On Writing, with Shane Peacock

The Dragon Turn: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 5th Case is the newest installment in Shane Peacock's popular Boy Sherlock Holmes series (McClelland & Stewart).

Shane Peacock talks to Open Book about Davies, Dickens and disappearing dragons.

Open Book:

Tell us about your new book.

Shane Peacock:

The Dragon Turn: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 5th Case is the second-last novel in this series and perhaps the strangest one yet. It opens with Sherlock, now nearing age 16, attending a magic show at The Egyptian Hall in London with Irene Doyle. The show is the talk of the city because at its climax the performer makes what appears to be a real dragon appear on the stage. That very night, the magician is accused of murdering his great rival, who just happens to have stolen his wife. Sherlock is trying to stay out of detective work at this point, but Irene, who has theatrical ambitions that the accused has promised to aid, convinces him to look into the sensational case and hopefully free her benefactor. Thus tempted by a woman, Holmes gets much more than he bargained for: illusion after illusion and a frightening journey into an underground world of bizarre creatures and evil intent. Victorian London, much like our time, was fascinated by celebrity. This novel explores that abiding human interest.

OB:

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

SP:

It was, at times, a challenge, to make my story believable, since it becomes almost surreal at certain key moments. But I wanted a different story from all the others in the series and think I was able to take it right to the edge, and still have it all make sense.

OB:

With what character (or characters) in your book do you most identify?

SP:

Well, it has to be Sherlock Holmes. Some of that may be wishful thinking. It?s my theory that one of the main reasons this character has always been so popular is that we ALL want to be like him: brilliant, able to bring villains to justice with the flick of his brain.

OB:

For what age group are you most drawn to writing?

SP:

To be honest, I prefer writing for adults, but writing for young adults is a great deal of fun too. I like to try to almost BE my characters and being 15 again is marvelous! Having said all of that, the Boy Sherlock Holmes series is really for all ages, or at least for ages 10 to 99, and I receive many letters about it from adults. I try to write each book in the series as if it were an adult novel ? but with a kid as the hero (an awfully smart one, albeit).

OB:

What recurring themes do you notice turning up in your writing?

SP:

I write a great deal about human ambition, and also about people who are very conscious of the life they are living, rather than those who just plunge through it without considering it. I believe that human beings are the only true living things with complicated consciousness and I think that art is the reflection of that consciousness.

OB:

What book did you read as a child or young adult that has stayed with you into adulthood?

SP:

My parents read Oliver Twist to me when I was a boy and I absolutely loved it. I remain an immense Dickens fan to this day. Jules Verne said, ?everything is in Dickens,? and he was right. I?m actually reading Peter Ackroyd?s 1,000-page biography of CD right now (for the second time) and loving it. Our family, three kids included, enjoy watching the BBC Dickens productions, many last 15 hours or so, but the longer the better ? even for the kids! He keeps them on the edge of their seats because they know he will do anything ? even kill off the main child in the story! That rarely happens in other stories they see or read.

OB:

Who are some people who have deeply influenced (fellow writers or not) your writing life?

SP:

My mother, as I said in the dedication to Eye of the Crow gave me ?a writer?s soul,? just by being who she was — an amazing, sensitive woman; my father told me stories and taught me to love that art; and in university, I was taught by Robertson Davies. That?s a pretty good trio.

OB:

What are you working on now?

SP:

I am working on the final Boy Sherlock Holmes novel, developing two new young adult novels and a novel for adults. I used to write journalism, TV documentaries and plays, but I love writing novels and don?t seem to want to do anything else these days.