rom the February 22, 2006 edition of the Petaluma Argus Courier is a dandy little article called Two Holmesians, no Watson, concerning a book signing with two of the current kings of Sherlockian pastiche, Steve Hockensmith and Michael Kurland:

Poor Watson. He won’t be getting his royalty check this month. That’s because two Petaluma authors, Michael Kurland and Steve Hockensmith, have published Sherlock Holmes-inspired mysteries that are not narrated by Dr. John Watson, and, in fact, don’t include much of Holmes either. […]

For Hockensmith, “Holmes on the Range” is his first Holmes-inspired mystery, and in fact his first published book. It’s set during the Holmes era, 1893, but in the Old West. In it, two cowboy brothers find work on a ranch during hard times. They have heard of Sherlock Holmes from stories in Harper’s Weekly, and the eldest brother, “Old Red,” has become a big fan of Holmes. Fortunately, people on the ranch keep turning up dead, so there’s a big mystery to be solved.

For Kurland, “The Empress of India” is his fourth Sherlock Holmes mystery that focuses on Holmes’ nemesis Professor Moriarty. In the series, Moriarty is represented as somewhat misunderstood. Certainly he is still a criminal, but most of his dalliances are staged to raise money to fund his worthy scientific endeavors, such as astronomy.