of the day of the event)?

Paul Kane: Derbyshire, UK
Lawrence C. Connolly: Southwestern Pennsylvania
Stephen Volk: Great Britain. Born in South Wales. I’m writing from my home in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire in the West Country of England.
Christopher Fowler: King’s Cross, London, England. Currently writing my tenth murder mystery ‘Bryant & May and the Invisible Code’.
Kevin Cockle: Calgary, participating in the online chat from Calgary.
Tony Richards: I’m from, and live in, Sherlock Holmes home city, London, England.
Simon Kurt Unsworth: I’m from Manchester, England (which is a suburb of America), but am currently based about 60 miles north of there in a city called Lancaster
Joan Spicci Saberhagen: My name is Joan Spicci Saberhagen. I am managing the literary estate of Fred Saberhagen. Fred passed away in 2007. Originally Fred and I are from Chicago. Since 1975 New Mexico has been home. I am writing from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Tom English: I’m from Hampton, Virginia, USA; I currently reside in (and am now writing from) my home in the woods of New Kent, Virginia.
Simon Clark: Doncaster, England
Willie Meikle: I’m originally from Ayrshire in Scotland, since 2007 I’ve lived up on the Eastern shore of Newfoundland.
Currently just finishing off THE ISLAND OF TERROR, a Professor Challenger novella. (40,000 words)
=====================================
BBB: Without providing a spoiler, could you please give us a summary of your story in Gaslight Arcanum?

Paul Kane: In ‘The Greatest Mystery’, a young woman comes to Holmes and Watson for help when her cousin is accused of a murder he says he didn’t commit – though all the evidence points to him; he was even found with the murder weapon in his hand. After encountering more of these mysterious killings, where the person who committed them swears they didn’t – Holmes finds himself struggling to solve the crimes. Until, finally, he realises exactly who he is facing: his greatest ever enemy!
Lawrence C. Connolly: In ‘The Executioner’, Holmes wakes to find himself in a gigantic mansion filled with oversized furniture and works of art. The mystery centers on where he is, how he got there, and a terrible bit of unfinished business that waits for him in a secret chamber on the first floor.
Stephen Volk: In ‘The Comfort of the Seine’, Sherlock Holmes recounts a strange story from his youth, of a weird encounter in Paris which ultimately leads him on the path to becoming a great detective.
Christopher Fowler: In ‘The Adventure of Lucifer’s Footprints’, Holmes is summoned to Devon to discover why the prints of horses’ hooves are appearing in a field where there are no horses.
Kevin Cockle: ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game’: What if the stories of Holmes that we know, are actually a kind of age-of-enlightenment myth meant to disguise his true nature…or super-nature. It’s Watson’s job to translate their weird adventures into the rationalistic discourse of the times, for reasons known only to Holmes himself. It’s a great game alright…between Holmes and Watson; Holmes and the problem in the story…and between the story and the reader.
Tony Richards: In ‘The House of Blood’, Sherlock Holmes did not die at the Reichenback Falls — he turned out to be immortal, and is still with us to this very day, touring the world and solving cases. Currently, he is in the United States. A series of grisly murders is taking place around Las Vegas. Bodies of both sexes and all ages are being found in the surrounding desert. They both share two characteristics. One, they recently won big in the city’s casinos. And, two, they have been drained of all their blood. The local law enforcement are calling them ‘The Vampire Killings,’ but Holmes, knowing such creatures do not exist, suspects something else.
Simon Kurt Unsworth: ‘A Country Death’ : It’s about the investigation of the death of an old man – he’s found, his body swollen and covered in tiny wounds, so it’s about discovering how he died and trying to stop it happening again.
Joan Spicci Saberhagen: In ‘From The Tree Of Time’, when a Victorian lady’s happiness and honor are threatened she calls upon the great detective. The mysterious details cause Holmes to call in a consultant, Dr. Corday, better known as Dracula.
Tom English: (A summary is more difficult to give. It’s akin to presenting one’s infant child to a bunch of strangers: Isn’t my new baby absolutely adorable? But here goes.)
In ‘The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes’, Holmes and Watson investigate the mystery surrounding an occult artifact which may be responsible for a string of ghastly crimes: an enigmatic tome which has been in the safekeeping of the Holy Church for hundreds of years — until its sudden, inexplicable disappearance — and which the Church appears overly anxious to recover.
(Actually, I love the way Charles described the story in his Introduction “I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere…” and I can’t state it any better:
“A ghastly grimoire, written in the blood of a madman, is stolen from the monks who have guarded its secrets for centuries. To stop a string of terrible and inexplicable murders they turn to Sherlock Holmes, but can even the Great Detective withstand the pull of these cursed pages? Find out in ‘The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes’ by Tom English.”
(Absolutely marvelous copy which makes ME want to re-read it!)
Simon Clark: In ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell’, a diving bell was lost years ago. When a salvage team reconnect the phone cable the voice of what should be the long-dead crew member comes ghosting up the line.
William Meikle: In ‘The Colour that came to Chiswick’, something green has got into the beer in the Fullers Brewery in Chiswick, and Holmes is called in to see if it is sabotage… or something a bit more esoteric.
====================================
BBB: What do you like the most about this collection?

Paul Kane: I love the mixture of genre elements with the traditional Holmes type of tales. I’ve always loved the darker side of Holmes’ universe.
Lawrence C. Connolly: Sharing the book with eleven of my favorite writers.
Stephen Volk: I like the wide diversity of some of my favourite modern genre writers bringing their talents to bear on brand new Sherlock Holmes stories.
Christopher Fowler: It draws out and gives voice to a side that was always in Holmes, especially in the later stories; a sinister Victorian aura of bereavement and sadness.
Kevin Cockle: I love the premise – Sherlock vs the supernatural. It works on the level of image because it’s vaguely steam-punky; it’s got that tinge of Victorian mysticism always in the background; it’s got a brand name character being re-imagined in unfamiliar settings…it’s just a really evocative milieu in which to place the very symbol of rationality. And on a more personal note, I’m digging the illustrations (including the cover!)
Tony Richards: It’s a genuinely imaginative new addition to the Holmes cannon, with some brilliant writers of dark fantasy making contributions.
Simon Kurt Unsworth: Practically, being in it! It’s always great to be published, particularly in a book that got so many great authors in it. I like writing these stories because they aren’t quite what I normally do, so this is a good chance to spread my wings and little and experiment. I also like that there I’m in this with friends, but also with people I’ve never met so reading it is a real treat, finding new authors and revisiting ones whose work I already know I love.
Joan Spicci Saberhagen: The stories are unusual, entertaining and thought provoking.
Tom English: I love the character of Holmes, and I love to read and write atmospheric tales of the supernatural; so it’s the unapologetic pairing of these two great passions — by a couple of editors who themselves share and understand these loves.
Simon Clark: Sherlock Holmes v the supernatural. A stable of wonderful writers all contained by the coolest of covers. Brilliant.
William Meikle: The variety of voices and approaches that allow us all to put our own twist on these famous characters
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BBB: Please send a question for the other authors to answer.

Paul Kane: How easy or hard did you find it working on a Holmes story?
Lawrence C. Connolly: What’s your current project?
Stephen Volk: To Simon Unsworth – how much research did you do into bee-keeping, and how? To Kim Newman – what were Moriarty and Moran doing during the crimes of Jack the Ripper in 1888 and did they know his true identity? To Simon Clark – where did your wonderfully creepy idea of the diving bell come from?
Christopher Fowler: Why don’t the long Conan Doyle stories work as well as the short ones?
Kevin Cockle: How much of a Sherlock-geek are you? Did you think going in that it was essential to have some grasp of the original source material? Do you HAVE expertise when it comes to the originals?
Tony Richards: What attracts you to writing Holmes fiction in the first place?
Simon Kurt Unsworth: What was the hardest thing, for you, in writing these stories?
Joan Spicci Saberhagen: What aspect of the original Holmes’ character do you find most fascinating?
Tom English: Doyle’s tales are filled with lean but wonderfully descriptive passages, and Holmes has some killer lines (such as “‘No crime,’ said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. ‘Only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal.’” (from “The Blue Carbuncle”) To each of the writers: Is there a passage or line(s) of dialogue in your story of which you’re particularly fond?
Simon Clark: Why does Sherlock Holmes endure when other literary heroes fade away?
William Meikle: Do you fall into the voice for these stories naturally, or do you have to work harder at it than you would writing for completely new characters?
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BBB: Please send a question for the readers to answer.
Paul Kane: What appeals to you about the world of Sherlock Holmes?
Lawrence C. Connolly: What are you reading?
Stephen Volk: Do you want more adventures of Holmes and Watson versus the supernatural – and what monsters or beings would you like them up against that you haven’t read in the series so far?
Christopher Fowler: What would be the ultimate Homes short story?
Kevin Cockle: How mad do you get when authors mess with a beloved brand like Sherlock Holmes (or Dracula; Bond – whoever)? Do you need a certain “familiarity experience” when you read a story about one of your favourite characters, or do you enjoy so-called “re-imaginings”?
Tony Richards: There’s been the Robert Downey Junior movie. There’s been the TV series with Benedict Cumberbatch. Both wildly successful. Why, after all this time, is Sherlock still so amazingly popular?
Simon Kurt Unsworth: Are there any other literary characters or worlds that would benefit from having horror stories written about them?
Joan Spicci Saberhagen: What pleases you most about Holmes stories (consider both the original and the derivatives): the Holmes & Watson characters, the Victorian setting, or the nature of the mysteries?
Tom English: What do you as a reader find most important in any pastiche? What do you find intolerable (if anything) in a pastiche?
Simon Clark: Why does Sherlock Holmes endure when other literary heroes fade away?
William Meikle: What keeps drawing you back to Holmes?
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BBB: Thanks everyone for joining us!

Gaslight Arcanum authors, and editors: Thanks Rachel for having us!

Again, to see the authors' answers to the questions above, please visit ttp://www.bittenbybooks.com/49346/49346/#comments

If you have another question that you would like the authors to answer, but did not in the Bitten by Books interview, please post it below, and we will endeavor to have the author answer your question.

 

The Gaslight Gallery welcomes Tony Richards on Day Ten of "A Fortnight on Baker Street"

On Day Ten of "A Fortnight on Baker Street" event, we welcome Gaslight Arcanum's Tony Richards.

GG: Hi Tony.  Thanks for joining us today.  

GG" My first question for you is, could you please tell our readers where were you born, and live now?

Tony Richards: I'm from, and live in, Sherlock Holmes home city, London, England.

GG: What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum, and can you give us a summary of the tale?

Tony Richards: In 'The House of Blood,'Sherlock Holmes did not die at the Reichenback Falls -- he turned out to be immortal, and is still with us to this very day, touring the world and solving cases. Currently, he is in the United States. A series of grisly murders is taking place around Las Vegas. Bodies of both sexes and all ages are being found in the surrounding desert. They both share two characteristics. One, they recently won big in the city's casinos. And, two, they have been drained of all their blood. The local law enforcement are calling them 'The Vampire Killings,' but Holmes, knowing such creatures do not exist, suspects something else.

GG: What is the best piece or writing advice you have ever received or given?
 
Tony Richards:   "Write about what you know."

GG: In a recent interview on www.bittenbybooks.com we had the authors from the anthology ask question.  Can you select two and answer them here?
Tony Richards: Simon Clark asks why Sherlock has endured when so many other heroes fade away. That’s easy … he’s that rare creature known as a ‘literary archetype.’ He’s not simply a character, but is representative of something fundamental in human nature, in this case the triumph of intellect and reason. Other literary archetypes include Tarzan and, I’d guess, Superman.

Paul Kane asks how easy or hard it was to do a Holmes story. Well, when Charles Prepolec approached me, at the World Fantasy Con in Calgary, I nearly jumped out of my boots. Much though I love Holmes, I’d never once considered writing about him before. The main part of the problem is I do not generally write period fiction. I spent about two months mulling over it, before coming up with the notion of making him immortal and setting the story in the present day. It came easily, and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve now written a whole extra bunch of modern day Holmes stories that I’ve put out in 3 (so far) small collections on Kindle.

GG: Excellent. What is it that you love about writing supernatural fiction?

Tony Richards: What is it I love about writing supernatural fiction?

I started out -- exactly like Stephen King -- wanting to be a science fiction writer. I’d read that stuff throughout my childhood and teenaged years, and my first few sales were to SF anthologies. But then Mary Danby approached me, asking if I’d like to contribute to her Fontana Books of Horror. I thought up a story about a traveller encountering a lunatic truck driver on a mountain road … and I have never looked back.

The term ‘supernatural fiction’ covers the widest range of subject matter you could possibly imagine. You can write a story of that kind concerning anything you want, set anywhere you want, and in whatever age. Wars and cocktail parties, mansions and red light districts, the centre of a busy town, the middle of an empty moor … these places, and a million more, can be visited by the supernatural author. There are few rules, if any. You can even make up your own reality if you so choose. Writing this kind of fiction gives me all the freedom I could ever want. The sky’s the limit, even if it is a dark one with the cold moon gleaming down on you.

GG: Thanks Tony for being with us today!
======================================

TONY RICHARDS is the author of such novels as The Harvest Bride, Postcards from Terri and more recently Night of the Demons. His collection Going Back was nominated for the British Fantasy Award.

 

Lawrence C. Connolly Visits The Gaslight Gallery on Day Nine of "A Fortnight on Baker Street"

The Gaslight Gallery welcomes Gaslight Arcanum author Lawrence C. Connolly.

GG: Welcome to the Gaslight Gallery.  Where are you from?
 
Lawrence C. Connolly: Southwestern Pennsylvania

GG: What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum?

Lawrence C. Connolly: “The Executioner”

GG:  Without providing a spoiler, could you please give us a summary of your story?
 
Lawrence C. Connolly: Holmes wakes to find himself in a gigantic mansion filled with oversized furniture and works of art. The mystery centers on where he is, how he got there, and a terrible bit of unfinished business that waits for him in a secret chamber on the first floor.

GG: What do you like the most about this collection?

Lawrence C. Connolly: Sharing the book with eleven of my favorite writers.

GG: What is the most "uncanny" thing that has happened to you personally?  Please take the opportunity to tell the strangest tale you want.
 
Lawrence C. Connolly:  Great question, especially since I’ve just finished writing about a number of such events, retelling them in a series of vignettes to be included in my forthcoming collection Voices (due out from Fantasist Enterprises later this month).
 
One of those vignettes recounts an experience from the winter of 1990, when I was in the Soviet Union taking part in a cultural exchange with a school in Leningrad. It happened on my first night there, after a multi-stop flight from Pittsburgh left my internal clocks totally wacked. Around midnight, unable to sleep, I decided to leave my hotel room and head down to a nightclub on the first floor.
 
I never made it.
 
The hotel was a high-rise with block-long corridors that zigzagged through a series of dogleg bends, and I was rounding one of these when I found my way blocked by two men. They were smoking, leaning against a wall. One had Cyrillic letters tattooed on his fingers. He was big—wrestler big—big enough to make me consider turning around and going back the way I had come. But I kept walking, avoiding eye contact until he swung in front of me like a refrigerator door, blocking my path.
 
The other guy came up behind him, holding a briefcase across one arm as if delivering a pizza. 

The latches snapped. The lid opened. Inside was a black cube: four-inches square, beautifully made, smooth as ice. It was a lacquer box.
 
The big guy took it out, pressed it into my hand. It had no perceptible weight. Holding it was like holding a piece of solid nothing. It could be mine, he told me, for ten American dollars.
 
Agreeing to the deal seemed like the easiest way to get past him. So I gave him the money and headed back to my room.
 
The next morning I couldn’t find the box. I looked everywhere, tore the room apart. The thing was gone.
 
Had I dreamed it? Unlikely. The details of the encounter and purchase were too vivid. And then there was my wallet, which in addition to a few hundred rubles should have contained thirty dollars – a ten and a twenty. But the ten was gone.
I never saw the box again, but I eventually put one just like it into a short story titled “Smuggling the Dead.” So in a way the box is still with me, folded into a work of fiction, stored between memory and dream.

GG: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have ever received?

Lawrence C. Connolly:  “Ohne Hast, aber ohne Rast.”

It’s from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He didn’t give it to me directly, of course. He passed it my way through that wonderful means of cross-time communication: the printed page.
Goethe’s German can be translated a number of ways, but for me it is: “Do not hurry. Do not rest.”
 
Here’s the point. Writing is all about time and commitment. A good story may take a month of daily effort before it’s right. A good novel may take a year or more. A writer can work faster, but where’s the joy in haste? It’s the process of living with a story through a succession of days and moods that helps a narrative find its voice. The wisdom is not to rush but to keep working. Write every day. Enjoy the process.

GG: In a recent interview on Bitten by Books, you answered a number of questions.  Could you please repost one of your favorites, with your answer?

Lawrence C. Connolly: When writing Sherlock Holmes stories, how important do you feel it is to attempt to capture Conan Doyle’s voice, or doesn’t that matter to you? And secondly, how closely are you attempting to capture the time and mood of the original 60 stories . . . or could your story be about any detective character, but you just happened to name him Sherlock Holmes to suit the demands of the volume you’re contributing to? [Question posed at BBB by Christopher Roden.]


GG: And your answer?
 
Lawrence C. Connolly: I gave a good deal of thought to trying to capture the voice and setting of the original Holmes stories. “The Death Lantern” (Gaslight Grotesque) is narrated by Watson, and in addition to trying to stay true to the doctor’s voice, I took special care to represent the interior of 221b Baker Street as accurately as possible. I’m not sure how many people notice such things, but getting those details right mattered to me.

In “The Executioner” (Gaslight Arcanum) I had fewer examples to guide me, since that story has Holmes serving as the narrator, something I believe he only did in two of Conan Doyle’s stories, starting with “The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier.”

The setting of “The Executioner” – a gigantic mansion in Switzerland – is not based on anything from the original Holmes adventures. It has a different literary source, but one that I was nevertheless keen on representing accurately. I don’t want to give the title away here, since its revelation is part of the story’s mystery. But I will say that it is a work that has been so consistently misrepresented over the years that few people (even those casually familiar with the original) appreciate the nature of its central premise. I like to think that “The Executioner” gets it right.

GG: Thanks for joining us today.

==========================
The LAWRENCE C. CONNOLLY novel Veins was a finalist for the Black Quill and Hoffer awards as well as inspiring the audio CD Veins: The Soundtrack. His new supernatural thriller Vipers was released in 2010. In addition he has two short story collections available, Visions: Short Fantasy and SF and This Way to Egress.

 

Day Eight on a Fortnight on Baker Street: Co-editor Jeff R. Campbell

Following up on yesterday's post on the Examiner, co-editor Jeff R. Campbell answers our Gaslight Gallery questions...

GG: Hi Jeff, welcome to Gaslight Gallery. 

GG: Where are you currently located?

J. R. Campbell: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

GG: What is the most "uncanny" thing that has happened to you personally.  Please take the opportunity to tell the strangest tale you want.

J. R. Campbell: Becoming a father. 

==============================================

GG: In a recent interview on Bitten by Books, we asked the authors to ask questions. Could you please select some of your favorites and provide answers?

J. R. Campbell: Certainly!

Christopher Fowler: Why don’t the long Conan Doyle stories work as well as the short ones?

J. R. Campbell: I think the answer is the character of Sherlock Holmes. He doesn’t just solve problems, he attacks them. That’s why, in so many longer stories, Holmes disappears for long stretches of narrative. When he’s on a case, the case is his entire focus. He hates to eat or sleep while there’s a problem before him. If he must wait for a result, he’ll wait but he’ll hate it or so will the reader. 

To be fair Doyle did produce some excellent long fiction, it’s just that the Sherlock Holmes short stories overshadow his other work. Just as an example, while I do enjoy the short stories featuring Professor Challenger, when I think of Challenger my first thought is always ‘The Lost World’.

Kevin Cockle: How much of a Sherlock-geek are you? Did you think going in that it was essential to have some grasp of the original source material? Do you HAVE expertise when it comes to the originals?

J. R. Campbell: I’m not the biggest Sherlock-geek I know but I’m certainly know my way around the Baker Street lodgings. I do think it is essential to have some grasp of the original material but the glorious thing is it’s so easy to do: Just read the stories or, if that’s too much work, just read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Those twelve short stories will tell you all you need to know and they’re a delight.

Joan Spicci Saberhagen: What aspect of the original Holmes’ character do you find most fascinating?

J. R. Campbell:  His passion/fascination for crime. Most detectives I’ve read are driven by a need to put things right, to restore order, but Holmes doesn’t work that way. To Holmes it’s all about the riddle. He doesn’t speak for the victims and he’s not really looking to make the world a safer place. Holmes reveals the guilty but leaves their punishment to others. If he had to choose between letting the guilty go free or letting the puzzle go unsolved he’d always solve the puzzle. 

Simon Clark: Why does Sherlock Holmes endure when other literary heroes fade away?

J. R. Campbell:  All the credit here goes to Doyle and the wonderful characterization he made. So often the protagonist is wrapped up in the ideals of the day but Holmes isn’t. Others characters are invented for the purpose of a single story whereas Holmes (and Watson, who is essential to Holmes’ character) towers above all the stories he’s in.
===============================================
J. R. Campbell’s fiction has appeared in a wide variety of publications including Spinetingler Magazine, Wax Romantic and Challenging Destiny. From time to time his writing can also be heard on radio’s Imagination Theater and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
 

A Fortnight on Baker Street - Day Seven - The Examiner interviews Gaslight Arcanum's editors.

For Day Seven of EDGE's Fortnight on Baker Street event, Speculative Fiction Examiner Josh Vogt has interviewed both Charles Prepolec and Jeff R. Campbell.

To read Charles' interview go here

To read Jeff's interview go here






About the Editors:

J. R. Campbell’s fiction has appeared in a wide variety of publications including Spinetingler Magazine, Wax Romantic and Challenging Destiny. From time to time his writing can also be heard on radio’s Imagination Theater and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Charles Prepolec has contributed articles and reviews to All Hallows, Sherlock Magazine, Scarlet Street, and Canadian Holmes. An active Sherlockian for more than 20 years with The Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen, Charles lives in Calgary with his wife Kristen and their cat Karma.

Stephen Volk Joins Us for Day Six of "A Fortnight on Baker Street"

The Gaslight Gallery welcomes "Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes" author Stephen Volk, to our Fortnight on Baker Street event.

GG:  Welcome Stephen! Thanks for joining us.  Could you please tell our readers, where in the world are you from? 

Stephen Volk:  Great Britain. Born in South Wales. 

GG: Where are you currently writing from? 

Stephen Volk: I'm writing from my home in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire in the West Country of England.

GG:  What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum? Without providing a spoiler, could you please give us a summary of your story?

Stephen Volk: Certainly. In, "The Comfort of the Seine", Sherlock Holmes recounts a strange story from his youth, of a weird encounter in Paris which ultimately leads him on the path to becoming a great detective.

GG: What do you like the most about this collection?

Stephen Volk: I like the wide diversity of some of my favourite modern genre writers bringing their talents to bear on brand new Sherlock Holmes stories.

GG: What is the most "uncanny" thing that has happened to you personally? 

Stephen Volk:  As a kid I did once think I saw a UFO when I left my house one night. It was a bright light fluttering across the sky. Oh my God, I was so excited! I'd always wanted to see a flying saucer. But I retraced my steps and realised it was the street light catching a piece of guttering as I walked past it. What a disappointment! I've never actually had a ghostly encounter or any direct experience of the so-called supernatural, which people find strange given I write a lot of ghostly fiction, but I've find a lot of genre writers are skeptics like me.

GG: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have either received, or given?

Stephen Volk: "Talent + Perseverance = Luck" (Steven Soderberg) and "When you start the day, just type anything - goobledegook, you can always change it - but anything to destroy the blankness of the page." (William Nicholson)

GG: Could you please pick 2 or 3 of your favorite author questions from the recent interview on Bitten by Books, and answer them here for your readers?

Lawrence C. Connolly: What’s your current project?

Stephen Volk:  My next upcoming story is in Exotic Gothic 4 which comes out from PS Publishing in March. I'm working on two TV series in development at the BBC, one an intense crime serial, the other an outlandish genre project that I'm very excited about - if we get the green light it is really going to raise some eyebrows amongst fans. Just to be tantalising, the Head of Drama calls it "Doctor Who for grown-ups" (but she thought I'd leave the room when she said that!)

I have a feature film just released in Britain called The Awakening, a ghost story starring Rebecca Hall and Dominic West, which I co-wrote with director Nick Murphy. The movie is due to be released in the US early next year.

Joan Spicci Saberhagen: What aspect of the original Holmes’ character do you find most fascinating?

Stephen Volk:  His rationalism. It's always good to have a character dedicated to logic. Science and rationality have got us where we are today in terms of technology and civilisation - but we all know humanity is more than that.  Part of the beauty of humanity is the illogical, the irrational, the mad - which is why The Hound of the Baskervilles is the most gripping tale of all. I don't mean that Holmes is inhuman, but he has a bit of him that's lacking. And that missing part, in effect, is Watson.

=========================
STEPHEN VOLK was recently nominated for both the Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy Award for his novella Vardoger. His writing has appeared in Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Best British Mysteries, Best New Horror and Gaslight Grotesque. Stephen is the creator/writer of the series Afterlife and Ghostwatch as well as many other film and television projects. The Society of Fantastic Films awarded him their International Award for contributions to the genre.

"A Fortnight on Baker Street" Day Five: Meet Tom English

GG: Welcome Tom.  Can you tell our readers where are you from?

Tom English:  Thanks. I'm from Hampton, Virginia, USA; I currently reside in (and am now writing from) my home in the woods of New Kent, Virginia.

GG: What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum?

Tom English:“The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes”

GG: Without providing a spoiler, please give us a summary of your story?

Tom English:  Holmes and Watson investigate the mystery surrounding an occult artifact which may be responsible for a string of ghastly crimes: an enigmatic tome which has been in the safekeeping of the Holy Church for hundreds of years -- until its sudden, inexplicable disappearance -- and which the Church appears overly anxious to recover.

Actually, I love the way editor Charles Prepolec described the story in his Introduction “I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere…” and I can't state it any better:  “A ghastly grimoire, written in the blood of a madman, is stolen from the monks who have guarded its secrets for centuries. To stop a string of terrible and inexplicable murders they turn to Sherlock Holmes, but can even the Great Detective withstand the pull of these cursed pages?” (Absolutely marvelous copy that makes me want to re-read it!)

GG: What do you like the most about this collection?

Tom English:  I love the character of Holmes, and I love to read and write atmospheric tales of the supernatural; so it's the unapologetic pairing of these two great passions -- by a couple of editors who themselves share and understand these loves.

GG: In a recent interview with Bitten by Books, the authors from Gaslight Arcanum provided questions for the other authors to answer. Can you please share your favorite questions and your answers with us?

Paul Kane asked: How easy or hard did you find it working on a Holmes story?
 
Tom English: Writing the story was extremely intimidating. Not the mechanics of it: The characters of Holmes and Watson are like two old friends, and I felt comfortable writing dialogue for them. As for the “feel” of the story, I typically write atmospheric tales about just the sort of strange little things that would have roused the curiosity of Holmes. But knowing that I was handling characters that are incredibly dear to readers -- that Holmes and Watson are international heroes -- that was intimidating. So even while trying to do something different story-wise, I was constantly on my guard NOT to violate the integrity of the original characters.

Kevin Cockle asked: How much of a Sherlock-geek are you? Did you think going in that it was essential to have some grasp of the original source material? Do you HAVE expertise when it comes to the originals?

Tom English: I’m a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. I had read Doyle’s original tales and I continue to enjoy most of the filmed versions of the characters. I think it would be impossible to do justice to the characters without some knowledge of the original stories. So before writing a single word I went back and re-read several of my personal favorites. I also cracked open a couple volumes of Sherlockian scholarship.

Christopher Fowler asked: “Why don’t the long Conan Doyle stories work as well as the short ones?”

Tom English: The mysteries in many of Doyles’ short Holmes tales are fairly uncomplicated affairs -- such as who is “The Solitary Cyclist” and why is he pursuing Violet Smith -- and yet their solutions are always fascinating and highly satisfying. We don’t have too many suspects to deal with and the plots don’t get convoluted. Instead we’re treated to a singular problem and a singular detective to dazzle us with its solution, and Doyle’s solutions are generally not what we’re expecting. These little problems work well as short stories and not so well as novels. Now, that said, let me also state that I love ACD’s longer Sherlock Holmes tale THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. It’s beautifully done.   

GG: Since this is an anthology of Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes, we thought we would ask, What is the most “uncanny” thing that has happened to you personally? 
Tom English: Okay, I’ll tell you a ghost story. Something very personal from my journal. It’s not at all scary, but it’s strange nevertheless. My wife and I live in the woods. Our home is surrounded by thousands of acres of timberland. There’s an old fire road that winds through the woods behind our home, and I often jog down this narrow lonely dirt road beneath a canopy of overhanging tree branches. For a couple years my running companion was my dog Windy, a chow-mix with long blond fur and an adventurous spirit. I wrote about this dog in my ghost story “Lightning Rod” (in ALL HALLOWS #43), although the events of that tale have nothing to do with what I’m relating now.

Windy would run ahead of me (yes, like the wind) and disappear into the woods. She would leave the trail and dart through the trees undoubtedly on the scent of a deer or a raccoon. I would continue running the trail, rarely worrying about her, knowing how savvy she was, and that at any moment she would reappear from the trees and rejoin me on the dirt road. Sometimes Windy would be gone for what felt like an eternity, though; five or ten minutes, within which time I had covered a mile or more. I would then start to wonder a little, but invariably she would rejoin me, running out onto the road somewhere behind me and then sprinting to catch up to me.

I never had to look back on those occasions. I knew whenever Windy had reappeared behind me because she wore a leather collar with three metal tags (identification, vaccination, and license), which made a distinct and comforting jingling noise. I cannot count the times I’d hear the jingle of her tags in the middle of nowhere and know that she’d finally decided to return to me on the trail. Well, those happy times didn’t last; Windy had one annoying habit: she loved to chase cars. I didn’t think this was a big problem, what with living in the middle of the woods. But one day Windy decided to peel out after the car of one of our very few neighbors. She didn’t realize, though, that the car was being followed by an SUV. When she shot out of the trees the second vehicle struck her. Windy died instantly, probably painlessly, I think, but she was a big part of my life and I mourned her death for many months. And I couldn’t go back out on that wooded trail where we jogged together so many times without crying.

So for a while I stopped running altogether. When I did finally start running again, it was on a cold day and the trees were bare. The sky overhead was overcast and the woods felt deathly still. But as I jogged down that dirt trail l heard something that made me stop and quickly turn back in expectation. It had sounded like the jingle of Windy’s metal tags. Of course, there was nothing there. But the sound had not been in my imagination. It had been an audible clinking so real that I had fully expected to see Windy running up the trail to greet me.

To this day, I still miss my jogging companion. And to this day, when running through the woods, I sometimes still hear the audible clink of Windy’s dog tags following behind me. Only now, I don’t look back. I know in my heart that she’s rejoining me on that lonely dirt road.

GG:  What is the best piece of writing advice that you have either received, or given?

Tom English: Research is vital to any story, no matter how well a writer believes he or she knows their subject. So, research, research, research. And read. Read all you can, both fiction and non-fiction. That’s where ideas originate.
=====================================================================================

Tom English is an environmental chemist for a US defense contractor. As therapy he runs Dead Letter Press and writes curious tales of the supernatural. His recent fiction can be found in the anthology Dead Souls (edited by Mark Deniz for Morrigan Books) and issues of All Hallows (The Journal of the Ghost Story Society). He also edited Bound for Evil, a 2008 Shirley Jackson Award finalist for Best Anthology, featuring stories about strange, often deadly books. Tom resides with his wife, Wilma, and their Sheltie, Misty, deep in the woods of New Kent, Virginia.

"A Fortnight on Baker Street" Day Four: Meet Gaslight Arcanum's Kevin Cockle

Gaslight Arcanum author Kevin Cockle is with us today on The Gaslight Gallery.

GG: Hi Kevin.  Thanks for joining us. Where are you writing from?

Kevin Cockle: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

GG: What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum? Can you give a spoiler-free synopsis?

Kevin Cockle: My story is "Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game". What if the stories of Holmes that we know, are actually a kind of age-of-enlightenment myth meant to disguise his true nature...or super-nature.  It's Watson's job to translate their weird adventures into the rationalistic discourse of the times, for reasons known only to Holmes himself.  It's a great game alright...between Holmes and Watson; Holmes and the problem in the story...and between the story and the reader.

GG: What do you like most about this collection?

Kevin Cockle: I love the premise - Sherlock vs the supernatural.  It works on the level of image because it's vaguely steam-punky; it's got that tinge of Victorian mysticism always in the background; it's got a brand name character being re-imagined in unfamiliar settings...it's just a really evocative milieu in which to place the very symbol of rationality.  And on a more personal note, I'm digging the illustrations (including the cover!)

GG: Since this is an anthology of Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes, we thought we would ask: 
"What is the most Uncanny thing that has ever happened to you?"
   
Kevin Cockle:  One summer, lying on my couch, looking up through the rectangular frame of my living room window, I thought I saw sparks drifting by.  Fire!  I stood up to look more directly, and realized they weren't sparks at all - way too far away for that.  It was late afternoon in Calgary, and these things that appeared to be sparks were set against a typical afternoon storm cloud that had blown east of the city...and as I rejected all the possible notions of what these things could be, I was being drawn by a process of elimination towards the "UFO" conclusion.  Small objects at a distance, in a loose cluster, flying and changing directions, definitely not airplanes...there was no other explanation.  But just as I was about to call 911, I noticed extra detail, realized the objects were closer than I had thought, and suddenly it dawned on me that they were SEAGULLS, reflecting sunlight off their bodies against the dark-cloud backdrop, thereby making them incandescent.  Seagulls.  But for a good minute and a half, they were UFOs, and that's an uncanny feeling.

GG: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have received?

Kevin Cockle: Tony King, a local author, once told me that the main thing is to finish what you start, and send it off.  Sounds simple, but most writers don't do it.  Make submissions.  You don't have to be Shakespeare, because that super-talented guy is probably lazy, and if his story never arrives, you've got a shot.  That's it really: once you have the ability to finish a story, don't stop there - do the cover letter; get your SASE together; put that sucker in the mail.  I got the advice a long time ago you see: email was still science fiction.

GG: That is great Kevin. Thank you! In a recent interview on Bitten by Books, we asked the authors to ask questions of the other authors.  Can you share your two favorite answers?

Kevin Cockle: These are my two favorites.

How Hard Was It To Work on a Sherlock Holmes Story?

Hard.  There were unusual obstacles on this one.  First - the Gaslight series were "closed" submissions so far as I knew, and I had no invite to the dance.  Second - I like the idea of Holmes, and I'm a fan, but I don't have detailed, particular knowledge of the original texts, or most of the subsequent products...and Holmes has arguably the most particular and precise fan-base in all of Christendom.  But I solved the first problem when I obtained Charles' card at a book signing and eventually realized his email was on the back, and I solved the second problem with wikipedia.  I constructed a post-modern premise that would undermine all previously-known information about Holmes so that my glaring ignorance of the topic could be construed a strength, and pushed the anthology's thematic concept about as far as I could, in hopes the extremity would give the editors a nice "change-up" story.  Crashed the party; followed the age old advice to always send everything I finish; rest is history.

What Attracts You to Writing Holmes? 

Prestige, honestly.  It's like getting your hands on Bond, or Spiderman or something.  Even people who don't read, know Sherlock Holmes, and for them, all you have to do is mention that you have a Sherlock Holmes story out there, and they figure you must be somebody.  But aside from the ol' "what's in it for me' - I'd say the technical challenge was interesting.  I wasn't overly confident I would sell to this anthology, so when the story was accepted, I was genuinely thrilled.

==========================================================
KEVIN COCKLE lives in Calgary, Alberta and often incor­porates Calgary-style boom-town themes in his work.  A frequent contributor to On Spec magazine, Kevin has dabbled in screen writing, sports journalism and technical writing to fill out what would otherwise be a purely finance-centric resume.

A Fortnight on Baker Street - Day Three, Meet Paul Kane

GG: Hi Paul. Welcome to a Fortnight on Baker Street.

Paul Kane: Thank you!

GG: Can you tell our readers where you living?

Paul Kane: We are in Derbyshire, UK.

GG: What is the name of your story in Gaslight Arcanum?

Paul Kane: ‘The Greatest Mystery’.

GG: Without providing a spoiler, please give us a summary of your story?

Paul Kane: In 'The Greatest Mystery', a young woman comes to Holmes and Watson for help when her cousin is accused of a murder he says he didn’t commit – though all the evidence points to him; he was even found with the murder weapon in his hand. After encountering more of these mysterious killings, where the person who committed them swears they didn’t – Holmes finds himself struggling to solve the crimes. Until, finally, he realizes exactly who he is facing: his greatest ever enemy! 

GG: What do you like the most about this anthology?

Paul Kane: I love the mixture of genre elements with the traditional Holmes type of tales. I’ve always loved the darker side of Holmes’ universe.

GG: In a recent interview with Bitten by Books, the authors from Gaslight Arcanum provided questions for the other authors to answer. Can you please share your favorite questions and your answers with us?

Paul Kane: My favorites were from Joan Spicci Saberhagen and Tom English.

Joan Spicci Saberhagen: What aspect of the original Holmes’ character do you find most fascinating?

Paul Kane: The logical deduction, I think. The way Holmes can figure things out and you say ‘how the hell did he work that out?’, then when he explains it all you go, ‘ah, now I get it’. It’s a bit like a magic act being explained.

Tom English: Is there a passage or line(s) of dialogue in your story of which you’re particularly fond?

Paul Kane: In mine, it’s probably when Holmes turns to Watson and says seriously: ‘Tomorrow evening I would ask that you kill me.’ It comes totally out of left field and should have the reader going: what?

GG: What is the most "uncanny" thing that has happened to you personally? Please take the opportunity to tell the strangest tale you want.

Paul Kane: Probably my strangest experience was the time I was involved in a book launch for an anthology at Craig-y-Nos Castle in Wales, which also plays host to all kinds of ghost hunts and psychic evenings. Marie was also in the anthology, but this was back when we were just friends – so she was staying in the castle itself, and I was out in the isolated old nurses’ quarters which were a bit like student rooms off from the main part of the castle. I was in there completely alone, and yet all night I could hear footsteps outside my door – and when I’d check there would be nobody there. All kinds of other weird stuff happened that weekend, like photos taken that showed spears of light going through people – some of the experts there reckoned it was ghosts trying to enter residents. Marie also told me later that she thought someone was sitting on the bed beside her when she was in her room, but there was no-one there – and she’d come back into the room and all the drawers were open. Stuff like that. The perfect location for the launch of a horror book, and we lapped it up! We even went back there to launch my novella Signs of Life a couple of years later.

GG: Excellent story, thanks for sharing it with us! My final question for you is, what is the best piece of writing advice that you have either received, or given?

Paul Kane: The best piece of writing advice given to me in my early days was by fellow GA contributor Simon Clark, who – when my first deal with a publisher for a collection fell through – told me: keep on taking little steps, chipping away. Because then, when you look back, you’ll be able to see how far all those steps have actually taken you. He was absolutely right; you have to be prepared for the long game in writing, and for disappointments. But the successes, when they come, more than make up for this. The best advice I’ve given myself, and continue to give, is the rule of the three P’s in writing: patience, persistence and perspiration. Basically work hard, bide your time, and never, ever give up.

GG: Thanks Paul for being with us today!
===========================================
PAUL KANE is the award-winning author of the novels The Gemini Factor and Of Darkness and Light, plus the post-apocalyp­tic Robin Hood trilogy Arrowhead, Broken Arrow and Arrowland. His non-fiction books are The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark, and he is the co-editor of anthologies like Hellbound Hearts and Terror Tales. His work has been optioned for film and in 2008 his story ‘Dead Time’ was turned into an episode of the NBC/LionsGate TV series Fear Itself, adapted by Steve (30 Days of Night) Niles, directed by Darren (SAW II-IV) Lynn Bousman. Paul also scripted a film version of his story ‘The Opportunity’, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

A Fortnight on Baker Street - Day Two, "The Artists"

Gaslight Arcanum authors worked together with Oscar award winner Dave Elsey (cover art) and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola (frontispiece artwork), and Luke  to create the best Gaslight Sherlockian Anthology yet!

About the Cover Artist:

Dave Elsey has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to create memorable characters using make up: from the fantastical creatures in the television series Farscape to his planet-wrangling skills in The Little Shop of Horrors. Dave is the cover artist for the Australian comic book The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes, and he recently won an Oscar, along with Rick Baker for his special FX work for the movie The Wolfman.

To see him winning his Oscar click here. (it will open in a new window for you...)

About the Interior Artists:

Mike Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer, famous for creating the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has also worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.

In looking on You Tube, I ran across this great footage of Mike at a Boston Comic Con...this is just one out of the eight created, but it will get you started if you are interested...



Luke Eidenschink is a 2009 winner of the International Illustrators of the Future Award. His work includes book and magazine illustration, custom design, fine art, and most recently graphic novel illustration.

Here is Luke's interview after winning his award.



Congratulations to all of the artists who have helped put together "Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes."

Welcome to Day One of "A Fortnight on Baker Street".

Welcome to Day One of "A Fortnight on Baker Street", our multi-day launch event of the newest anthology in the Gaslight series, "Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes" edited by J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec.

Between November 30th and December 13 we will feature interviews, reviews and features about the book, its authors, editors and artists.

To start the party, we are currently at www.bittenbybooks.com, where many of the authors are answering questions, and sharing stories.  As well, one lucky reader will be receiving a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate, just for participating.

So, we welcome you to grab your virtual Guinness, and set yourself down for a wonderful read of the conversations between the authors, editors and readers, as we celebrate the launch of "Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes."