Mortality, Writer's Block, and Other Ramblings

...Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted. I am so sorry. You have my BFF & beta-reader to thank for a post right now...

The first draft of Mortality is almost finished. I am so glad. It's been over a year, now, since I started writing it, and now I'm so close and yet so far. So close: just one chapter and an epilogue to go. So far: it took me a month to get through the previous chapter, which wasn't even average length. Not to mention the fact that I've got missing scenes to write in and the entire thing to edit.

I'll be really glad when I can move on to The Road to Reichenbach. Mortality has been one long angst/torture-fest for Holmes & Co, and that was initially fun to write... initially. A few months ago, however, I reached the point where I was tired of writing all this angst and depressing stuff, and I was more than ready to move on. Months ago. Last month (or possibly May, I can't recall for sure), I wrote a scene in which Holmes suffered a panic attack. I was assured by my ever-encouraging reviewers that the scene was good, but it was the first time I've ever hated a scene while I was writing it. I didn't want to put Holmes through that panic attack, but I had to. It wouldn't have been a realistic recovery without a few bleak moments like that, and I knew that. But I really didn't like it.

Still... even when I can't write, I do other things to promote Deliver Us from Evil. It now has its own set of TV Tropes pages: the Main Page, a Character Sheet, a Quotes Page, a YMMV page which details some reviewer reactions (that's an entertaining page to work on), and Awesome, Funny, Heartwarming, Nightmare Fuel, and Tear Jerker entries. Please, do check it out!

On my deviantART account, I actually have several Sherlockian gallery folders: one for AMM illustrations, one for general Sherlock Holmes, one for Granada Sherlock Holmes (including a second-place contest entry!), one for A Study in Regret (for which I really enjoy doing fanart), and one for Deliver Us from Evil, which includes cover-art for Mortality, as well as a couple of blurbs. (I really ought to do more fanart for myself.)

On a rather unrelated note, I can't wait for NaNo... I'm going to be writing my "potential novel" Greater Love (see my Sherlockian novel list for details). No matter what else I'm doing at the time - college or editing or Doctor Who/canon!Holmes crossovers or whatever - I am definitely writing that novel.

Did I say Doctor Who? I did, didn't I? Did I mention that my cousin finally pulled me into it? 'Course, if you do keep track of me on FF.N, you probably already knew that. But no Wholock for me, thanks - I crave Wholmes. Hence my very-much-AU planned crossover, Fantastic, My Dear Holmes, starring the Ninth Doctor, Beth Lestrade, Rose Tyler, and Sherlock Holmes. (And probably John Watson and clone!Moriarty, as well.) Be prepared for timey-wimeyness, fluff, unashamed romance, hurt/comfort... and more fluff!

And check back here next week! I've made a resolution to break my writer's block and get myself back onto the blogging scene, so I am going to do a post once a week, every Wednesday. Next time, it'll be about Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, and Sherlock. Stay tuned!

Skyfire Unleashed... on deviantART!

Yes, it's true! http://aleineskyfire.deviantart.com/ I'm starting to upload digitally-colored versions of the illustrations for AMM. I think fans will be pleased with the results. Please, check me out!

A New Review on AMM

Received a lovely review a couple of weeks ago on AMM. This is only the second-ever genuine review I've gotten on the e-book, so, as you can imagine, I was very excited.

(Also, it's nice to know that some people do pay attention to the illustrations - even people who aren't reading the book!)

Return from the Hiatus

No, not the Hiatus—my hiatus. But I had a very good reason for that hiatus (as did Holmes, IMHO). Namely, online college (for myself, that is—not Holmes).

But I bear good tidings of great joy for myself and for all my readers!

I AM FINISHED WITH MY ONLINE COURSE!

Finito. Kaput. End of the road.

And just beginning with my Sherlockian road! In fact, my mentor asked point-blank if I had any fiction ideas that did not involve Sherlock Holmes! You can guess what my answer was.

Nope. Mr. Holmes, I'm here to stay.

So! What am I going to be doing now? Read on!

I. UPCOMING FANFICS 

(Warning: Here Be Crossovers!)

1. The Innocence of a Child (Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century)
Beth Lestrade finds herself the guardian of two boys when Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty are regressed in age to learn certain lessons about life in order to tackle the future.

2. Stepping Through the Wardrobe (canon/The Chronicles of Narnia)
When nine-year-old Sherlock enters a snowy wood via a wardrobe, he learns about the importance of family, love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

3. Enemies Within (SH22/Buzz Lightyear of Star Command crossover)
Professor Moriarty teams up with the Evil Emperor Zurg in the 31st century, and Star Command will have to call upon Sherlock Holmes to defeat the Napoleon of Crime.

4. Case Apocalypse: Left Behind (BBC Sherlock/Left Behind)
Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes come to terms with the vanishing of millions worldwide, including their mother, as they deal with the world’s rising star, Nicolae Carpathia.

II. FICTION TO BE PUBLISHED

1. At the Mercy of the Mind: A Journey into the Depths of Sherlock Holmes
I am going to polish AMM up and edit some bits that do not fit with more recent material, and then see if MX Publishing will accept the thing.

2. Deliver Us from Evil, Book I: Mortality
The fourteenth chapter of Mortality was uploaded to FF.N on New Year's Day. It's coming along a bit slowly, but it's coming. I hope to have the manuscript ready to submit by summer. Unfortunately, I can't promise any sooner.

3. Have Yourself a Chaotic Little Christmas
Those of you keeping track of the Sherlockian part of FF.N probably saw the advent calendar challenge in December. That was hilarious fun, and I plan to edit my own Christmas collection in hopes of publishing it in time for next Christmas. This anthology includes vampires (not what you think, trust me), Jack the Ripper, Moriarty, Mary getting the better of Holmes, picnics in graveyards, WWI, the Irregulars, Lestrade, Irene Norton, Kitty Winter, and whole lot of delicious crack!

4. Deliver Us from Evil, Book II: The Road to Reichenbach
Yes, yes, oh, yes. Once I’m in the editing stage for Mortality, I’m hitting the Road (lame pun absolutely intended). I even have a fairly substantial chapter outline for Road, and it’s looking very exciting, indeed!

5. Greater Love: A Tale of Redemption
Those who have read the AMM ebook might recall an AU short in which a certain young gentleman was a criminal genius rather than a genius detective. Well, for one of my lessons, I had to do a synopsis for a future novel, so I did one for that concept. The results were utterly intoxicating. Upon reading said synopsis, my beloved beta-reader replied, “You have to write this novel now so I can read it.” So I’ll be writing it whilst working on Road.
That’s all I’ll say for now. This will be one novel I won’t spoil for you!

III. THIS BLOG

As always, I’ll be providing you with info on my stories, as well as essays/rants/“scholarly” posts such as “Writing Child!Sherlock” and “Else our universe is ruled by chance.” PLUS, I’ve got a pile-up-a-mile of Sherlockian movies and novels to review, including Without a Clue and The Return of the Hound, respectively.
AND what I’d really like to do is interview various Sherlockian authors. The problem at this point? My wallet, as always. (Big problem when you’re a flailing newcomer to that career that every professional says, “Don’t make your day job.”) By golly, I’ll overcome that obstacle somehow!

So, there you have it! My new year’s resolutions (a bit late, I know) in a nutshell. Now, off I go to watch some more Star Trek… Oh, didn’t I tell you? I became a Trekkie during my hiatus. Blame KCS’s However Improbable and The Next Generation’s “Elementary, Dear Data” (which, btw, is going to get a review in the future). Throw in a dash of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and I’m hopelessly hooked.

No, this will not take my focus away from 221B Baker Street! Eesh , don’t panic!

Laterz!

Deliver Us from Evil... Underway!

Yes, the first book of Deliver Us from Evil has actually appeared on FanFiction.Net!  Well, to be precise, the first book has been online since the 1^st of August.  Somehow, I never got around to making an announcement ‘til now—my blushes, Watson.

So!  This first installment is titled Mortality.  Rating is T.  Genres are Crime/Friendship (there are several genres into which the story could fit, I think, but these two seemed to be the best).  The main characters are listed as Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade.

Hold the ball!  Lestrade?  Why is Lestrade one of the two stars?  It’s not a pre-Watson story!

Well, dear reader, we’ll get to that in a minute.

The summary is as follows:

Late 1890: a young gentleman hires Sherlock Holmes to investigate his step-uncle, Culverton Smith. As Holmes digs deeper, he finds links to a powerful old enemy—and must come face to face with his own mortality. The first part in a series.

However, I’m thinking of changing that summary in order to draw more interest—the first nine installments have garnered only 22 reviews.  That, m’dears, is the worst review ration I’ve received in a long time—compounded by the fact that I’m getting about 100 hits per chapter.  A big shout-out to MadameGiry25 for her faithful and constructive reviews—and to VHunter07 and RachelG, as well, for their enthusiastic encouragement in their reviews!

Now, every story should be able to be condensed into one sentence—this is called a storyline, and it’s vital to getting a novel from the laptop screen to the bookstore shelves.  Here’s the current storyline (though I’m also going to rework this):

Late 1890: A murder investigation tangles Sherlock Holmes and those around him in a conflict that has been years in the making with a powerful enemy.

So how about this for the FF.N summary:

In November 1890, a murder investigation sparks off a chain of events that will end at a Swiss waterfall. Scotland Yard and Watson struggle to stop Moriarty’s most devastating plan: the destruction of Sherlock Holmes. First in a series.

Sound good?  Now, how about this for the storyline:

Scotland Yard and Dr. John Watson struggle to prevent the goal of London’s greatest crime lord: the destruction of Sherlock Holmes.

So, let’s return to the little (forgive the irresistible pun) matter of Lestrade as one of the stars, and why he’s listed as one of the two main characters on FF.N.  Frankly, it’s all due to his “bulldog tenacity,” as Holmes so aptly puts it.  Lestrade committed himself early on in the story and has refused to stay off the stage since—he still doesn’t mind being the follower, but he’s pretty keen about seeing this mess through to the end.

The same can be said of Davy Wiggins, Holmes’s grown-up leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, but this young man is more than just tenacious—he’s positively fierce in his loyalty.

So where does Watson fit into all this?  I was asking myself that question for months, because he most definitely was not getting enough screen-time.  That wasn’t fair—after all, we wouldn’t have the Canon if not for Watson!  Of course, he’s had four scenes thus far in the FF.N version, but four scenes in eight chapters… yeah, a bit not good.  But with the way the story was shaping up, he didn’t seem to be absolutely necessary oftentimes, which was appalling.

Then inspiration struck.  Don’t ask me how exactly—even though it was only this past weekend, I’m no longer sure of how that lightbulb turned on in my brain.  It was the solution to both my dilemmas: that of less show than tell and less Watson.  Originally, about three weeks were glossed over.  No longer!  The train has left Paddington Station, and this author has just barely gotten aboard in time!

But I’m excited, and this turn of events should certainly excite you, dear reader!  One word: undercover.  Let’s just say that… we know Watson will go to the ends of the earth to find Holmes if he’s missing, right?

Last but not least, I had originally planned to get Mortality finished by Christmas and out on Kindle sometime this coming winter.  I say originally because my plans have changed since then, and my audience might have to wait a few months (or even a year!) longer than originally planned.  That’s because I may well try to get Deliver Us from Evil to a publisher.  AMM hasn’t made any sales this month, and sales in August were few and far between—i.e. self-publishing is not yet a viable means of making a living for myself.  (Kindle is currently my sole source of income.)  So I’m going to get Mortality finished and spit-polished and go through the torture of writing a query letter & proposal, etc. and see if I can sell an agent and/or acquisitions editor on the book.  If you know or know of any agents or publishers who would be interested in a Sherlockian pastiche, please let me know!

Weeell, that’s all for now, folks!  Please keep track of Mortality, and please let me know what you think of it!  A little encouragement would not be amiss.

MORT status: 13 out of 20+ complete.

Eyes and Brains, My Dear Sherlockians

He’s brilliant.  He’s fast.  He’s strong.  He’s… blond?

A little hard to believe, but Sherlock Holmes is blond in the 22^nd century.  Blond and blue-eyed—very Anglo-Saxon, and finally living up to his name: fair-haired.

He hasn’t lost any of his sardonic wit, but, on the other hand, he’s also mellowed some.  Not that this is a bad thing: this is simply Sherlock Holmes having lived a full life (some 70 years at least), died, and then returned to life.  Though he has the body of a 25-year-old, he has more of the maturity of an older man.

His supervising officer is the direct descendant of his “favorite” Yarder—folks, meet Inspector Beth Lestrade.  His comrade-in-investigation is New Scotland Yard compudroid Watson, a robot who has scanned the real Watson’s journals and taken on an imitation of the Good Doctor’s personality.  His home is once again 221B Baker Street, restored to living quarters after museum attendance fizzled out.  His eyes and ears in the Underworld are teenager Wiggins and tweens Deidre and paraplegic Tennyson.

And once again, his enemy is none other than James Moriarty.

However, unlike the cellular rejuvenation of Holmes, Moriarty is not the real McCoy returned to life, but a clone with all the original’s memories.  To borrow Holmes’s own words, “isn’t technology wonderful.”  This clone is younger, stronger, theatrical, and rather emotionally volatile, prone to anger.  Nevertheless, Moriarty is once again working his way up to the top of the criminal world, and he’s not content with just that, either.  Nope, this Moriarty is setting his sights on global domination, a goal he could well have achieved several times over by now did not Sherlock Holmes, compudroid!Watson, and Beth Lestrade stand in his way.

Moriarty’s one main assistant is Martin Fenwick, a rogue French geneticist.  The world has Fenwick to thank for retrieving the original James Moriarty’s DNA and RNA from the ice cave below Reichenbach where Holmes buried the Professor.  From there, Fenwick grew himself a criminal mastermind with the intention of using the clone as his servant.  But, as Lestrade deduced, “slave turned on master,” and Moriarty took control.

Fenwick is perhaps of average height but grossly deformed, looking more alien than human with his grey skin, distorted face, and demented eyes.  Lestrade makes regular cracks at the man, calling him “beautiful” and Moriarty’s “lab rat”—Fenwick could almost pass as a caricature of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.

Beth Lestrade herself is in her mid-twenties at the oldest, quite possibly New Scotland Yard’s youngest Inspector.  She’s notorious for risk-taking and reckless driving, and she’s more than willing to stand up for herself, be it to her boss, Chief Inspector Greyson, Holmes, or Moriarty himself.  Lestrade (lehstrahd) is either American or Canadian, judging by her accent, and she stands nearly as tall as Holmes.  She’s brunette and pretty, but don’t let her looks fool you: the woman is one zedding good fighter.  She can take on three criminals with lightsabers all at once and have them on the ground in handcuffs in under two minutes—impressive, yes?  She gets easily irritated—more than ever, with Holmes and the Irregulars around—but she has a heart of gold underneath.

It was Lestrade, a Sherlockian, who recognized Moriarty and made the decision to have Sherlock Holmes’s honey-entombed body rejuvenated.  And since she took the responsibility to resurrect the Great Detective, she got stuck with the responsibility to keep tabs on him.  Fortunately, she seems to hold her own pretty well with the not-so-very-misogynistic Holmes.

Lestrade’s compudroid was meant to keep an eye on the volatile Yardie; he made sure she stuck to the rules, took her every word very literally, and reported to Greyson regarding Beth.  Despite her frustration with these traits, she named the robot “Watson,” and, upon introducing him to Holmes, ordered the droid to scan the original Watson’s journals.  After doing so, the compudroid took it upon himself to act as if he were the real Watson—he appears even to consider himself as such, though there are times when he very clearly identifies himself as a machine.

Holmes initially shunned the compudroid’s new persona but very nearly lost it when he thought Watson destroyed by the Thames.  The detective then embraced the droid with the kind of fervor only Sherlock Holmes can have when he attaches himself to something, and went so far as to insist that Watson lived with him in 221B.  Watson took on an elasto-mask that was meant to be a replica of John H. Watson’s head, bowler hat and monocle (???) included.  Watson now accompanies Holmes on all his cases and has proven himself an invaluable assistant.  Though quite tough in a fight, the droid is gentle and very good-natured, not really an exact replica of the canonical Watson but a fair imitation.

Sherlock Holmes in the 22^nd Century may be a cartoon, but don’t let that put you off.  Though the outdoor animation is a jarring 3D (think late ‘90s computer game graphics) compared to the indoor 2D and the dialogue is sometimes not quite… there… the show is quite faithful to the spirit of the Canon.

Holmes may have to fend enemies off physically more often, but the Great Detective has lost none of his stellar ability to observe and deduce.  As he says so often in the show, “eyes and brains.”  A robot may ironically be the heart of the group, but Holmes lets others see a fair bit of his own “great heart.”  Holmes and a new Inspector Lestrade argue as much as ever but have a strong friendship beneath.  Moriarty may be somewhat less stable, but he’s as evil and as cunning as ever.  And one thing hasn’t changed: the world still needs Sherlock Holmes.

Most of the episodes take stories from the Canon and update them to the 22^nd century, sometimes retaining only the bare bones of the original story in order to give the audience something fresh (e.g. “The Sussex Vampire Lot”).  But not all episodes are Canon cop-offs: some are completely original stories, such as the premiere and its sequel.

And if you’re worried about any romantic interaction between Sherlock Holmes and Beth Lestrade, you needn’t be.  Nope, they don’t kiss… though there are quite a few fans of the show that wish they would.  The creators seem to have left the relationship open-ended: friendship or potential future romance.  Some fans prefer the former, some the latter.  If you’re willing to be convinced as to the potential, however, you need look no further than this page http://suburbanbanshee.net/holmes/bethsher.html

, which lays out a compelling case using Holmes’s own methods of observation and deduction.

All in all, a terrifically fun show for kids and adult Sherlockians alike!  Holmes’s stellar characterization alone makes it worth seeing, and watching him react to 22^nd century changes and interact with both friend and foe (Moriarty, especially) is fantastic.

I’ve only just recently started to watch the show, and I’ve yet to make it all the way through.  But, of course, the muse has already been fired up—you can find two SH22 fics on my profile thus far!  In fact, if you’re an AMM fan, I’ll go so far as to recommend my SH22 stories to you—they use AMM material, including material that you can’t find anywhere else except for in the book itself.

But whether or not you check out said fics, do check out the show itself!  It might take some time to get used to it, but give it a chance—it just might grow on you.

Goodbye! So soon! And isn't it a shame~

What can I say?  I've always liked that song.  Now, this is not a permanent goodbye, all right?


But I will be on partial hiatus starting today, with sporadic Internet access. Updates will be irregular and few and far between. This state of affairs will continue until September or, at the latest, October. Terribly sorry, m’dears, but that’s life for you.

Now, meantime, you could make me an extremely happy woman by buying AMM, yes?  *puppy eyes*  Please?


Quick update for Deliver Us from Evil: a prologue and 6 chapters have been drafted for the first book of the series, with over 18,000 words.  Target release date is Winter 2012.  Stay tuned!

Merged: Comparing Time-Travel Traits

This is not a post glorying about how Merged will be better than any other girl-travels-back-in-time story out there.  It’s simply making some points about how it’s different from other such stories (and why, therefore, you should read it).

1. The Heroine Is a Detective.

Now that’s a pretty big deal.  I’ve only ever seen one other story in which that was the case, and… the plot wasn’t really that similar to mine, which is good.  =)  More specifically, Kathleen Stewart is an independent investigative consultant, a.k.a. private consulting detective.  She is not an official part of law-enforcement, but neither does she choose to identify herself as a P.I.

2. The Novel Uses a Canonical Story.

You don’t see too much of that, though nomdeplume30’s awesome A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Set did actually send Jeremy Brett and David Burke to the events of “The Dancing Men.”  Anyway, Merged uses “The Final Problem” in a very important way—in fact, the modern-day characters go back about a year before the events of FINA.

3. The Method of Time-Travel Is a Machine, And the Government Is Involved.

A crucial plot-point.  Some time-travel stories basically use supernatural means to cross time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But the reason we have an adventure in the first place is because the CIA’s secret superweapon, a time-machine, is stolen by the (fictional) mastermind criminal of our day.

4. The Modern Big Bad Seeks Out Moriarty.

Yesss.  Indeed.

5. Both the Modern Heroine And the Modern Villain Are Sherlockians.

Sometimes the girl is a Sherlockian; sometimes she isn’t (though that doesn’t seem to be often).  But what you’ve never seen before is a modern bad-guy who’s actually a fan of Sherlock Holmes (no, Sherlock!Moriarty doesn’t count—different circumstances).

6. Sherlock Holmes Is the Heroine’s Hero.

Hero, role-model, and longtime fangirl crush—considering that Kathleen grew up with Jeremy Brett as her Holmes, you can’t blame her for that last bit.  The reason she’s a detective in the first place is because of Sherlock.  And despite her determination to make her hero see that she’s fully as capable as he is, she’s also not afraid to let him and Watson know that she’s a hardcore fangirl.

7. The Heroine Has Unique Characteristics.

+A: Heroines in these stories tend to be short, 5’4” or shorter.  Holmes is at least 6’ (commonly written as being taller).  Now, there’s always Han Solo and Princess Leia (6’1” & 5’3”) and Anakin and Padmé Skywalker (6’1” & 5’4”), and shorter females tend to be feistier than their taller counterparts.  But Kathleen Stewart is very Scotch-Irish and tall at 5’10”, which comes to her advantage in her line of work.  There’s less than half a foot in height between her and Sherlock.

+B: Heroines are either beautiful or just plain-looking.  Kathleen is neither—simply nicely attractive (although she can look gorgeous if she really dolls herself up).

+C: Heroines are often blue or green or hazel-eyed—anything but the very common brown.  Kathleen has brown eyes courtesy of her Spanish-Jewish mom, and the color works well.

+D: Time-travel heroines typically don’t have the same IQ as the Great Detective.  Kathleen does.  She’s as good as he is at what they do.  And yet, their personalities remain different…

+E: Heroines don’t usually have very much family and/or friends holding them back from staying in late Victorian London.  Kathleen, on the other hand, has parents she adores, eight brothers and sisters (the youngest of which is a full twenty years her junior), a team in the New York Police Department (NYC) with whom she loves to work, and an overall well-developed life that would be difficult to give up.  The two things she does not have are a husband and children of her own.

+F: Heroines tend to be in their early or mid-20s.  Kathleen is 32, the same age as Sherlock when they meet.

8. The Story Takes Place When Watson Is Married to Mary.

As far as I know, this has never been done before.  The heroine either arrives before Watson’s marriage or after the Great Hiatus.  (And there’s always a third bedroom created at 221B that was never mentioned in the Canon, since it’s now three people sharing rooms.  But in this story, since Watson is married and moved out, Kathleen takes his old bedroom.)

9. The Girl Could Hold Her Own Against Holmes in a One-on-One.

This is not Mary Sue-ism.  This is just being realistic.  Kathleen is a private detective who often gets herself deep in trouble.  Thus, she’s made sure she’s gotten the best combat training a civilian can have.  You’d better believe a person with that kind of training could take on the Great Detective.

10. The Girl’s Got a Gun.

Though she’s determined not to use it often in order to conserve on expensive ammo that can’t be replaced in 1890, Kathleen is a dead shot with her customary Glock 10mm (which is a very powerful handgun).  And she is.  Not.  Afraid.  To Use.  It.  Her view on killing and murder differs from the views of a lot of people today, and she has no moral compunction about killing a person to defend herself or others.

11. More Than Just Holmes & Watson Know.

Mary Watson, Inspector Lestrade (and possibly Gregson and maybe Hopkins), Wiggins, and maybe Mrs. Hudson all know the origin of the individualistic American woman living in 221B.  And, of course, Moriarty finds out.

12. “Just Like a Married Couple.”

Oh snap, I just lost half of you, right?  Well, if you’re willing to keep reading, yes, it’s Sherlock/OC—which, I’m well aware, isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.  But I hope to bring something fresh and new to the concept, partially based on the characters’ ages.  Sherlock is 32, old and mature enough to have learned some lessons about a few of the ideas he formed as a young man, and—contrary to popular belief—he is not a misogynist.  He simply doesn’t understand what makes women tick, and he doesn’t like it.  Kathleen, however, has an intelligence equaling his own, character traits not unlike Watson’s, and an overall mature but fun personality that enjoys sharp, witty banter.  He can be at ease around Kathleen, because she lets him be at ease.

Those are the twelve major points I can think of at the moment.  Now that I’m starting to actually post up experimental vignettes for Merged, you’ll probably be seeing more about it in the future.  (Although the very next post may well be about Deliver Us from Evil.)

And just to remind my readers… At the Mercy of the Mind is now available for purchase, and it's begging to be bought!  At least go check out the page!

AMM IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!

This is real, peeps.  This is really IT.

http://www.amazon.com/At-Mercy-Mind-Sherlock-ebook/dp/B00570S712/ref=sr_1_16?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308653101&sr=1-16 

(Price: 5.99 in USD; 4.26 in GBP.)

I AM SO VERY EXCITED!!!  I've even made my very first sale already!

Now, for certain reasons, my hope is that I can make 20 sales by the end of the month (nine days from now).  Anybody willing to help out?  =)  Pretty please?

A big thanks to my wonderful, wonderful editor Christine for putting up with me, doing such a fantastic job, and supporting me all the way.  Thanks also to all my lovely reviewers!  (If you want to see the rest of my gratitude, though, you'll have to buy the book. ^_^)

Please buy it, do!  You'll love it - I know it.

Upward and Onward!

AMM: Agonizingly Close!

The business aspects are turning out to be so much simpler than I’d originally thought!  Hallelujah!

Oh, wait.  You guys don’t even know yet.

THE BOOK IS FINISHED.

Finished.

This is not a drill.  This is the Real Thing.

All that remains is to upload it to the eBook manager, then upload it from there to Amazon.  It is done.  All the illustrations, all the edits… complete.

I am practically bouncing off the walls.

It is not only possible, but likely, that the book will be available for purchase next week.  When it is, I’ll post up an announcement here right away!

So!  Just to whet your appetite for this momentous occasion, here are some of the things you can expect from the titles that go beyond number 50:

—More tales involving Cécile Holmes.

—More WWI stories, including a post-war reunion.

—A scene from John and Mary Watsons’ wedding day.

—The introduction of two childhood friends for Sherlock.

—A short piece from Moriarty’s POV.

—Tie-ins to “The Empty House.”

—The continuation of the “Holmes-captured” story-arc.

—Tie-ins to A Study in Scarlet…

…and so much more!

AMM and yet ANOTHER Novel Concept

I’m afraid so.  My muse is an odd, capricious creature, indeed—as I am partly Irish, I suspect some Leprechaun blood runs in her veins.  But first, let’s talk AMM.

At the Mercy of the Mind now possesses a subtitle (which is a surprise I’m saving for the release) and some twenty-odd illustrations, including several pictures of a young Master Sherlock E. Holmes.  ^_^  My beta has been cutting a good clip through the stories; the book is 80% edited.  (Actually, as of last night, it’s 90% edited on my beta’s side—and still 80% on my side. *blushes*)  The foreword and acknowledgments are also typed up!

Can we see the book by the end of the month?  It’s entirely possible!

Now, as to the novel concept.  No working title at this time, just an idea brought about by a couple of supernatural fanfics I’ve read recently: The Light of Pure Reason (one of the best Holmes-in-the-21^st-century fics ever!) and Westron Wynde’s duology, The Case of the Dead Detective and The Haunting of Dr. Watson.  All three star Sherlock Holmes as a ghost (the poor dear!).  Of course, my muse would be inspired by this.

The idea?  Holmes is not a ghost, per se.  Rather, he is forced into limbo because a certain mathematical genius tampers with time to ensure that Sherlock Holmes was never born.  However, rather than Holmes’s existence ending altogether, the detective survives in spirit-form, unable to retain his body in a world that no longer knows him.  The workings of time and divine purpose cannot be altered so casually, however; so it is up to Holmes to restore the time-space continuum and return to his physical form.

His helpers?  The only three people in the world who still remember him and don’t understand what’s wrong either with the world or themselves: John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, and Geoffrey Lestrade.

And Sherlock Holmes will find that his struggles are not against earthly powers alone…

Sound good to you?  Personally, the idea intrigues me.  However, Deliver Us From Evil and Merged still take priority.

I promise it won’t be so long ‘til my next post this time, and I’m sorry I’ve been silent for so long!

AMM PROMPTS COMPLETE!!!

I HAVE COMPLETED THE PROMPTS TABLE.  ALL 100 STORIES ARE WRITTEN!!!

Now to start the editing (and may it be swift!).  Upward and Onward!


...And a Happy and Blessed Easter to you all!

AMM and Deliver Us From Evil

I’m not even quite sure what sparked the idea for Deliver Us From Evil.  I was fixing up my hard drive copies of Aragonite's Sword for Defense series to transfer to my PDA (reading fanfic in bed all snuggled up under the covers is just about as decadent as it gets, peeps), and the idea was born sometime during that.  I’ve fallen in love with the FINA/EMPT/Moriarty story arch—what could be more natural than to create an epic around it?

So I opened a new MS Word document and started out the list that became last Friday’s blog post.  In fact, I’m rather iffy about that list; it might turn out to be 6 books rather than 5, with a book between To Take Up the Pen and When Cometh the Dawn—just because the Hiatus storyline might be too big to fit into two books only.  But I guess I’ll figure that out once I have a more definite plot.

And that, I don’t have… yet.  Major brainstorming will come later.  Right now, I’ll just record whatever little ideas trickle in.

I am nearly 80% finished with my AMM prompts table.  Once I’m done writing, polishing, sending it off to my beta reader (the lovely teenelizabeth), doing whatever polishing she recommends (hopefully not much), signing up with Amazon, converting the book to whatever format necessary, and getting it put through the Kindle program…  Did that tire you out?  It tired me out just typing it!

Anyway, once AMM is complete and available for you wonderful, voracious readers… I am taking a breather.  I do think I will have earned it—I mean, how many writers out there fill out a 100 prompts table in four months?!  It takes most people much longer than that—and really, I couldn’t have done it myself had it not been for the motivation of getting it done, out there, and making money.  As an unemployed, as-of-yet-unpublished young adult, the idea of finally making a living for myself is highly attractive.  Let’s see if I can get somewhere to Amanda Hocking’s level.  ^_^

Nah, I don’t expect it.  But wouldn’t it be loverly?

So, back to the topic at hand: breather.  I’m telling you: I can’t wait.  I’ll just sit here and bask in the raving reviews you guys leave me (be it here, on FF.N, or even on LJ or dA, if you link me to it).

…Okay, so I won’t be doing that, per se.  I have a college writing course from the Christian Writers Guild that I’m months behind on.  I got behind last summer and never got caught up—last summer.  And it only got worse.  So, I’m going to see if I can kamikaze and get my… eep, anywhere from 10 to 20 lessons caught up.  Holy cow.  Once that’s done and I’m (please, God?) back on schedule, I’ll take Sherlock Holmes back up again.

That’s not to say I’ll be completely silent.  I’ll probably grace you with the occasional Study in Stardom update, though don’t expect them to be as regular as they once were.  A Time to Heal is, unfortunately, on indefinite hiatus due to complete lack of inspiration—I just might write a far-future tie-in just to try to rekindle my muse’s interest (and I warn you, it’ll be… a little shocking, probably).

Oh yeah, and I might finally finish my Star Wars/Grand Admiral Thrawn fic that’s gotten so much love.  I feel bad about that one—I haven’t updated since I got into the Sherlock Holmes fandom.  In September.  Do the math for yourself.  =(

So, anyway, where does Deliver Us From Evil fit into all this mess?  Well, quite simply, I’ll start on the series once I’m caught up with school.  I’ll be doing TONS of research, but I’ll start writing, anyway.  Maybe I’ll post tidbits up on FF.N as actual fics to keep your guys’ interest, and to snag new victims—I mean, readers.  =D  I think I will.  I’ve really already done so, technically, with “Unraveling the Truth”—a scene from either To Take Up the Pen or the aforementioned possible book between To Take Up the Pen and When the Dawn Cometh.

Where’d the series title come from, anyway?  …Well, y’know, I can’t quite answer that one.  Obviously, it’s from the Lord’s Prayer, but how did it get stuck in my head?  Hmm…  I’d bet anything God put it there.  Seriously, I would!

It does fit, though.  I mean, we’re talking about a hidden war the likes of which you generally don’t see without a lot of fantasy elements.  It’s not fantasy, it’s not urban fantasy, it’s not even sci-fi—it’s good, old adventure/historical (somewhat) fiction.  I would hesitate to call it mystery, because we all know who are the bad guys, and we all know where the bad guys end up.

What we don’t know, however, is what happened in-between the lines, in the background, etcetera.  That’s where I want to dig in and flesh out.  So it’s certainly much more adventure than mystery.

But it’s the story behind the mysteries (well, my own version, but hey).

Allow me to quote Aragonite, from the opening to A Sword for Defense: "And I submit to you-the fiction out there that deals with the allegedly glamorous life Sherlock Holmes led while he was avoiding Moran can be measured in hectacres. But there is not a single piece I can find that deals with those three years for Watson and Scotland Yard."

For me, it was a call to action, and now, not only am I going to be writing fiction that does deal with Watson and Scotland Yard during the Great Hiatus, but I’m also going to be dealing with the events before that!  In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that there is very little pre-FINA, non-parody fiction dealing with Moriarty, period.  There is some, but it doesn’t seem to be much.

Cue inspiration.

Aragonite’s marvelous Sword for Defense series dealt with the Hiatus on a two-front level: Watson and Scotland Yard combating Colonel Moriarty, and Holmes hiding from Colonel Moran.  KCS’s fantastic crossover with Star Trek: The Original Series, However Improbable, dealt with a surviving Professor Moriarty bent on controlling the twenty-third century.  Both stories are absolute epics.

But.

Nobody seems to have done a two-front (Holmes and Scotland Yard) epic dealing with the fight against Moriarty in the several months before FINA.  I want to see Moriarty as a running antagonist, as VALL seems to paint him.  There’s only one story comparable to this that I’ve seen thus far, and it’s Protector of the Gray Fortress’s  wonderfully-chilling, Granada-based AU Centre of the Web.  But even that is an AU of the events of FINA, and not an actual hashing-out of the months before.

Enter yours truly.

I’m rewinding the video to six months before the opening of FINA, and I’m starting the story from there.  November 1890.  Can anybody think of any significance to that setting?  Well, if Watson met Mary in 1888 and married her early the next year, DYIN (assuming that it’s Mary as his wife and not the unnamed second Mrs. Watson) falls exactly upon November 1890.  Culverton Smith.

And, being in that time period, Moriarty is involved.

In fact, included in this epic, in Book One to be exact, will be the whole “torture series”—or “Holmes-captured” arch—from AMM.  We’re going to see that captivity in greater detail—that might actually end up being a huge part of that first book.

What a way to kick off the series, eh?  Torture poor Sherlock.

The second book is currently very sketchy.  It starts with Holmes’s investigation in France and ends with a greatly enhanced version of FINA.  That’s about all I know at this point.

The other day, I was going through my AMM stories and tallying up how many would appear—in some shape or form—in Deliver Us From Evil (DUE—I don’t like DUFE).  Guess how many.  5?  10?  Maybe a dozen?

Erm, no.

Twenty.  TWENTY.

A full fifth of the collection.

And I’m not even finished yet.  There could still be more.  (Thus far, I have multiple introspects from Holmes before and after Reichenbach, and that’s only one category in all this FINA/EMPT glory.  One of the stories is actually another account of what happened at the Falls, and I love that installment to pieces.)

Okay, I’ll stop rambling now (and don’t worry, that BBC SH post is coming—just be patient).

Deliver Us From Evil: a Brand New Future Series

So, I’ve been thinking, and in considering all the FINA and EMPT material that I’ve written and that I have ideas for (see “Future Sherlockian Novels”).  I have enough ideas to write an entire series spanning the time from Winter ’90-’91 to 1894.  Granted, I need a lot more ideas and a lot of research to pull it off, but… man, I can do this.

This may very well be my next project following AMM: Deliver Us From Evil.

1. Amid Winter’s Chill

            When Sherlock Holmes takes up the Victor Savage murder, Culverton Smith decides to incapacitate him permanently, disobeying the orders of his superior.  When Holmes not only survives the disease but also links Smith to a smuggling ring on the East End, the powers that be in the criminal world decide that leaving him free is too dangerous.  Sherlock Holmes is in for his most far-reaching, deadly challenge ever.

2. A Narrow Path

            Upon recovering from captivity, Holmes takes up a case presented by the French government.  While he is away, Watson notes a decided increase in crime, and Scotland Yard takes steps to cast the net around Professor Moriarty’s shadow empire.  But when Holmes returns at last, it is only to whisk the Doctor away on a retreat that will end at a Swiss waterfall.

3. An Irregular Point of View

            Starting in November ’90 and ending in May ’91, the tale of Holmes VS Moriarty as seen from the eyes of the Irregulars, young and old—including Wiggins.

4. To Take Up the Pen

            Moriarty’s empire is fractured but not yet down for the count, Holmes is believed dead but on the run, and Scotland Yard is scrambling to pick up the pieces.  Into this uncertain world, Watson brings the first two dozen short stories of Sherlock Holmes.

5. When Cometh the Dawn

            Late 1893 into Summer 1894: a grieving John Watson takes up the sword to do battle with the not-so-pitiful remnants of Moriarty’s empire in England, and Sherlock Holmes does the same on the Continents.  Even upon Holmes’s “resurrection,” the game is not yet over—a ship called Friesland will play a part in the final offensive against the most powerful criminal empire Scotland Yard has ever known.

…Excited yet?  Guess who is!  (Yes, I know this isn’t the BBC radio show post I mentioned in today’s AMM installment—maybe tomorrow.  I’m so excited about this, I’m literally bouncing.)

Burnout Evaded

I just barely escaped a terrible case of burnout yesterday.  I had the word prompt “drug,” I mapped out a story that had almost nothing to do with cocaine, and I did not want to type it.   I was tired, and somewhat emotionally drained from having poured so much of myself into several intense stories (AMM, of course).  I felt that if I tried to type it out, I’d scream.

I don’t remember how exactly it happened, but after lunch (and a completely fruitless morning), the WWI plot bunny came bouncing in and demanding to be appeased.  It was that defining moment when you just know “this is it.”  This is what you want to write.  There are few sensations, I think, to compare with that.

It was that way for a prompt I had weeks ago—“swim.”  I was trying all day to come up with an idea, and finally, in the evening, it hit.  Poldhu Bay.  If you know your Canon, you know where that appears in the stories.  =)  That idea… was like an epiphany.  In fact, I’m not sure that I’m the One Who came up with it.  ;-)

Anyway, my brief burnout passed, and I managed to complete two stories yesterday and begin a third.  But, man, talk about a scare!  (Although I think my mom was more worried than I was. <3)

AMM: HALFWAY FINISHED!

Yes, At the Mercy of the Mind is 50% complete!  *throws confetti*  I haven't actually reached prompt 50 on the list, but I have filled out fifty of the prompts!

I am so excited!  My dad, I think, was about ready to bounce off the walls!  I think I've completed 40 prompts in just one month!  (If not 40, then nearly that.)  I just might - just might - actually finish the list by Easter!  Let's see if I can!

I'm also thinking of fixing up a trailer for the book for YouTube - I do have a channel there, you know.  RingSaberWardrobe, though don't expect to find any Sherlock Holmes vids in the uploads, sorry.

Btw, I haven't forgotten any of the things I said I was going to blog about - I've just been too busy to do it.  (Money-making takes precedence, you know.  ;D)  One thing to add to that list is a review on a Sherlock Holmes pastiche that I bought (and devoured) last weekend - it's a great novella, and I think it's wonderfully faithful to the Canon.

See you later, peeps - the game's afoot!

Writing Child!Sherlock

A few days ago, I wrote three installments for AMM that glimpsed into Sherlock Holmes’s childhood.  It was a lot of fun—not only to get those glimpses but also to break the stereotypes.

There seems to be a general stereotype for writing children in general, and another stereotype for writing child!Sherlock.  The general stereotype is that all young children must either be brats or angels.  The Sherlockian stereotype is that Sherlock must have had an angsty/abusive/negligent childhood to have turned out the way he did.

???

Um, NO.

Before anybody gets all defensive, let me explain.  I agree completely that the average child is bratty, and I also believe that it’s due very much to how they’re raised.  We’ve all a tendency to be bratty, but if we know we’re going to get in trouble for it, well… we have a little less inclination for it.  But while a fictional bratty child is, sadly, realistic, a fictional non-bratty child is also realistic.  Not an angel, mind you—no child is that—but sweet, obedient children do exist.

And, though we can all agree that Sherlock could probably be quite the pain in his younger years, I think there’s a fair possibility that he could also be a sweetheart.

As to the stereotype for childhood!fics… I’m almost willing to say that Sherlock having an abusive-or-what-have-you childhood is unrealistic.  It’s certainly not probable, nor is it canonical.  No, he never breathes a word of his parents, but just from the fact that we see his brother and not his parents in the Canon, we can safely deduce that Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are dead.  If so, the introversive Sherlock probably doesn’t like discussing them—even good memories can be painful.

In my personal canon, the Holmes parents are murdered by a fire.  The ensuing case, with a 19-yr-old private consulting detective on the job, is not a pleasant one by any means.  Is it any wonder that he wouldn’t want to talk about his parents?

Sherlock could well have had a happy childhood with loving parents, and still have turned out the way he did merely because he’s so intelligent.  The way we’re raised plays a large part in our personalities, but on the other hand, we make our own choices.  As we grow from childhood to adulthood, we make choices about what we believe, who we are, what we’ll do… and we change.

As I said before, writing these three childhood stories was a lot of fun.  I was a bit apprehensive about how my parents would like them when they read them, but I needn’t have worried!  My dad said that the stories blew him away—talk about something guaranteed to brighten your day!  He loved it that I could write such stories and draw inspiration from my experience as the firstborn in a large family with several brothers.  ;D

My mom’s response was even more memorable: she was reading the stories last night, and I went to bed before she was finished.  Well, a few minutes later, she came into my room—figuring that I’d still be awake, and I was—and told me that she loved the longest of the three, involving Sherlock’s mother.  I was thrilled.  The situation definitely called for a hug.  It was a beautiful way to end my day.

I plan on writing more childhood scenes for At the Mercy of the Mind when I get the inspiration, and I hope you’ll enjoy this much lighter look at the youth of the Great Detective.  The three aforementioned stories won’t be uploaded for a couple of weeks yet to keep with the order of the prompts, but they all should be up by Easter!

Allow me to give you, fair reader, a challenge: write a child!Sherlock fic that’s fluffy, upload it, and link me to it!  The world needs more of such lighthearted stories.

At the Mercy of the Mind status: 35 out of 100 complete.

Future Sherlockian Novels… Why Not

My mind is forever coming up with new fanfic ideas.  If I could get a dollar for every idea I ever cooked up—for any fandom—I would be a one wealthy woman.  The neat thing about being a Sherlockian is that you can make money out of your fanfic ideas, granted that either you stay out of Casebook material or that you ask the copyright holder for permission.

As for me, I plan to stay out of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, much as I’d love to do something Holmes/Maud and make money off of it.  I’m afraid that, until 2023, any such stories will have to be confined to the world of fanfiction, unless I get very, very brave and ask the American copyright holder…

But that is presently neither here nor there.  Let’s talk about the Sherlockian book ideas that I have (and don’t expect me to churn these out like I produce AMM installments—I’m going to be up to my ears in research for… well, all of them).  All of these ideas will be called by their working titles, subject to future change.

Sherlock Holmes and the Great War

Here, we dive into the vastly unexplored potential of the experiences of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson during World War I.  Now, KCS and aragonite could probably do a much better job than I—already have done so, in fact, on FF.N: The Written Front and The Days of Our Years.  I highly recommend them.  But, someday, if I can get the time to research this thoroughly, I want to try my hand at it—I’ve already done so in short stories, and I very much want to collect those ideas into a novel.  Imagine Holmes working with Room 40 and British wartime intelligence.  Imagine Watson in the field hospitals and out on the trenches, perhaps even encountering a future beloved writer, 2^nd Lt. John R.R. Tolkien.  Imagine “His Last Bow” being Doyle’s misprint of the true facts of Holmes’s counterintelligence work.  Imagine Holmes going out to the trenches himself to find a missing friend.

The possibilities are endless.  That makes it so wonderfully appealing.  If you want to check out my WWI-era fics online:

—“The Doctor and the Storyteller”

—“Home at Last”

—“12. Helpless”

—“16. Embrace”

A Violin and a Test Tube

Sherlock Holmes’s early years, from birth to Cambridge.  His brotherly spats with Mycroft, the love of his half-French mother, his talent with the violin, his discovery of the world of chemistry, and more…  Sherlock’s childhood is neither abusive nor negligent.  He needs sunlight to grow into the hero championed by his future Boswell.

Hours Yet Till Dawn

A sequel to the above.  Sherlock’s parents die in a fire, and Sherlock knows it was deliberate.  A nineteen-year-old boy quits college to find his parents’ murderer, jump-starting his career as an independent detective.  From his very first murder case to his first case with Scotland Yard to the Jefferson Hope mystery, this novel covers the first four years of Sherlock Holmes’s career as the world’s first private consulting detective.

Collecting the Cases

A collection of previously posted and to-be-uploaded short stories by yours truly, sprucing up the one-shots on FF.N and throwing in others for a mix of angst, hurt/comfort, intensity, and good old humor.

Not a Marrying Man

There was more to Holmes’s relationship with Milverton’s housemaid Agatha than Watson ever published.  The good Doctor was protecting the one woman who ever laid a claim to the heart of the Great Detective.  …What can I say?—my romantic soul must have an outlet somewhere!  But it’s not all roses and sunshine, for in the midst of a whirlwind courtship, Sherlock Holmes stumbles across the distant remains of an empire that fractured when its kingpin died in a Swiss waterfall…

To Take Up the Pen

Watson wrote all two dozen installments of Adventures and Memoirs in the three years he thought his best friend dead.  What was going through his mind as he wrote them?  What was happening in his life as he wrote them?  And what was really going through Holmes’s mind as he read them?

An Irregular Point of View

Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars was a young man when “Mr. ‘Olmes” took on Professor Moriarty.  Early 1891 and onward, from the Irregulars’ most dangerous job ever in protecting the Detective and the Doctor to the 221B fire to Wiggins shadowing Holmes and Watson on the Continent.  Probably ending in Sherlock Holmes’s return in April ’94.

Breaking through the Darkness

Thanks ever so much to Mam'zelleCombeferre for pointing out what should have been obvious to me—“This could be an interesting whole story.”  This book takes “14. Blind” from AMM and turns it into a full-fledged novel.  When Sherlock Holmes suffers a bad concussion, the results are devastating.  Will the Great Detective be able to continue in his line of work when his world has been darkened forever?

Upcoming Future Posts…

—A mom’s review of the RDJ film

—A guide to my fanfiction

—Ravings on aragonite’s A Sword for the Defense series

—Some fangirling over Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes (sorry, it had to happen sooner or later :P)

…Stay tuned!