Elaby's LiveJournal - 57 Academics

WAAAAAAAAAAAI XD

A few of you may remember back in late 2008 when a call for submissions went out from Lethe Press for a GLBTQ-themed Sherlock Holmes mystery anthology. I wrote a short story, which some of you (thank you so much!) edited/reviewed for me. I submitted it early in 2009, and in the summer, I received an e-mail that my story had been accepted. This is the first time I've submitted anything for publication, and I was elated. I didn't want to say anything here, though, in case there were delays or problems encountered with the publication, but now I think it's safe... because my copy of A Study in Lavender came in the mail this weekend :D



( This one is my story :3 It's the third one from the beginning! BWEE! )

It's totally on Amazon and on Barnes & Noble's website. I kind of can't believe it, even though I've been doing the revisions and communicating with the publishers for two years.

Here's the summary of my story, written by Joseph R.G. DeMarco, the editor:

Watson, newly reinstalled as a roommate on Baker Street, accompanies Holmes on a case of the disappearance of a young woman. A possible kidnapping or worse, this case finds Holmes at his deductive best and delivers an unexpected side to his ideas about crime and justice. Raynes subtly shows the depth of the connection between Holmes and Watson in this tale. Interesting revelations are not only to be found in the details of the case in this adventure.

We just had champagne and strawberries, because I have the best wife in the whole UNIVERSE. HEEEYAAAAA XD

I'm feeling somewhat better; at least I'm no longer like @_@ all day long, which means I can be upright for longer periods of time. Yesterday I only had a couple of hours where I felt awful and today we even managed to get out of the house for a little while. I got exhausted pretty quickly, but I bounced back after some rest :) Back to work tomorrow!

My Nano has suffered :\ I'm way behind. But I know where the rest of the story is going, which is kind of a new one on me, and I want to continue this first draft. I feel like writing this draft has really gotten me to figure out what parts I'm not doing right (like maybe get to your other main character BEFORE you hit 25K words, dingbat!) and I think I need to do that for the rest of the story. Otherwise, I'll just plan and plan and not ever write it.

I've had some interesting dreams lately. It's the return of the Holmes dreams! Two, even! And one about Dracula, which was rather unfortunate because it was too scary to be cool.

( Dreams )

Apparently I really need to see the BBC's new modern-Holmes show Sherlock, because numerous people I respect have squeed over it already. And I have only seen the outside of cut tags, because I don't want to spoil myself even for details! I'll just have to find it online or wait until I can get a DVD of it :3

I'm SO glad they keep bringing out awesome new Holmes media that really respects the canon. According to my personal definition of respecting the canon. \o/

One of my absolute favorite people on this green earth, janeturenne, is having a birthday today :D And in celebration of the occasion, I have written her a fic. Janie, acushla, you make the whole world better by being in it - a small but rather important-to-me part of that being my life, my writing, and my fannish enjoyment in general. *huggaluvs*

Title: Entirely Natural
Characters: Holmes/Watson
Words: 1541
Summary: Holmes falls ill after the close of a case.
Rating: PG
Warnings: I don't want to spoil anything, but those who don't like slash might want to steer clear of this one.
Notes: Shameless hurt/comfort. This is fairly early in the timeline, I think, certainly pre-SIGN. Most of the dialogue (or non-dialogue, as the case may be) is Clive Merrison's doing. And in the end it is all utterly yours, Jane-my-dear.

( It was a combination of events, really. )

I've seen the new Holmes movie twice now XD And I wrote this earlier this week, but I keep forgetting to post it!

( Spoiler cut, da yo! )

YAY, return of the Holmes dreams! I'm not quite sure whether this was a dream or a half-asleep daydream, but at any rate, it was very nice.

For those of you excited about the new movie, you'll be happy to hear that this was solidly RDJ-Holmes and Jude Law-Watson, and was actually more like I think they'd be than how I think canon H&W are. It was very short, but the image stuck with me, so there you go.

( Slashiness, or not. Even my subconscious is ambiguous about it! )

*flails*

Okay, so I hadn't listened to the BBC Radio version of "The Valley of Fear" before, because it's my least favorite of the novels and even if it's got a good mystery, it's half boring America crap and doesn't even have any really good character stuff aside from the bit where Holmes asks Watson if he minds sleeping in the same room as a madman. And while the BBC version left that line out (curses!), it far exceeded itself in all other areas.

janeturenne, I think, told me to listen to it if only for Mr. Mac's sake, and as in everything, she's 100% spot on. He's delightful. They did a good job with the storytelling by switching off between Holmes and Watson and the events in America every track or so, and that way I didn't get dreadfully bored. The radio plays have an amazing capacity to interest me in the stories I wouldn't usually be interested in just by compelling voice acting, and this was no exception.

But the most amazing part of it was something I had to wait for until almost the very end, and god, it was worth the whole thing. In the story, the scene where they find out that Jack Douglas has been lost overboard is fairly rushed and not overly exciting; Holmes suspected it would happen and knew Moriarty was behind it, and that was that. In the radio play, he and Watson were alone when they received the news, Watson writing and Holmes going through the evening post. He doesn't say anything, but you can hear in Holmes's breathing that he's upset, and Watson asks him what's wrong. As he's explaining it, the writers go the route they've gone before, that makes me love them: Holmes blames himself, says that Douglas would still be alive if he hadn't uncovered the deception of his "death," and Watson tells him that's nonsense with the kind of anxious frustrated concern that Michael Williams accels at. "You mustn't do this to yourself," he says then, with a softness and significance that makes listening to any amount of secret society blather worthwhile. "You musn't." And Clive Merrison continues to do that thing where all he has to do is breathe and you know exactly what expression is on Holmes's face.

*awe*

_melisande_ kindly gave me her VHS tapes of Jeeves and Wooster when (I think) she got the DVDs, so we've popped them in this evening. We watched the cow creamer episode, since I'm reading it, and now we're watching the one where Jeeves leaves Wooster onnacounta all that trombone playing. And OMG, right there, the unhappy John Hector McFarlane! Playing, er. Chuffy? *giggles* Looking rather happier than he did in "The Norwood Builder".

As an aside, Jeeves and Wooster over noodle soup and grilled cheese are a rather amazing cure for a sore throat.

For potatofiend! In that drawble/drabble meme from a million years ago, she asked for a drawble of Holmes and Watson cuddling. And last night I finally finished it! I hope it makes you feel better :)

( G-rated hugging, slashy or not, whichever you prefer. )

This is the first of two ficlets I have planned that feature Holmes and Watson in the winter :) I thought it would be very short, but it ended up a bit longer than I intended. Otherwise, though, it turned out the way I hoped.

Title: Musica Universalis
Rating: G. Oh, so very G. And fluffy.
Character(s): Holmes and Watson
Summary: Temperatures dip below freezing, and the town is transformed.
Warnings: None whatsoever.
Words: 1,627
Author's Notes: This was inspired by contemporary accounts of a snowbound London. It takes place in early 1896, probably - after "The Bruce-Partington Plans," at least.

( Winter in London )