🎵It's the Busiest Time of the Year 🎶

My busy season has officially started, and it’s off to a wonderful start! Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken at a book club (one of the members bought my book during a craft fair last year), participated in Bouchercon where I signed my story in their anthology, share about my books at the Garland Public Library, and spoke at the DFW Writers Con. (Whew!) I've gotten to meet some incredible people and readers. Nothing's more rewarding than in-person moments where I can share about writing, reading, and compare favorite mystery books. Of course, my trusty Sherlock Holmes cut-out makes for a great introduction at such events. And there's still more to come! (see my list of appearances below).

Such events offer some special moments each year. I love hearing what people are reading and discovering that so many of us share a deep affection for clever detectives and twisty plots. Each conversation reminds me why I write stories in the first place: to connect with others through my books.

As things get busy for all of us this season, I hope your calendar is full of things that bring you joy, whether it’s a good book, a cozy cup of tea (or something a little stronger), or a moment to slow down and savor the quiet during this busy time.

Book Sale

Kobo is offering a 25% discount on box sets from October 10 to 20 in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. You can get the first two cases of the Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes for a special price during this event. You can find it here. Use the promo code BOXSET for the 25% discount.

Upcoming Book Signings and Appearances

As mentioned above, I'll be participating at several events this fall. I do hope that if you are in the area, you will stop by and say, "hi!" Here's a list of the upcoming events:

October 18: Lewisville High School Craft Fair. More about it here.

October 24: Come join the Sisters in Crime North Dallas as they share about the anthology Trouble in Texas at the Barnes and Noble in Rockwall from 6-8 pm.

October 25 - 26: JJ Pearce High School Craft Fair. Find out more here.

November 8: Terrell, Texas British Bash: Food, Music, and Fun here.

November 9: Coppell High School Holiday Fair. Directions and more here.

December 6: Hebron High School Craft Fair. Check it out here.

Coming Soon From Belanger Books!

Bob Sharfman, BSI ("Killer Evans") has been a Sherlock Holmes fan and scholar for nearly sixty years. Collected in this book are Mr. Sharfman's wide-ranging essays, ramblings, digressions, and musings from such renowned Sherlockian publications as The Baker Street Journal, The Norwegian Explorers Christmas Annual, The Passengers Log, The Illustrious Clients News, and many more!

This is a must-have book for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockiana, reminiscent of the work of Vincent Starrett and William Baring-Gould. Through these essays, one learns much about Chicago, golf, precious stones, the true-life Baker Street Irregulars, and much more.

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The Beast of Baker Street

Part VI

Recap: Dr. Watson confesses the hidden truth behind the Baskerville affair. The hound was no mere animal but a man transformed, proof of lycanthropy. Holmes, bitten during the struggle, concealed the attack from the public. But the curse did not end on the moors. In London, Holmes began to change, and a brutal killing in Whitechapel suggested Jack the Ripper’s return, yet the evidence pointed elsewhere. In a fog-choked alley, Watson discovered the terrible reality: his friend was the beast. Desperate for a cure, they turned to folklore and medicine. Silver bullets forced temporary reversals, while painful injections of silver nitrate offered hope of control.

Though this treatment blunted the transformations, the cost was great. Holmes’s mind remained sharp, but the shadow of the beast lingered, threatening both his work and his soul. 

“You’re trembling.” I gestured to his hands, which quivered faintly as he reached for his discarded dressing gown. “And last night, you seized for nearly a minute. Do you even recall it?” 

His jaw tightened from the memory. I’d held him down while his limbs jerked uncontrollably. This morning, I observed him reviewing old case notes, testing his mind to determine if it functioned as it should.

“What happens when your mind—your greatest weapon—is compromised beyond repair? How long before these tremors prevent you from handling your own revolver, or writing a simple note? Before you can no longer trust your own deductions?”

He faced me, his lips pursed as if to keep harsh words from escaping. “What alternative would you suggest?” He asked, his voice strangely calm. “That I allow the beast to take hold? That I cease treatment entirely and risk—”

“Colloidal silver,” I said, breaking into his argument. “Its toxicity is less than that of silver nitrate. You may still experience discomfort, but it won’t ravage your nervous system like this.” I gestured again at his trembling hands.  

He was silent for a long moment, staring at me as though measuring the weight of my words. “We’d have to start all over again.”

“At least give this alternative a chance before you lose yourself entirely.” 

Leaning back in his chair, he let his gaze drift to the window where the moon lay hidden behind thick clouds. A faint tremor ran through him, whether from the treatment or something deeper, I couldn’t tell. Finally, he exhaled and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes.

“Very well,” he murmured. “Let’s see if your alternative is any kinder.”

I flopped into the nearest chair, tension fleeing my limbs only for it to return a moment later. What new challenges would this other possible cure present? We were still treading a precarious line between science and the unknown, between humanity and the monster lurking beneath the surface. 

We again returned to the warehouse for the last of this full moon’s cycle and followed the old routine with the shackle and the locked metal door. I knew there was a chance that the silver nitrate was not yet out of his system, but I feared providing him another dose. Without the injection, any effect would come primarily from the teaspoon I poured from the vial of tiny silver particles suspended in water. 

To our delight, no transformation occurred, but we both knew we would not have true results until the next month.

Despite February remaining mild and much warmer than December’s terrible cold, the drafty warehouse offered little protection from winter’s chill, and its walls little protection from any biting winds. Regardless, my friend relentlessly continued the experiments until we were both certain of the outcome, and I prayed we would both be satisfied soon.  

I was able to reduce the dosage each night, and as the months progressed, I noted a return to the “old Holmes.” He solved the identity of Miss Sutherland’s suitor with the same logical approach he always displayed. 

I felt we had hit upon the appropriate dosage to combat the disease brought on in Grimpen Mire. Still, always in the back of my mind, I wondered whether this was truly a cure or merely a delay in the curse’s return or inevitable harm to his body? 

The answer came in mid-1891. Holmes’s peculiar anxiety, the restlessness I had not observed in him for some time, returned. I understood the basis for his fretfulness when he announced his return to Dartmoor on another case. The thought curdled my stomach. What was this desire to return to the area where his personal nightmare had begun?

As if in answer to my concerns, he said, “There are points about the case which promise to make it an absolutely unique one.”

Within the hour, we were on a train returning to the area I found no interest in seeing ever again. While not Grimpen Mire, the moors around King’s Pyland spread out in all directions. As we toured the training stables for the horse Silver Blaze, whose disappearance Holmes had been asked to investigate, a dog raced toward him, barking viciously. 

Holmes turned toward the hound and stared at the flurry of teeth and fur. The two confronted each other for a breath before the dog whimpered and spun around, retreating to the stables.

While the others watched the dog race away, I observed my friend. For the briefest of moments, a mere blink of an eye, I saw his sharp, calculating eyes gleam with a feral light, and their pupils elongate into slits before they returned to their usual shape and color.

The dosage would be increased for the next full moon, or else... No. I would not let my thoughts carry me further. I had taken an oath, after all. To heal. To protect.

And to keep Sherlock Holmes human.

The next full moon occurred a week later. By this time, he’d taken the silver tonic for more than a year, and I’d noted no adverse effects. I saw no reason for a greater dosage.

He, however, had noticed subtle differences he shared later. He used his pursuit of Professor Moriarty as an opportunity to disappear and focus on the disease that now consumed him.

Only after his return to London three years after his supposed death, did I learn the truth. He first appeared to me as a bookseller whom I bumped while passing the site of a murder a few days earlier. Later that night, he returned to my residence, dropped his bookseller disguise, and gave me such a shock I fainted. 

Of course, he still wore his disguise, and in the dim light of my study, I did not see how the disease and its cure had ravaged him. Neither did I have a chance to observe him until after he solved the murder and captured Colonel Moran, the second most dangerous man in England.  

To be continued....

Those links again:

Kobo Boxset Sale: here (remember to include the promo code: Boxset)

Lewisville High School Craft Fair: here.

Trouble in Texas at the Barnes and Noble in Rockwall

JJ Pearce High School Craft Fair: here.

British Bash: here.

Coppell High School Holiday Fair: here.

Hebron High School Craft Fair: here.

Ultimate Crime Fiction Book Giveaway: here

Happy November!

Liese