Speaking of my old friend and biographer, I would take this opportunity to remark….Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own, to which in his modesty he has given small attention…
Hello Watsonians,
Today we add to our series of brief biographic interviews with some of the members of JHWS. Our members, like the good Dr. Watson, have some remarkable characteristics of their own, and we would like to give some small attention to them.
Please enjoy our chat with Wildside Press publishing director Carla Coupe of Maryland.
Margie/ JHWS ‘Mospy’
- Name/with bull pup moniker—
Carla Coupe/Lily
- Current (city,state, country) location—
New Market, Maryland
- How long have you been a devotee of Dr. Watson?
Since I was around ten and reading the Canon for the first time. The good doctor always impressed me with his kindness, readiness to provide a gun or other weapon (as necessary), and good-humored (on the whole) acceptance of Holmes’s peculiarities as well as his abilities.
- Do you have a favorite canonical story?
HOUN. It appeals to the wild, Gothic elements in my soul!
- What is your favorite quote from the canon?
There are so many, but first place always goes to “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” It still sends chills up my spine.
- If you could speak directly to anyone in the canon, who would you choose and why?
Mrs. Hudson. She would know all of Holmes and Watson’s little secrets!
- Are you fond of any particular canon adaptations—pastiche, radio, film?
Generally I can find something to admire about most adaptations, but my favorites are the Rathbone films, Jeremy Brett’s TV series, the Big Finish audio adaptations, and [Lyndsay] Faye’s pastiche “Dust and Shadow.”
- Do you have a local Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian group you meet with on a regular basis?
Yes, I’m a member of Watson’s Tin Box, The Red Circle of DC, the Diogenes Club of the District of Columbia, and the Sherlockians of Baltimore. I hope to add more soon.
- Do you have any recent Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian projects/events you would like to tell us about?
I’m on the ConCom for Scintillation of Scions, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring. We’re planning a riotous good time for all, and would love to have new attendees as well as our regulars. Personally, I have a pastiche, “The Case of the Missing Archaeologist,” in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #21, and will have another, “The Case of the Plummeting Painter” in a future volume edited by David Marcum.
- If you could change one thing in the greater Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian world, what would it be?
We need the invention of transporters so we can attend distant meetings and see our friends from all over the world without breaking our budgets!
Lily,
The transporter idea is just fabulous. I am having visions of getting together with Mopsy, getting into the “Sherlockporter” and going all over the country to scion meetings and the Scintillation that you are working on. Mopey and I have plans in 2017 to visit the Dogs in the Nighttime in Anacortes, WA and, of course, the 30th anniversary celebration of The Stormy Petrels in Vancouver, BC. Would love to add more!
Thanks, Daisy
Someone needs to get on that transporter thing. I’d love to be at Scintillation of Scions and the events going on in Switzerland and Italy this year.
A transporter would revolutionize being a Sherlockian! The internet is close but no cigar. I miss my tin box!