The Moonstone Plug

Okay, this post has nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes but it might be of interest to some nonetheless. To celebrate their fourth year, my publisher, Hidden Tiger are running a promotion on one of their earliest releases, namely 'Tales From the Moonstone Inn'. During the next five days (18th - 22nd May) you can download a Kindle copy of it completely free.

'Tales From the Moonstone Inn' is a collection of stories written in the 1920s and 1930s by my great-great uncle, Francis William Strapp, a down-on-his-luck Englishman living in Australia. He was a man who lived a life every bit as captivating and mysterious as the stories he wrote, from his near-death experience in Sydney to the reasons behind his decision to emigrate to Australia, leaving his wife behind.

For over eighty years the majority of his works remained unpublished, with his hand written manuscripts sitting in the bottom drawer of a family member's bureau. In 2011, seventy-four years after his death, his surviving works finally found their way into print.

The book contains two novella - 'The Moonstone Inn' and 'The Man Who Tossed a Sixpence', mystery adventures set in Australia and the South Pacific. In them, the reader will come across dark schemes and evil deeds, hidden hoards and guarded secrets, mixed in with a smattering of romance. The collection also contains two short stories, letters to the press, photographic illustrations and essays which focus on the author's life and the settings for his stories.


Pick up your copy here before it goes back to its regular price.

Gillette in HD (The Best a Fan Can Get)

William Gillette's 1916 film 'Sherlock Holmes' is coming to Blu-ray. The film which was rediscovered in the vaults of La Cinémathèque Française last year is being released as a Blu-ray / DVD combo on the 20th October 2015.

Bonus Features include:

• Sherlock Holmes Baffled: a 30 second Mutoscope film from 1900 which features the earliest known portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on film.

• A Canine Sherlock Holmes: a British silent film from 1912, starring Spot the Urbanora Dog in the title role.

• Più forte che Sherlock Holmes: an Italian silent film from 1913 also know as Stronger Than Sherlock Holmes.

• An Interview with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Outtakes from a 1930 broadcast with William Gillette.

• PDF material: including a transcript of Gillette's 1899 play 'Sherlock Holmes: A Drama in Four Acts' and a copy of the original contract between Gillette and Essanay Films.

Also included is a booklet which gives information on the restoration project.

Roll on October.

Requiem Goes Unlimited

Requiem for Sherlock Holmes has just been enrolled in Amazon's KDP Select programme, which means that Amazon Prime customers can now download a copy of it for free via Kindle Unlimited.

The book should have gone onto KDP Select last year but we've had no end of trouble getting one particular site to remove the book from their listings (as Amazon insist on exclusivity). I don't want to name names so I'll just call them Burns and Nibble.

Click here to get your copy.