The Sherlockian Interview - Thomas A. Turley

The final four volumes (49-52) of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories are now on Kickstarter (click here). Every day we will be featuring one of the authors in the collection. Today its Thomas A. Turley.

What’s the name of your story in the collection?

My story, in Part 49, is entitled "The Adventure of the Madman's Sister."

How did the story come about?

The story is based on the last attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria. However, to give it a happier outcome and include a few elements history did not provide, I wrote instead about the next-to-last attempt to assassinate the Queen. It occurred a few weeks earlier and was successfully foiled by Holmes and Watson.

Have you contributed to anthologies before?

I have published a total of 17 pastiches, 11 of which appeared in earlier volumes of the MX anthology between 2016 and 2024 (Parts 6, 7, 18, 19, 27, 28, 33, 39, 44, and 46). 

Where did you first discover Holmes?

It's less a matter of where than when. When I was 11 or 12, my mother gave me A Treasury of Sherlock Holmes, which contained some of the best short stories and "The Hound of the Baskervilles." That story and "The Speckled Band" are still my favorites, but I've read and enjoyed the entire Canon many times since then.

Are there any writers/adaptations of Holmes you particularly enjoy?

Aside from The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, I didn't read pastiches growing up, and I didn't take them seriously until I decided to write one of my own: "The Adventure of the Tainted Canister." When it was published as an ebook by MX, I began to investigate the press's other writers. There are many fine ones, but among those I most enjoy (listed alphabetically) are S.F. Bennett, Craig Stephen Copeland, A.S. Croyle, Richard Gillman, Wendy Heyman-Marsaw, David Marcum, Orlando Pearson, Daniel D. Victor, and Marcia Wilson. As for TV and movie adaptations, the Granada characterizations of Holmes and Watson (Brett and Burke/Hardwicke) have influenced my writing the most.

Do you write on any other subjects?

Not really, although my first published story was a vampire tale based on the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. 

Where can fans find more about your work?

Except for the latest three, all my stories are contained in two collections: Sherlock Holmes and the Crowned Heads of Europe (2021) and Watson's Wives and Other Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2023). The four novellas in Crowned Heads, and the 10-story collection Watson's Wives, are all available in audiobook format on Audible.

Watson's Wives has been recorded in audiobook format and will eventually appear (I trust) on Audible. In 2022, I wrote an essay discussing my ideas about Sherlockian writing for the collection Writing Holmes!, published by Belanger Books. Anyone interested can also consult my author's pages on Amazon and Goodreads.