The Sherlockian Interview - Tim Newton Anderson

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 Tim Newton Anderson

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

I have two stories - Phantom of the Operetta and The Second Strand

How did the story come about?

The Phantom came about because I was thinking about Gilbert and Sullivan and an Operetta based on Chinese rather than Japanese themes - specifically the Willow Pattern. That then added the Fu Manchu themes of pulp fiction at the time and yellow peril and I wanted to write something that was more nuanced around the Empire and our role in Chinese politics at the time. The Second Strand was because I wanted to say goodbye to writing Holmes pastiche and write a story featuring Watson withourthis friend. The years he was missing seemed a good time to do so and since the first stories in the Strand were published at the time it seemed like a plan to mix those things together. These will be my eighth and ninth stories in the series.

Where did you first discover Holmes?

I used to haunt the local library as a child and borrowed some of the Holmes stories from there - aged eight or nine. I then got out all the others.

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

I prefer stories that are faithful to the original, although I also like Phil Farmer's take on them as I love crossover stories.

Do you write on any other subjects?

I write a range of different stuff from science fiction and fantasy through horror and crime to indulging in my love of the avant garde including surrealism and 'Pataphysics.

Where can fans find more about your work? 

I have an Amazon Tim Newton Anderson Author Page which covers a lot of my published stories, with a pretty full list on my blog AJ Entertainments. This includes the stuff I have had included in Black Scat's Typo and other publications.