PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING APRIL 23, 2016

THE GAME'S AFOOT!

Holmes statue in Edinburgh

Given the basic 15,000 word minimum for a short story at Airship 27, I am roughly a third of the way through my Sherlock Holmes tale for Ron Fortier and Rob Davis. Still don't have a title for my work yet, but it will more than likely be "The Adventure of..." something.

I know not how long it took Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to craft a Holmes tale, let alone the length of time writers of more recent adventures featuring the Victorian Era's famous consulting detective required, but I can tell you that I am proceeding apace while being careful to craft a tale worthy of Sherlock Holmes.

It's not just a question of research, although I can assure you there is a lot of that involved along the way. But there is a perception concerning Holmes that any conundrum he faces must be a(n eventually solvable) challenge that both entertains and baffles everyone except Sherlock.

In all the Holmes mysteries I have read, never once did I solve the case before Sherlock. My "batting average" against him is ZERO, as good as it is against another famous detective I love: Ellery Queen. I get bits and pieces along the way, but never the entire solution.

Which is why it's more fun to be in the "driver's seat" so to speak, guiding Holmes and Watson through the mystery since I already know the answers.


In any event, since I'll probably still be working on "The Adventure of...???" by the time I post my next Progress Report, I'll discuss my feelings concerning some of the more famous portrayals of Sherlock Holmes then.

See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
24 April, 2016