GalaxyCon, 40th Anniversary, Brass Seal, Carfax Abby, Criterion Restaurant, Wedding Lore, Hunting Count Wampyr, Book Crawl Progress, Palestine’s Ghosts progress, 90-minute reads. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…
No book signings this weekend – Deborah and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in Branson, Missouri. Wish us luck. On the way back we are stopping at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Hopefully we can find a diamond or two for an anniversary gift for Deborah…
I Needed a version of the seal for Weird The First. In that novelette, the seal is only about 3 inches across and it is only a relative of the main seal.
I got approved for an author table at Galaxycon Oklahoma City. This is the first big con I’ve been approved for. We’ll have to see what it is like.
The main refuge of Dracula in the story is Carfax, or Carfax House, in Purfleet-on-Thames, Essex, east of London. Likely its location and size were based on Purfleet house, across from what is now the Royal Hotel. It was a great house built by a brewer and Member of Parliament that was torn down in the 20th Century. The asylum (which doesn’t appear in the Weird) was probably based on Ordinance house. https://freerangehistory.substack.com/p/issue-29-how-the-worlds-most-famous Purfleet house didn’t look “haunted” enough for a Gothic romance, so Stoker changed its looks to fit the genre. He used Whitby Abby in North Yorkshire for his visual inspiration. That was the reason that the movies called it “Carfax Abby” despite the fact that Stoker didn’t put that name in the book.
I needed a place where Walter, Eleanor and company could grab a quick bite of lunch. One thing led to another as it often does when I look for interesting details, and they ended up at the Criterion Restaurant. It is an immensely historic building and institution. Among other things, it hosted the Royal College of Science’s First Annual Dinner, Chaired by H. G. Wells. Another interesting thing: they had a theater in the basement of the building. They decided having a basement room lit by gas lights might not be the best idea, so it closed in 1883 for renovations. It reopened in 1884 with all new, newfangled electric lights instead.
I had cause to revisit some of the Victorian wedding lore. Specifically the lore about what day of the week a couple is married.
Monday for Wealth;
Tuesday for Health;
Wednesday the Best Day of All;
Thursday for Losses;
Friday for Crosses;
and Saturday No Luck at All
It’s time to hunt Count Wampyr and Walter isn’t willing to play by the Weird’s rules anymore. By the late 1800s, the “Texas Stock Saddle” was an established saddle design. It was descended from Spanish/Mexican vaquero tradition and modified to meet the needs of a rider that would be in the saddle from dawn to dusk for multiple days at a time. This resulted in a deeper, heavier saddle with more leather, a prominent horn in front, and a rather high canticle in back compared to the typical English riding saddle. With the rest of the equipment Walter sees as minimally necessary, it makes for a great contrast between him and the Englishmen riding with him. Of course Sekmet is just as determined to protect Eleanor and destroy the Count’s evil.
North Texas Indie Bookstore Crawl visits this week:
Bibliobar Bookstore, Plano – not my cup of tea
Neighbor Books, McKinney – This was a wonderful bookstore. I wish it was closer.
The Plot Twist – Another bookstore specializing in Romance novels.
Talking Animals Books – Two bookstores in Grapevine. The one on Main is a standard bookstore and coffee bar, definitely worth the visit. The one just off Main on Worth Street is a kids book store. I was so excited to see that Golden Books are still a thing. They have Little Engine that Could and the Pokey Puppy that I remember reading as well as Star Wars and other modern stories to read to kiddos. One of the most exciting finds so far on the Book Crawl.
Tropes Bookstore – Brand new bookstore in North Richland Hills. The co-owner suggested I have a launch party there when Palestine’s Ghosts is done. I haven’t thought about launch parties, but probably should…
Good progress this week on Palestine’s Ghosts. Chapters this week:
Weird The First III: Count Wampyr
Weird The First IV: Count Wampyr Strikes Back
Weird The First V – partial
Word Count is 30,762 in 6+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.
Mirim’s First Christmas is in a new category: 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads
June Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebook, 629 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book off Amazon, 8 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 192 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 5 in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 5 in-person. Selene Unchained sold 5 in-person, 2 ebooks off Amazon. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 83 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 3 in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas sold 5 in-person.
Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,410 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,833 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #8,552 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.
Artemis Rising is #715 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #830 in Steampunk Fiction, and #2,224 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.
Celestial Accord is in #1,698 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,827 Steampunk Fiction, #4,560 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.
Forging the Chain Breakers is #355 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #495 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,097 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.
Selene Unchained is #1,766 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,939 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,682 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here
Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,687 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #11,875 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,033 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.