ABOUT MX PUBLISHING
MX Publishing is a social enterprise focussing on publishing the very best in Sherlock Holmes fiction and related historical works. We also have a division working on coaching, NLP and business books. We run MX alongside our day jobs with the help a of a team of supporters and volunteers. We’re involved in a number of projects, but have two main organisations we support, both logistically and financially. One in the UK and one in Kenya.
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Happy Life Children’s Home in Nairobi, Kenya. Sharon and Steve volunteer there every xmas, fundraise, work on special projects etc). Happy Life rescues abandoned babies in Nairobi and works to get as many children as possible adopted. The remainder stay with the project through to school age and the program has about 110 children (having saved around 500 in total). In 2014 Sharon and Steve wrote the book ‘The Happy Life Story’ which the team use for fundraising and awareness around the world – especially in the USA where a lot of the fundraising comes from. In additional to sponsorship and general fundraising we also do special projects. In 2016 we funded two table tennis tables and all the associated equipment to set up a new indoor sport for the older children at the Juja Farm site. As a former county player Steve was able to then teach the teachers and children last Christmas.
Stepping Stones School is one of Europe’s leading schools for children with learning disabilities of which Steve is now a patron. Their new home since September 2016 is Undershaw, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former home and where he wrote many of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Our main project with them is The MX New Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories. Inspired by editor David Marcum, it was originally planned to be one volume of around thirty stories in October 2015, but this quickly snowballed into a huge ongoing project.
Volumes I-VIII of the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories have come out with over 100 authors taking part. With at least 2 volumes a year, it’s the largest collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories in the world by far. All authors donate their royalties to Stepping Stones school. It’s been licensed into India and Japan too. The latest project at Undershaw we are helping funding is the creative writing centre.
I am so happy to be a part of this blog tour which is for such a wonderful cause. Thank you so much to Caroline at Bits About Books for letting me be a part of this.
Book Review:
I don't normally read short stories so this is a first for me, and also I have never read any Sherlock Holmes mysteries before either so another first for me!
I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading these short stories which has surprised me somewhat as other books with short stories I haven't enjoyed in the past.
I was going to pick a couple of stories to review but I just cannot pick a favourite as all of them where so good, with some fantastic writing and plot lines.
Reading these books has introduced me to some great authors who I wouldn't normally have read such as Lyndsay Faye and Arthur Hall and also stories from people who do not normally write as a profession and I am so thankful for this as I love to discover new authors to me.
I would definitely recommend these books, they would be great to read on these long winter nights beside the fire with a warm drink or even better a nice glass of wine.
