This Resolution of Mine

Well, we find ourselves at the end of another year, looking into the beginning of a new one.  At the beginning of 2016, I wrote about Sherlockian New Year's resolutions over on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, but conveniently didn't publicize what my particular goals for the year were. 

I'm a To Do list kind of person, so to hold myself accountable, here are my Sherlockian goals for 2018:

First things first.  Sherlockiana is all rooted in the Canon.  Every time I return to one of the original stories, I thoroughly enjoy my time there and realize that I don't know them as well as I think I do.  But it's so easy to get distracted by other writings, media interpretations and discussions about Sherlockiana.  So, I am resolving to read one story a week this year: 52 short stories by the end of the year.  Even if I fall short, I still feel like I'm going to be sitting pretty.  For anyone interested, here is my schedule for the first few months:

Jan 7      The Adventure of the Three Students 

Jan 14    The Adventure of the Copper Beeches 

Jan 21    The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual

Jan 28    The Adventure of the Reigate Squire

Feb 4     The Adventure of the Crooked Man

Feb 11   The Adventure of the Gold Pince Nez 

Feb 18   The Adventure of the Resident Patient

Feb 25   The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter

Mar 4     Silver Blaze 

Mar 11  The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter 

Mar 18  The Adventure of the Naval Treaty

Mar 25  The Adventure of the Final Problem

Apr 1     The Adventure of the Empty House

Apr 8     The Adventure of the Norwood Builder

Apr 15   The Adventure of the Abbey Grange 

Apr 22   The Adventure of the Dancing Men

Apr 29   The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

May 6    The Adventure of the Cardboard Box 

May 13  The Adventure of the Second Stain 

May 20  The Adventure of the Priory School

May 27  The Adventure of Black Peter

And now that The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street is out and the initial promotion is over, I wanted to come up with something novel to keep it interesting for folks out there.  For that, I've created a Facebook page for The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street.  Starting on January 1, you will start seeing updates from Sherlock Holmes himself reminiscing about his adventures throughout the year.  If you haven't already checked out the page, give it a follow!

Speaking of writing projects, I've had my next writing project on the back burner for a few months now, and my goal is to start working on it in the next month.  It's going to be geared towards younger readers, and my research will start in earnest this winter.  My hope is that I will be ready to start the writing process by the spring.

But my big goals this year are to contribute to the wider world of Sherlockiana.  I am chair of The Beacon Society's program committee, and the committee is working hard to gather resources to make teaching Sherlock Holmes to all ages easier for educators.  My hope is that our work with The Beacon Society will help educators who are passionate about Holmes (or even those who are casually interested) be able to easily find ideas and lessons that can be used in their classrooms, libraries and other settings.

A list of my Sherlockian resolutions wouldn't be complete without mentioning The Parallel Case of St. Louis, my home scion.  We are on a good roll lately, with great discussion and steady attendance numbers.  My goal is to keep that momentum while being open and inviting to any other Sherlockians in the St. Louis area that might be interested in joining us.  We are also planning a conference for sometime in the late spring/early summer, titled "Holmes in the Heartland."  Just thinking about this conference and the great group of people at these meetings makes me giddy.  

And last, but not least, is my stretch goal.  I am a huge fan of The Baker Street Journal, and am like a kid on Christmas each time it shows up in my mailbox.  I am in awe of the scholarly research regularly printed in those pages, and for years I have hoped to write an article for the BSJ.  In fact, the idea for The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street originally started out as an article for the Baker Street Journal, but it quickly ballooned to too large for an article.  So, my goal is to muster up the courage to submit something to the BSJ.  Will it be good enough to get in?  Who knows.  But, as Holmes tells Watson in THOR, "we can but try."