On May 14, 2025, Weldon Burge, Founder and Executive Editor of Smart Rhino Publications interviewed me for his newsletter ‘Thoughtful Chats with Writers & Readers’ about the research involved in writing my Sherlock Holmes pastiche.
An Interview with JM Reinbold, Author of Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Black Pharoah
In JM Reinbold’s soon-to-be released novel, Holmes discovers a deadly secret, a secret that entangles him and Watson in a conspiracy that threatens their lives.
JM Reinbold is an award-winning author and editor. She is the author of Missing, book one of the DCI Rylan Crowe Mysteries, and her short stories, poetry, and articles appear in anthologies, journals, and magazines in print and online, and in other media.
Q: How much research was required to write the novel, considering the Egyptology involved?
A: A lot. Everyday life in Victorian England was very different from our lives today. Diet, social conventions and expectations, work, speech, all vastly different. I literally had to check everything for accuracy. Regarding the Egyptology, I read all 22 books in the Amelia Peabody Egyptian mysteries series. They were written by Elizabeth Peters, who was herself an Egyptologist. The stories took place during the same time period as my story and were invaluable in learning the language and practice of Egyptology/archaeology in Egypt and England during the Victorian era. In addition, I also read a number of academic texts on Egyptology and studied museum and exhibition catalogues.
Q: What was your greatest challenge when writing the book? And how did you conquer it?
A: The greatest challenge was maintaining an accurate approximation of Watson’s voice and Conan Doyle’s style. It’s somewhat easier to do in a short story, but much more difficult in a full-length novel. My solution was to continuously read the canon stories and novels while I was working on my story. Doing that, I always had Watson’s voice in my head, and I hope I subliminally absorbed Conan Doyle’s style.
Q: Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories certainly inspired your novel? But what Holmes pastiches did you find helpful?
A: Anthony Horowitz’s The House of Silk and Moriarty; James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Holmes series, and his Cthulhu Casebook series; and Bonnie MacBird’s Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure.
Q: What’s your next project?
A: I actually have two. I’m working on another Holmes adventure, and also another DCI Rylan Crowe mystery.
The publisher, MX Publishing, is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to support the novel. Check it out for more information.
Visit the Kickstarter campaign