User:Cronydeb/Kelvin I. Jones

KELVIN I JONES

Kelvin I. Jones has been a prolific writer for a quarter of a century. Born in Kent in 1948, he is one of that rare breed who is equally at home writing poetry, plays and, above all, novels. He has published six books about Sherlock Holmes and the only study on Conan Doyle’s interest in spiritualism, as well as numerous articles about the Victorian detective (see R De Waal's Universal Sherlock Holmes, online edition, 2000). Ed Hoch, the renowned American crime writer, has said of his Sherlockian work: “Kelvin I Jones reveals a sensibility and knowledge of 19th Century literature that extends far beyond the world of Sherlock Holmes.” (Introduction to Sherlock and Porlock, Magico, 1984). He is also the author of many supernatural stories, among them Carter's Occult Casebook, about a psychic Edwardian detective. Of his gothic tales, Francis King, the novelist and critic, has written, “(Kelvin's work) piquantly suggest the work of a modern M.R. James.” (Introduction to Twenty Stories.) His work is also cited in Ramsey Campbell's Meddling With Ghosts (2002) where he is described as one of the 'James gang.'

Kelvin has written three books on folklore, including Occult Cornwall, as well as two fiction books for children – Odin’s Eye and The Dark Entry (the latter co-authored with wife Debbie). He is the proprietor of Oakmagic Publications, a British folklore publisher (www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk).

He has also published four occult crime novels featuring a melancholic, ex-Met detective, John Bottrell.

In addition to novels, he wrote The Field, a play for BBC Radio in 1995, and has had plays performed at The Barbican Theatre Plymouth and The Birmingham Arts Centre, as well as his own one man show Mr Bottrell’s Amazing Tales at the Acorn Theatre Penzance. His poetry includes the moving Omega, which is a collection of poems about the survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Of his  poetry, Bruce Kent, the peace activist, has written, “Kelvin has the gift of the extra eye. He can tell us what we need to see and never forget.” (Introduction to Omega).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Horror/Supernatural: Numerous anthologised short supernatural stories: (William Kimber & other publishers) 1986 – 1989 and in “Twenty Stories”, Secker & Warburg 1989, ed. Francis King. “Carter's Occult Casebook,”tales of an Edwardian psychic investigator, Oakmagic Pubns, 2008

Biography: “Conan Doyle & The Spirits”: The Spiritualist Career of Arthur Conan Doyle (Thorsons),1989

Crime: “Sherlock Holmes Murder File” (Magico, NY) 1987 “The Making of Sherlock Holmes” (Magico, NY) 1986 “Sherlock & Porlock: The Literary Antecedents of Sherlock Holmes” (Magico) 1986 “A Sherlock Holmes Dictionary” (Magico) 1987 Sherlock Holmes & The Kent Railways – Mereseborough Books, 1987 “Stone Dead” – crime novel featuring Cornish detective John Bottrell (Hale, 2006) “The Phantom Hound” – critical essays on Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles. (Oakmagic 2006). “The Flowers Of Evil” – 2nd John Bottrell crime novel, set in Bristol – Pegasus, Spring 2008. “Witch Jar” – 3rd Bottrell crime novel, set in Cornwall, Pegasus, 2008. “A Cromer Corpse” 4th Bottrell novel - ebook, www.contact-publishing.com, 2010. “The Meeting House” – (edited by Kelvin I. Jones), an anthology of Norfolk short stories. Oakmagic Pubns., 2006

Folklore: “An Joan The Crone: The History & Craft of The Cornish Witch” (Oakmagic Books, 1999) “The Wise Woman: Her Lives, Spells, Divinatory Practices etc.” (Oakmagic Books, 2004) Occult Cornwall – Oakmagic Pubns, 2001

CHILDREN’S FICTION “Odin’s Eye” – Fantasy novel for teenagers, Pegasus Books, Cambridge, March 2007 “The Dark Entry” -Fantasy/supernatural novel with Debbie Jones, Oakmagic Pubns., 2009.

Radio:

“The Field” – 30 min. radio play for BBC, 1995

Poetry:

Omega: Poems about the survivors of the nuclear holocaust, Weavers Press, 1989 “Lyonesse”. 1995.

Theatre:

“Charlie” – The Barbican, Plymouth, 1994 “The Great Beast” – Birmingham Arts Centre, 1971 “Mr Bottrell’s Amazing Tales” – One Man Show, Acorn Theatre Penzance 1999