The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories – Author Interview – Kevin P. Thornton

Throughout the Kickstarter campaign, we will be adding brief interviews highlighting the talented authors who have contributed to the anthology. Today we have the excellent Kevin P. Thornton.

Kevin is on Twitter and Facebook – and his short stories have found their home in the world of Sherlock Holmes. As well as being in MX Volumes IX, XI, XIII the upcoming XV, and more to come, he has had stories in other anthologies featured here. A seven time finalist in the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards, he will next be in the Mesdames of Mayhem collection due in the fall.  In the key of 13 launches in Toronto on Saturday, October 26, Sleuth of Baker Street.

How did you first get introduced to Sherlock Holmes?

I started out as a child, the youngest  of a long line of readers. The family had the Reader’s Digest condensed Sherlock Holmes which I gobbled up as a precocious 6 year old before getting into the Canon 2 years later.

What was the inspiration for your pastiche?

Catholicism, trying to make sense of nonsensical beliefs, and the unnatural world’s ability to unsettle Holmes on occasion.

What is your story about? Where and when does it take place?

It is a manor mystery, typical of so much of the Canon. Something strange is happening at the Marquess of Mollington’s country estate, and Holmes and Watson ride to the rescue, as is their wont.

What do you believe readers will most enjoy most about your tale?

I like to see SH as occasionally imperfect, and quite often I explore those little imperfections that make him seem more human. This is one of those cases.

Which is your favourite story from The Canon and why?

His Last Bow, because as a writer it gives me so much more to hope for.  What did he actually do in retirement; there must have been more to it than bees. Others have explored the senior Holmes with much success, as have I. In Belanger Books’ upcoming collection Sherlock Holmes and the Great Detectives, I have a look at Holmes as a man over ninety years old, and his latter-years friendship with Father Brown, while in It Came From The North I investigate the intersection of Tesla, SH and time travel in WW II.

Your favourite Sherlock Holmes-related place?

The Toronto public library collection. It is so un-museumlike. You can sit in a replica of his rooms, take books down and page through them, make notes, take photos of books you want for your own collection. I go there every time I am in the city.

Tell us three things about yourself that few people would guess?

1) I live in Northern Canada, Fort McMurray. When the entire community was evacuated due to wildfires in 2016, I ended up writing about it for the New York Times.
2) The year I was a finalist in the short story category of the Arthur Ellis Awards, Margaret Atwood also entered. I didn’t win.

3) I used to work in Afghanistan as a contractor for the NATO Task Force.

Any upcoming projects?

There are more Marcum and Belanger related works down the line as well as the aforementioned Mesdames of Mayhem collection. I’m also working on a short story or novella about one of the least written about characters from the Canon. More on that to come.

Click here for more details on the Kickstarter campaign.