First draft of my next book Sherlock Holmes and the Hecate File finished. Now comes the editing and reader feedback. But it was nice to complete the final chapter. This novel is a homage to the black and white Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films. It’s set in 1938 and involves; plots against the British…
Articles
Halloween Gothic Time of Year
As the evenings draw in and the mist creeps closer to the windows, I’ve been working on something special for October… If The Hound of the Baskervilles ever made you glance twice at a foggy path or listen a little harder to the wind across the moor, you might enjoy what’s coming. Next week, I’ll…
On My Desk At The Moment
I thought I’d share a little about the project currently on my desk. Some of you know this one started life as a Great Hiatus story with Fenians as the villains — until I realised the timeline just didn’t quite fit. So I’ve gone back to the drawing board. The new version is something of…
New Facebook Group Launched
Join the Echoes from 221B Reader Group! Calling all Sherlock Holmes fans and mystery lovers! I’ve created a special private group where we can: • Chat about Sherlock Holmes stories • Explore MX Publishing books • Peek behind the scenes at my works-in-progress • Share thoughts, theories, and maybe even take part in review invitations!…
Was Holmes always an anthology detective?
Why Sherlock Feels Most at Home in Shorter Forms When most people think of Sherlock Holmes, they think of novels like The Hound of the Baskervilles. But the truth is, Holmes was never really a novelist’s detective. His natural home was always the short story, and by extension, the anthology. Holmes and The Strand Arthur…
Reflections on the Editing Process
And The Great Hiatus Problem The first time you hand over a manuscript for someone else to judge, you brace yourself. You tell yourself it’s just feedback, it’s part of the process, it’s how the book gets better. And then the comments arrive. Recently, I submitted my first full-length Sherlock Holmes pastiche for consideration. I’ve…
Why I Began With The Great Hiatus
I began with a simple question: “Why has no one written significant pastiches about the period known as the Great Hiatus in Sherlockian canon?” And I couldn’t find a suitable answer. When Conan Doyle sent Holmes over the Reichenbach Falls in 1891, the world thought him dead. Three years later, in The Adventure of the…
What would Dr. Watson think?
Dr. John H. Watson, late of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers, knew hunger. Not in the genteel way of a missed luncheon, but in the pit-of-the-stomach, battlefield-hospital sense. In Afghanistan he would have seen soldiers weakened by poor rations, and in London, patients in the East End whose ailments were really just the visible scars of…
Footsteps on the Moor
Now helping to feed those in need As Sherlock Holmes might say there’s no such thing as coincidence, but I rather like the timing of this. Footsteps on the Moor is now available directly from my publisher here and every copy bought through their website provides a meal via the World Food Programme’s ShareTheMeal initiative….
Kickin Tunes Radio Interview
Well yesterday I had my first ever live radio interview about a piece of work I have produced. It was with a friend of mine Stray Cat who is a DJ on Kickin FM Tunes 96.9 which is part of ALLFM community radio station in Manchester, UK. They’ve won a Gold Award for community broadcasting…