“Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the
~ Sherlock Holmes to Dr John Watson, A Study in Scarlet
world. I’m a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is.”
I am extraordinarily proud to have been the commissioning editor for this new Sherlock Holmes anthology, released in April 2021.
You can order it from Clan Destine Press as an ebook, paperback or hardcover, It’s also available from Amazon, Booktopia and other online bookstores
The Only One in the World
What if Sherlock Holmes was Polish? What if he and/or John Watson were Indian or Irish or Australian or Japanese? How would their worlds look if one or both was from a completely different background?
These are the questions Clan Destine Press asked writers from a wealth of backgrounds when inviting them to submit stories of adventure and detection. The result is thirteen culturally diverse Holmeses and Watsons, rich in detail yet still reflecting their origins as the creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I was inspired to pitch The Only One in the World in part by the re-imagining of Dr Watson as a Chinese-American woman in Elementary, the Japanese take on Holmes and Watson in Miss Sherlock and by the delightful artwork by Beka Duke (TheDrawingDuke) of Dev Patel and Riz Ahmed as Victorian-era Holmes and Watson, as well as an entertaining discussion on the possibilities with writer Atlin Merrick.
I was thrilled when Clan Destine Press accepted the pitch and assigned me as commissioning editor for the book. I set about approaching as many great writers as I could from a variety of backgrounds, calling on each of them to tell a Holmes and Watson story from their own unique perspective.
Whether writing from the perspective of Own Voices or as experts in a particular period of history, the writers for this anthology have brought Holmes and Watson vividly to life in settings as varied as a princely investigation in Ancient Egypt to a retrospective exhibition in future Russia.
Our contributors – who include award-winning and -nominated writers – have created stories set in Germany, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Russian, India, Poland, USA, 17th Century England, Ancient Egypt, Viking Iceland and even one with a global aspect.
Clan Destine Press is proud to announce the table of contents for this new look at our old friends, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.
- The Affair of the Purloined Rentboy by Greg Herren
- S.H.E.R.L.O.C.K. by Atlin Merrick
- The Path of Truth by Jack Fennell
- Sharaku Homura and the Heart of Iron by Jason Franks
- The Adventure of the Disappearing Village by Natalie Conyer
- The Saga of the Hidden Treasure by Kerry Greenwood and David Greagg
- The Problem of the Lying Author by Lisa Fessler
- Mistress Islet and the General’s Son by Lucy Sussex
- A Scandalous Case of Poisoning by Katya de Becerra
- The Adventure of the Fated Homecoming by Jayantika Ganguly
- Prince Ha-mahes and the Adventure of the Stoned Mason by LJM Owen
- The Enemy Within by Raymond Gates
- A Study in Lavender by JM Redmann
Internal artwork is by Andrea L Farrell (aka altocello) and the stunning wraparound cover is by Judith Rossell – with 11 windows, two doors and a bicycle to cover every story and my introduction in the book!
