When I first started writing about Sherlock Holmes I, rather naively as it turned out, thought the titles explained themselves. The Sign of Fear, A Study in Crimson, these would surely bring Conan Doyle and his The Sign of Four and A Study in Scarlet to mind? But, partly due to the beautifully feminine cover of book number one (drawn from suggestions by me and provided by the brilliant http://www.staunch.com/), it was seen as a romantic novel by some - a 'woman's book' Catherine Cookson style. That's why the silhouette of Sherlock Holmes appears on the cover of the second book in the series, and even on In Search of Doctor Watson who shouldn't need that kind of help, although it's best to cover all eventualities. Sherlock will appear again on the cover of my'current work in progress' The Noble Spinster, and I notice other writers of the genre have taken the hint and made sure he's lurking about somewhere on their covers. Footnotes will also guide readers to the original inspirations behind most of the adventures which befall the two women who run the Watson-Fanshaw Detective Agency: so that the book can be enjoyed both by fans and people new to Holmes and Watson, hopefully causing the latter to read Doyle and become fans themselves.
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