Episode 30: The Episode of Dubious Legality—Betsy Rosenblatt, the OTW, and Fanworks

Fandom Summer is upon us!

To kick it off, Babes Ardy, Lyndsay, Taylor and Amy chat it up with Betsy Rosenblatt, who works with the Legal committee of the Organization for Transformative Works.

The OTW runs a lot of fandom-based projects, including the Archive of our Own, a scholarly journal about fan cultures, and a fandom wiki—and they also provide legal advice and advocacy for and on behalf of fannish creators, which is where Betsy (and people like her on the committee) comes in.

We talk to her about the legal issues surrounding fanworks, how much trouble they can potentially get you into, and we discuss listener questions such as the reasons why people create them in the first place, and what it is that makes fandoms like Sherlock Holmes so enduring. Also, we really want to know: what drove her to invest much of her time in this project and how successful is it?

The answer to all these questions lies but a click and a listen away. Enjoy, and let us know your own thoughts on these issues, if you feel so inclined—we love getting listener mail :)

Special #3 - Alistair Duncan: A Study In Bart’s: Holmes, Watson, and England’s Great Hospital.

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A Study In Bart's: Holmes, Watson, and England's Great Hospital. Recorded lecture by Alistair Duncan at St. Bartholomew's Pathology Museum on 27/06/2012

The famous meeting place of Holmes and Watson, St. Batholomews Hospital is surprisingly rarely featured in adaptations of the stories. Why is this? What series finally gave St. Bart's its due credit? A fantastic lecture by Alistair in which he likens Sherlock Holmes to Britain's super hero.

A PDF of his slides can be found [HERE]

Follow Alistair on twitter at @alistaird221b ¦ His blog is at http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/


And as this is now becoming our tradition... a silly picture.

Episode 28: Louise Brealey

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Louise Brealey, who plays Molly Hooper on BBC's Sherlock, was at Collectormania Milton Keynes on a VERY cold Sunday in early June. Without too much of a plan, Babes Curly, Maria, Ardy, and Joanne drove up and nabbed an interview with the incredibly funny and charming actress. Dancing around the stadium in attempts to keep warm, they wandered the stalls, met fans, and danced with Storm Troopers. After a quick interview with a Scottish Darth Vader, they were able to sit down with Louise and chat Sherlock and matching tape recorders. It's delightful.

TRANSCRIPT, Episode 28: Louise Brealey

The Baker Street Babes Podcast

Transcript, Episode 28: Louise Brealey

Recorded 03/06/12

Released 23/06/12, Transcribed by Melanie Fletcher

Episode 27: Amanda Abbington

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On New Year's Day 2012, a facebook post stopped The Baker Street Babes in their tracks. Amanda Abbington was asking how to become a Baker Street Babe. After we recovered (it took some time), we began a delightful conversation with Amanda about Sherlock and beyond. After a few months of schedule dancing, work, school, and New Zealand, The Babes and Amanda were finally able to meet up and what you're about to listen to and read is what came of it.

We can honestly say this was such a delight and a treat. Not only was it just fun, but it was insightful. Amanda has been dubbed The Queen of Fandom by BBC Sherlock enthusiasts, and rightfully so. she's reached out to fans unlike anyone else, breaking The Fourth Wall and embracing fan culture. Incredibly charming, witty, and caring, she has become quite special to many of us.



Please note this episode was recorded at the end of April and in a restaurant. While perfectly listenable, it may be worthwhile to follow along in the transcript.

For those who don't know, Amanda Abbington is an English actress and comedienne who has appeared on television and stage. She is best known for her roles in the 2005 comedy sketch show Man Stroke Woman and the 2007–2008 comedy After You’ve Gone with Nicholas Lyndhurst. She has also appeared in recurring series such as Coupling, Casualty, and Dream Team. She is the longtime partner of British actor Martin Freeman, who plays John Watson in Sherlock.

She has a facebook group devoted to her, suitably entitled: Amanda Abbington is made of trolls, wit, and perfection. (A partner to her husband's Martin Freeman is made of jam, kittens, and rage.)

You can follow her on twitter at @amandaabbington and her and Martin's delightful (and hysterical) dogs @JodieArchie1


And as promised at the end of the interview, here's Amanda's casting for an all-female Sherlock cast!

Episode 26: Lara Pulver & Irene Adler

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In Sherlock she was the dominatrix that brought a nation to its knees. A far cry from the Adler of canon, but with the same essence of adventure and mischief. Lara Pulver's Irene turned heads and caused controversy, and we feel that's just what Adler of the canon would have wanted. Lara Pulver chats with Curly, Lyndsay, Maria, and Jenn about her turn as The Woman. We geek out about McQueen and  sexual identity, and reveal the secret to beating Benedict Cumberbatch at word games.
Lyndsay & Curly do a brief introduction which has Star Trek casting spoilers for Benedict, so if you want to avoid that, skip to 10 minutes in.

A full transcript of this episode is [HERE]

Make sure you watch Sherlock on PBS Masterpiece: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/ And follow along with our live tweets during the show! Next up is The Hounds of Baskerville!

You can follow Lara on twitter at @larapulver

Episode 25: Steampunk Holmes

Listen [HERE]

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Babes Jenn, Lyndsay, and Amy have a chat with three of the people behind the Steampunk Holmes project.  Producer Richard Monson-Haefel, author P.C. Martin, and artist Daniel Cortes talk about how the idea of mashing Sherlock Holmes and steampunk together came to life.  Holmes rides a steampunk motorcycle with sidecar! Watson has a bionic arm! Mycroft is a female! How cool is that?!?

The Steampunk Holmes project is authorized by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate and is a labor of love for these three.  Currently, they are in need of your help.  Steampunk Holmes has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to help raise funds to complete their interative iPad application of Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus.  Everyone who donates gets some amazing gifts for helping.  You can donate here.

As a special thank you to our listeners, the Steampunk Holmes creators are offering a FREE download of the e-pub version of Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus.  To claim the free download, go to Smashwords, choose your perferred format of the e-book, and enter the code UN78D when you check out.  It's as simple as that!

Trust us.  You won't be disappointed.

Episode 24: The Detective and The Woman

Listen [HERE]

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Our very own Amy Thomas talks to Ardy, Jenn and Sarah about her pastiche The Detective and The Woman, originally written for NaNoWriMo 2011.

A short summary: Irene Adler finds herself a widow at thirty-two, wealthy but emotionally broken. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes finds himself unable to return to England after faking his death at Reichenbach Falls and is drawn into an investigation of two men with designs on Irene Adler. The Detective and The Woman throw their lot in together to uncover a dangerous plot. In the process, they meet legendary inventor Thomas Edison and experience life in Florida at the turn of the 20th century.

We want to know all! How did she come up with the idea? What was it like writing a pastiche in the cracks of the Canon? How did she go about getting it published? And did she sleep at all during November last year? There's lots of laughter, lots of love for Holmes and Watson, and Amy finally gives her answers to the BSB questions.

The novel is now available from MX Publishing—we’d appreciate it if you got it from our bookshop because that way, you get a great book and we get some pennies towards bandwidth!

In other news, we are hosting a meetup and flashmob in Trafalgar Square on April 21 in support of the Undershaw Preservation Trust—more information and link to RSVP [HERE]. This is in conjunction with AnotherBohemianSoul’s costumed walk on the same day, more about that [HERE]. We hope to see lots of you there!

Also, Wear Sherlock are inviting contributions for a photo montage to raise awareness of the cause—if you want to participate, [HERE]’s how!

Episode 23: New and Old Sherlockians

Babes Ardy, Amy, Jenn, Maria, Sarah and Taylor chat to Mattias Boström, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, about “New” and “Old” Sherlockians. Mattias is working on a book about the Sherlock Holmes success story at the moment, so we have plenty to talk about! What does it mean to be a Sherlockian or Holmesian these days? Do people still play The Game? What’s the difference between Sherlockian societies’ meetings and Sherlock meetups? What will happen to the Sherlock Holmes societies when the “Old” and the “New” Sherlockians meet? While we discuss these questions and more, one thing is certain: we are all united in our love for Sherlock Holmes.

As we found out, Mattias is always happy to chat to people about Holmes, so go follow him on Twitter @mattias221b!

Special thanks go to Roger Johnson and Carrie Chandler from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, who could not be there in person but provided us with questions for the discussion. You can follow Carrie on Twitter at @carriechandler or @SHSLBakerStweet for official SHSL news.

The book that Mattias mentioned in the episode is Steven Doyle and David Crowder’s Sherlock Holmes for Dummies, which you can buy from the bookseller of your choice.

Episode 22: Michael Price & The Music of Sherlock

Listen [HERE]
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Michael Price is one half of the brilliant composing team behind BBC's Sherlock. That enough should recommend this episode as a must for any Sherlock fan, let alone music fan. He's composed, edited, and helped with dozens of amazing scores including Lord of the Rings, Band of Brothers, and Casino Royale. He joins Babes Curly, Ardy, Marie, Maria, Amy, and Sarah for a delightful chat about everything Sherlock and beyond. How did he and David get started with the score? What are their favourite tracks? Just how much does he love the fan orchestra, and does he have a cat?

Afterwards Babes Curly, Maria, Ardy, Amy, and Turk chat about their favourite tracks, the pilot, Series 3 hopes, and even a bit about CBS' Elementary. It's full of laughs, quirks, and tons of Sherlock Holmes loving.

Note: You can learn more about and submit things to The Art of Deduction Fanbook by visiting their information page [HERE] It's in support of The Undershaw Preservation Trust (www.saveundershaw.com)

Episode 21: Gerry O'Hara & Tracy Revels

Listen Here

Be prepared for old fashioned English humor, some Bram Stoker chatter, Southern twang, and lots of Sherlock Holmes love (as always). Holmesian authors Gerry O'Hara and Tracey Revels chat with Babes Maria & Taylor about Sherlock Holmes and the supernatural. From Dracula to Titania with a dash of Lord of the Rings and bunnies (what?).
Gerry O’Hara is an English film and television director. O’Hara was an assistant director on Laurence Olivier’s film, Richard III; the Carol Reed film, Our Man in Havana and the Academy Award-winning Tom Jones. O’Hara’s directorial debut was the 1963 cautionary tale That Kind of Girl, about the dangers of contracting venereal disease. During the 1960s, he directed episodes of The Avengers and a film based on a Van Der Valk novel by Nicolas Freeling, Amsterdam Affair. O’Hara directed the highly controversial film The Brute. O’Hara directed and wrote the screenplay for the 1979 film, The Bitch, an adaptation of the Jackie Collins novel. Later television credits include directing and writing episodes of The Professionals, script editor for the ITV series C.A.T.S. Eyes and directing an episode of Press Gang. Most recently he has become a published author, writing Sherlock Holmes & The Affair of Transylvania.

Sherlock Holmes and The Affair In Transylvania is a complete re-telling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, incident by bloody incident.   When Dr Watson tells Holmes the distressing news that his niece’s husband is missing on a visit to Count Dracula, the great detective decides that he and Watson should journey to Transylvania.

Tracy Revels is a professor of history at Wofford College in South Carolina, and author of a few Sherlock Holmes pastiches! The most notable is Shadowfall.

When the sacred relics and mystical objects of London begin disappearing, Sherlock Holmes must call on more than his powers of deduction to solve a mystery that threatens the safety of the British Empire and Doctor Watson’s mortal soul.

And we’re happy to say a sequel was written, entitled Shadowblood.

A sequel to Shadowfall, this novel continues the adventures of Holmes as a man of two worlds, gifted with both deductive and magical powers. The convalescing Watson’s country holiday is brought to an abrupt end when an eccentric recluse named Edgar Telfair demands that Holmes investigate his daughters disappearance. Holmes’ refusal to take the case is followed by Telfair’s sudden, horrific slaying. The act revives Watson’s suppressed memories of the Shadows and reintroduces him to Holmes s double life. Together Holmes and Watson must find Alice Telfair, a witch whose shocking powers are obtained through blood magic, the vilest form of sorcery. Tracking her from Paris to Prague to America, they soon learn that she is traveling with a shadowy figure equally as dangerous. Old friends, including Lestrade and Mycroft, assist Holmes and Watson in their quest. In America the pair enlists new allies: a Pinkerton agent with a past, a Seminole showman, a blind photographer whose cameras capture the spirit world, and a strange little boy destined for a frightening future. But Holmes and Watson are being stalked, not only by Alice Telfair and her hideous assistant, but also by a mysterious interloper whose quest for justice stretches from beyond the grave.

 Sherlock Hares!

Doctor Wabbit!

Episode 20: Joe Lidster & Blogging Sherlock

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Joe Lidster is the talent behind BBC Sherlock's blogs (John Watson's Blog, The Science of Deduction, Molly Hooper's Blog, & The Connie Prince website). With a fabulous writing repetoire including Doctor Who & Torchwood, it's no wonder he is a BBC fav. Babes Curly & Marie (plus Curly's snarky flatmate/BSB Science guru Stephen) got to sit down with Joe after hearing his great talk at BAFTAGames' Transmedia Meetup.

It’s a brilliant episode and loads of fun. We chat with him about our love for Molly Hooper, how he got into Sherlock Holmes, jellyfish, viagra, getting into character, and generally a lot of gushing about Sherlock. We talk a bit about the #BELIEVEINSHERLOCK campaign as well. Warning, there are spoilers for Sherlock Series 2.

You can follow Joe on twitter at @joelidster , he loves getting new followers haha, though apologizes if he only talks about lunch and going to the pub.

The event was hosted by @BAFTAGames, and the folks there are amazing. Seriously, if you’re in London, you need to follow them on twitter. They have tons of free events and talks.

Episode 19: John Watson Appreciation

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It's John Watson Appreciation Hour (and a half!) Spoilers for Sherlock Series 2 and A Game of Shadows. This episode is dedicated to John Watson, the steadfast soldier and friend. To the man who is always there, even to the bitter end. He is the man who is a friend to Sherlock Holmes, the man who calls him out on being an annoying dick, and the man who believes in him. John Watson is more than the everyday man, he is each and every one of us, the audience surrogate taking us along on the wild ride of his misadventures in and out of London. He is the best friend of the cleverest man in the world, the healer, the soldier, and the lover. He is John Watson and we fucking love him.

What are your favorite Dr. Watson moments from the canon? Who is your favorite John Watson on screen? If you could go on a date with Dr. Watson where would you go (because let’s be honest, Dr. John “Three Continents” Watson would definitely take you on a date)? Any questions about the good doctor?

Nearly all the Baker Street Babes take you through an episode of John Watson love. THANK YOU to everyone who helped donate and our new sponsor, The Baker Street Journal!


Kate Beaton's hilarious comic on "Jam Watson." www.harkavagrant.com

Destadora's great post on John Watson

Episode 18: The Reichenbach Fall

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"It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these the last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Sherlock Holmes was distinguised."

- The Final Problem

SPOILERS FOR THE REICHENBACH FALL!

On the 15th of January, 2011, we and upwards of 8million other people in the UK (and beyond) were staring at out television, tissues and wine in hand. It is the night of The Reichenbach Fall and The Final Problem. "My best friend, Sherlock Holmes, is dead..." a broken John Watson reveals to his therapist, and we start our emotional roller coaster of the Sherlock Series 2 finale.

Babes Curly, Ardy, Jenn, Turk, Amy, Maria, and Marie mull over Reichenbach. We console, we laugh, we theorize, and we declare our everlasting love for Molly Hooper. Why did Mycroft do what he did? Did Sherlock really believe he was going to die? We discuss so much and with such passion because this is the show that started off this podcast. So we discuss the brilliant directing and editing and performances, as well as the larger impact, and how we've all been hit by an emotional bus of crying and heartbreak.

How did he do it? Moriarty in Sherlock's clothes? Well places rubbish truck? Rhodedendrun a la Guy Ritchie? Magical unicorn? We discuss our theories, our hopes for The Empty House, and our continual heartbreak over this amazing piece of television.

In all seriousness, this is what acting and storytelling is about. Sherlock is the epitome of what television should be, what art should be. Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Andrew Scott, and everyone involved in this production deserve every award possible. Thank you Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat for an amazing series, and thank you Steve Thompson for Reichenbach.

Episode 17: The Hounds of Baskerville

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SPOILERS FOR THE HOUNDS OF BASKERVILLE!
As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor. It's Episode 17! 17 steps in Baker Street! This makes us happy. Anywho... join Ardy, Curly, Marie, Turk, Taylor, and new BSBs Amy and Maria as we discuss, flail over, and debate the second episode of Sherlock's new series. The modern update of Hounds is clever and full of intense character development. Rife with canon references, it's still recognizable as the ACD classic, but with some twists. We discuss how Sherlock's breakdown is crucial to what is to come, why the experiment on John needed to happen, and how poor dear Russell Tovey broke our hearts. Pleased with the Undershaw and Fletcher Robinson references, and debate over some other scenes, this is a full on discussion episode that we promise you'll enjoy.

We also take questions from listeners. Does Sherlock have Aspergers? Why do we call next week's episode The-Episode-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named? And is a new dance craze sweeping the nation? #DoTheMindPalace and find out.

Ardy has written up a fantastic annotated accompaniment to The Hounds of Baskerville, which you can read here

Episode 16: A Scandal In Belgravia

SPOILERS FOR A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA! It's been a year and a half since The Great Game pitted Sherlock and Jim Moriarty against one another, and we finally find out how it was resolved...

BBC Sherlock's hotly anticipated return came in with 11million viewers on New Year's Day, and blew our minds away with Irene Adler. Join Curly, Kafers, Taylor, Marie, and Sigita as they chatter on about the episode, what they loved, what (some) hated, and how much we love Paul McGuigan... seriously Paul, marry us.

We suspect not all of you will agree with us, hell, we don't agree with each other (which is fine!). Please talk with us on our facebook page, tumblr site, and twitter. We'd love to continue the debate.

We get a little silly a the end, but we're allowed to... so deal.

And let it be known, if you want to kidnap John Watson, just send a pretty girl.

Episode 15: A Game of Shadows (+ BONUS Sherlock Series 2)

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SPOILERS FOR GAME OF SHADOWS! Babes Curly, Ardy, Taylor, and Marie chat with Honorary Babe Lyndsay Faye about the Guy Ritchie sequel. We fawn over Jared Harris, applaud antithesis, bitch over the ladies, and laugh a ridiculous amount, as well as get a little sad. But most importantly we discuss Guy Ritchie's alarming hatred of trees. Star Wars and Batman make appearances, as Lyndsay's monkey voice.

As a BONUS, we also talk about the new Sherlock Series 2 trailers (that were out as of 12/20), our excitement bubbling over about the new series, and how, when it comes to it, Sherlock will always beat Guy Ritchie's films. Maybe if he didn't hate trees so much. There are NO SPOILERS for Sherlock Series 2 discussed if you have seen the trailers released by the BBC. Don't worry, we wouldn't do that to you.

Stay tuned for information on SherlockNYC's AMAZING events in The Big Apple. www.sherlocknyc.com

Episode 14: Les Klinger

Just in time for Game of Shadows, our interview with Les Klinger is a knock out. Sherlockian scholarship and Brad Pitt jumping his neighbor's fence, this episode is as much of us interviewing him as it is just a full on discussion of why we love Sherlock Holmes, in all his forms. Learn all about his dinner date with Robert Downey Jr, A Study in Sherlock, and quite a bit of banter!

Babes: Curly, Ardy, and Jenn.

Stayed tuned also from a message from Maria (from Episode 2!) about The German Sherlock Holmes Society, Undershaw, and Sherlocon! A Sherlock Holmes convention happening at the end of August, 2012! Find out more at http://www.dshc.de/

You can follow Les on Twitter @lklinger and go to his website http://www.lesliesklinger.com

Les Klinger is a legend in the Sherlockian world. He is the editor of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, a three book edition of all of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes fiction with extensive annotations, “hailed as the definitive exegesis of Holmes and his times;” the book won an Edgar Award.

He is the consultant of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. He also edited the scholarly ten-volume Sherlock Holmes Reference Library, a heavily annotated edition of the entire Sherlock Holmes canon, and The New Annotated Dracula, an annotated version of Bram Stoker’s novel.

He published two collections of classic fiction in 2011, In the Shadow of Dracula and In the Shadow of Sherlock Holmes, both from IDW. In 2011, he co-edited with Laurie R. King The Grand Game, a two-volume collection of classical Sherlockian scholarship, published by The Baker Street Irregulars, and A Study in Sherlock, a collection of stories by all-star writers inspired by the Sherlock Holmes tales (Random House).

Klinger is a member of the Sherlock Holmes literary club called The Baker Street Irregulars, as well as numerous other Sherlockian societies. He served three terms as chapter president of the Southern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. He is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Horror Writers Association (and currently serves on the Board of HWA), the Dracula Society, and the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.

He’s also just a really nice guy.

Episode 13: Undershaw

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Never have we had a more important episode than this. Undershaw was the home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1897 to 1907, and the residence where he wrote The Hound of The Baskervilles and The Return of Sherlock Holmes, as well as his piece on The great Boer War which earned him a knighthood. Many literary giants visited him within these personally designed walls, including J.M. Barrie, Bram Stoker, and Virginia Wolfe... not to mention his own illustrator Sidney Paget. This episode speaks with The Undershaw Preservation Trust's Lynn Gale and author of "An Entirely New Country," Alistair Duncan about the plight of Undershaw, why it needs to be saved, and how we're trying to do that.

The Waverly Borough Council wants to chop up this historic home into blocks of flats while The Undershaw Preservation Trust and its supporters want to preserve the home as a museum, working literary center, and a place for Sherlock Holmes fans to walk in the footsteps of the prolific writer.

The date for the Judicial Review to try and stop the developers is announced during this episode, as well as the airing of Caitlin Obom's anthem for Undershaw, "Not Our Glory." Listen also for details on Alistair's new book about Conan Doyle's time at Undershaw and the surrounding country. There's a lot of passion in this episode, but also a lot of laughs, and even some anger. It's an important one.

Babes: Curly, Ardy, and Marie
Guests: Lynn Gale and Alistair Duncan

For information on Undershaw please go to...
www.saveundershaw.com
Follow @spiritangel04 and @Save_Undershaw
The Undershaw Preservation Trust on Facebook

For news from Alistair Duncan...
http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/
Follow @alistaird221b
Buy "An Entirely New Country" here

Episode 12: Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz in the author of The House of Silk, a book that has the Sherlockian and Holmesian world reeling. Endorsed by The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate, some have called it canon, while others say it's just another pastiche. Babe, Jenn sits down with the popular author of the Alex Rider series and talks the story, how it came about, what fueled it, and who Anthony would have tea with.

Please note that while the majority of background noise has been removed, this interview took place in a hotel lobby and there may be some doors slamming.

You can buy The House of Silk now at all major bookstores and online.

Remember, we're online! Facebook - Twitter  and of course at www.bakerstreetbabes.com