Hi Holmies,
I have exciting news… well, exciting depending on how you manage your excitement expectation levels. Boro’s Greatest Detective is getting a makeover. From 28th October 2022 onwards my Sherlock Holmes stories are being republished as The Accidental Detective series (sound familiar?). This will culminate with the launch of a new volume of feature-length stories on 11th November. I say “new”, there is an element of a greatest hits collection about this in that it will contain The Darlington Substitution, which some of you may have already read. It’s been a while though, so perhaps a refresher may be useful. In addition to this there is a bonus story of The Riverside Thriller that has previously only been published in digital format. That is, if you don’t count its serialisation in Fly Me To The Moon. Am I losing you? Yes you at the back. Someone give them a nudge. It’s not all a meander down memory lane. The brand spanking new volume, Three Pint Problems [ahem] will contain two even newer adventures; namely, Murder On The Teesside Princess and The Devil’s Advcocate. It’s been a while so I really hope you enjoy them
Don’t worry, our Sherlock will still be the same wisecracking neerdowell you have come to know and love. The thinking behind the rebrand is to give the stories a more global appeal. The stories haven’t changed. It’s just the covers. Holmes Volume 1 and 2 have been massively popular in around the area they are based, but they haven’t seen the same number of readers farther afield. There have been some great reviews from all around the world. It appears the dry Northern English humour has a global appeal. It’s time to spread the love.
You'll delight in the quick wit, dry humor and quirky dialogue as Small thrusts his characters into each dilemma. In the last 42 months, I've read 337 books, and let me proudly say this one is in the top 10.
Richard Lang, Nevada, USA
All the new versions are available to pre-order on Kindle now. The timeline for publication is as follows.
- The Accidental Detective (formally Holmes Volume 1: Enigma, Detective, Boro Lad) - 28th October 2022
- The Song of the Swan (formally Holmes Volume 2: The Return of Boro’s Greatest Detective) - 4th November 2022
- Three Pint Problems (New, new, newish) - 11th November 2022
Those wishing to purchase the books in their original form, which will most likely be rereleased as the classic series at some point, can pick up one of the last remaining copies from my profile page on Indipenned on an as-stocks-last basis. Collectors items if never there was.
Finally, there will be some promotional activity to accompany the re/launch. There is a blog tour to herald the release of the series running from 7th to `1th November and this will culminate with the launch event for Three Pint Problems. If you follow Sherlock Holmes, Mel Small, Writer or Indipenned, Home of Independent Literature on Twitter or Facebook and see any of the related posts, please share. I really wanna see those fingers.
One more thing… Republication will mean all the great reviews of the original books will stay with them and effectively be lost. With the new starting from scratch, it would be amazing if you could log on to Amazon and post a few kind words. Reviews really help when attracting new readers.
Many thanks and keep on groovin’
Mel
