Prelude revised

Today I fixed some typos and other minor stuff on the Prelude ebook, and I republished it on Feedbooks. You probably won't notice any difference. So far the ebook seems to be doing well, with 192 downloads (one of which was me) in about a month's time.

It's at the same link as before: Prelude to a Partnership

Chapter 8 of DIM

I haven't posted many details about Chapter 8 yet, except as described in my Helen notes, so I'll post a sketch here. This is where we first meet Irene Adler in the book, and Holmes hardly notices her, because he's focused on Helen at the time.

I previously posted a version of this on my Geocities website, but I've added onto it with stuff about Irene Adler and later Percy Armitage. Generally trying to fill in more details from the outline.

I should revise it a little more to include Helen Stoner having a maid or something. Even though she learned to be quite independent in Stoke Moran, it still would not seem very respectable for her to travel to America and rent a house all by herself, let alone have a male guest. Perhaps instead Holmes intended to stay with Hargreave or the Pinkertons, but something or other came up and he took the spare room.

Return from the dead

This is a sketch of how Holmes returns to Watson in DIM, after three years. That would make it Chapter 20 in the DIM outline. Part of this sketch was previously posted on Holmesslash in answer to a story challenge for Holmes's point of view in EMPT. In that version, Mary was not alive, and Watson made up with Holmes rather unrealistically and quickly.

This version is more about slashy angst, because Holmes still loves Watson, but knows that Watson is married. I've decided for now to keep the Ronald Adair mystery in the story. Please forgive my slipping in and out of present tense, as I often do in my sketches.

Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

This 1970 movie by Billy Wilder is currently available on Hulu. Although it features a hetero plot, there is a suggestion of slash in the first half hour or so. A Russian ballerina wants Holmes to father her baby, and he puts her off by telling her that he and Watson are lovers. Watson is not happy about it, but there are a few nice jokes.