Hello all!
I’ve added this section to Victorian Vignettes where I’ll be giving a monthly update on my writing projects, and what I’ve been reading lately.
If you only want to receive my articles, feel free to unsubscribe from this particular section - though the consequences will be grave!
These updates will be casual and light-hearted.
January 1st - 7th
My 2024 started with a cold.
The son of a bitch crept up on me late on New Year's Eve!
As illness entered my body, any chance of starting the year writing left it.
I reacted correctly to this setback - Resting and binge-watching episodes of Jack Reacher & Lord of the Rings (extended edition), not that Rings of Power garbage on Amazon Prime.
With my thirst for Jack Reacher not yet quenched, I used an Audible credit on the first Reacher book - Killing Floor.
I’m not someone who usually reads thrillers, but they’re usually quite easy to get through. Not that much effort, you know?
Killing Floor is no different.
Every step of that story, every piece of information, every conversation, all of it moved the story forward. It is a story completely devoid of fluff.
I didn’t pick up on any woke agenda being forced into the story to tick a box either. Everything in the story was relevant.
Short sentences make it fast-paced and easily digested. I suspect I will listen to more Reacher books in the future.
As well as this, I listened to At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft.
That is an excellent story, as you all know.
I managed to make some extremely brief notes for an anthology that I plan on editing. However, my concentration as well as my immune system was compromised.
With pressure in my sinuses mounting, I closed my laptop and made a hot toddy…
A few days later, with wellness on the horizon, I picked up a few books on my first visit to a bookshop for ages - Waterstones on Deansgate in Manchester.
January 8th - 14th
This week I was still feeling the effects of the trespassers in my lungs, but I was certainly getting better. I started reading The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.
1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.
This week, I also wrote the bulk of my article Addiction and Moral Transgressions in Victorian Literature.
I started working out again towards the end of the week since I was feeling better. Then I went to the pub and drank strong cask ales.
January 15th - 21st
Something you probably don’t know about me is that I often have a combination of physical, kindle and audiobooks on the go at the same time. I spent much time listening to the Drenai fantasy series by David Gemmell (highly recommended).
This week I started listening to a new fantasy series: the Stormlight Archive book 1, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I know, I know, it isn’t Gaslamp horror!
But I love a good fantasy story. That’s why my fiction will have fantastical elements.
Brandon Sanderson’s books are big and I personally wouldn’t mind if there was less chit-chat and fluffy bits. A lot of people like it but I think he would be as effective a world-builder if those sections were trimmed slightly.
On Monday, I stopped by the pub to finish and schedule the addiction article and have a swift drink.
It’s about time I got back to my work-in-progress for the first time in about a month. Now is as good a time as any to actually tell you what my work-in-progress is.
It is a collection of short Gaslamp Horror stories. The theme is the idea that there are horrors that are invisible, yet before our eyes. You never know what any of the people you pass on the street have just done, what they’re going to do, or what evil they’re plotting.
More about that in future posts.
I remembered I hadn’t picked up The Watchmaker of Filigree Street since my first sitting. Ha.
Then I remembered that I started I Am Providence by ST Joshi on my Kindle.
January 22nd - 28th
On Monday, I finished and scheduled this week’s Macabre Monday article - Decay & Deterioration in Gaslamp Horror.
The next day I helped a friend carry a couple of tonnes of timber he had delivered. It was backbreaking work, but I’m a powerhouse. Then we did the gentlemanly thing and went to the pub.
I was looking through one of the stories in my collection and couldn’t help but wonder if it needed to be removed and expanded, possibly turned into a novelette. It’s already one of the longer stories in the book and it would leave me a big hole to fill.
With that on my mind, I saw the week out without picking up The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.
Glad you are feeling better.
The Drenei series from David Gemmel (RIP) is spectacular. He was a huge influence on me growing up.
I'm sorry you began the year ill, but to me, this looks like a super month. Plus I think watching TV is good for creativity.