Rod Duncan's Blog, page 8
July 1, 2016
News and a few lines from the next novel
The Bullet Catcher's Daughter has just had it's 250th review on Goodreads and its 1300th star rating. One particularly lovely review, which came in a couple of days ago, described it as:
“A unique and immaculately crafted novel that everyone should read."
Meanwhile, I continue to chip away at the next novel set in the Gas-Lit Empire. (To be fair, this novel is set substantially outside the Gas-Lit Empire, but that is a story for another post.) I reached a significant milestone...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
“A unique and immaculately crafted novel that everyone should read."
Meanwhile, I continue to chip away at the next novel set in the Gas-Lit Empire. (To be fair, this novel is set substantially outside the Gas-Lit Empire, but that is a story for another post.) I reached a significant milestone...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
June 14, 2016
The Lost Chapters
I wrote several chapters of The Custodian of Marvels that never made it into the book. Two of them were set in Kent, where Elizabeth, Fabulo, Jeremiah and Lara set out to explore the cellars of a winery. (The winery cellars were laid out according to the same plan as the cellars of the International Patent Court in London.)
Here below is an extract from one of those lost (and unedited) chapters:
Custodian of Marvels, Chapter X
We could not imitate the wealth of the London dandies. Far easier to pretend to be trying to hide our money. Thus it was that Jeremiah came to be riding a private coach South from Dover on the Folkestone Road, dressed in a pale grey suit of modest price, but with fine Italian shoes on his feet – hired for the occasion. The cufflinks, mostly hidden under the sleeves of his jacket, were the touch of which I was most proud. Each appeared to be adorned with a sapphire the size of an acorn, though in truth they were paste.
Anyone searching for clues would see a man failing to perfectly conceal his extraordinary wealth. And they would look. We had made him up to seem 10 years older. Whilst Lara clung to one of his arms and I clung to the other. I had borrowed one of Ellie’s dresses for the purpose and felt myself unreasonably exposed.
The coach came to rest at the front entrance. The driver had clearly been taken in by our display because he was double-quick to open the door and place the steps. He even bowed as Jeremiah emerged and received his tip with ill concealed delight.
We had argued long and hard on that question. To give away money we could ill afford seemed wrong to the others. But I could think of no better way of spreading the news of Jeremiah’s supposed wealth. Within minutes the stable hands would know. Then the stablemaster and other servants too. Such valuable intelligence would quickly reach the owners of the vineyard.
At the doorway to the tasting rooms we were met by a young man of the staff, who gave Lara and I more than a passing glance. And then, once inside and seated, a matron dressed in a considerable quantity of turquoise silk came to enquire of our journey.
“Very pleasant,” Jeremiah said...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
Here below is an extract from one of those lost (and unedited) chapters:
Custodian of Marvels, Chapter X
We could not imitate the wealth of the London dandies. Far easier to pretend to be trying to hide our money. Thus it was that Jeremiah came to be riding a private coach South from Dover on the Folkestone Road, dressed in a pale grey suit of modest price, but with fine Italian shoes on his feet – hired for the occasion. The cufflinks, mostly hidden under the sleeves of his jacket, were the touch of which I was most proud. Each appeared to be adorned with a sapphire the size of an acorn, though in truth they were paste.
Anyone searching for clues would see a man failing to perfectly conceal his extraordinary wealth. And they would look. We had made him up to seem 10 years older. Whilst Lara clung to one of his arms and I clung to the other. I had borrowed one of Ellie’s dresses for the purpose and felt myself unreasonably exposed.
The coach came to rest at the front entrance. The driver had clearly been taken in by our display because he was double-quick to open the door and place the steps. He even bowed as Jeremiah emerged and received his tip with ill concealed delight.
We had argued long and hard on that question. To give away money we could ill afford seemed wrong to the others. But I could think of no better way of spreading the news of Jeremiah’s supposed wealth. Within minutes the stable hands would know. Then the stablemaster and other servants too. Such valuable intelligence would quickly reach the owners of the vineyard.
At the doorway to the tasting rooms we were met by a young man of the staff, who gave Lara and I more than a passing glance. And then, once inside and seated, a matron dressed in a considerable quantity of turquoise silk came to enquire of our journey.
“Very pleasant,” Jeremiah said...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
June 4, 2016
A short Story by Rod Duncan
The Peculiar Substance of Solomon Caverney
Eccentric relatives should be kept at a distance just as diligently as wealthy ones should be visited. It was my misfortune that Uncle Solomon was both.
The newspapers described him as a fearless cartographer for his exploration of the Amazon, a notorious adventurer for his pursuit of antiquities, and a scandalous photographer for various of his anthropological works.
His publisher at one time had dealings with my bank. Thus, I came to know some detail of his finances. In wealth, if not in character, Solomon Caverny was a man of substance. And I was his closest living relation. (For completeness, I should also mention Freddy. But since I was older than he, by twenty-eight minutes, I would come first in any division of property.)
As in birth, so in life, Freddy was late. He stamped in the hallway, unapologetic, shedding snow from his worn boots and shabby bowler.
“Season’s greetings to you brother dear,” he said.
“Likewise,” said I, extending a hand.
He shook it vigorously, sprinkling the letter stand with droplets of water from his sleeve. “Hope you don’t mind paying for the carriage,” he said. “I’m a trifle short.”...
The complete story can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
Eccentric relatives should be kept at a distance just as diligently as wealthy ones should be visited. It was my misfortune that Uncle Solomon was both.
The newspapers described him as a fearless cartographer for his exploration of the Amazon, a notorious adventurer for his pursuit of antiquities, and a scandalous photographer for various of his anthropological works.
His publisher at one time had dealings with my bank. Thus, I came to know some detail of his finances. In wealth, if not in character, Solomon Caverny was a man of substance. And I was his closest living relation. (For completeness, I should also mention Freddy. But since I was older than he, by twenty-eight minutes, I would come first in any division of property.)
As in birth, so in life, Freddy was late. He stamped in the hallway, unapologetic, shedding snow from his worn boots and shabby bowler.
“Season’s greetings to you brother dear,” he said.
“Likewise,” said I, extending a hand.
He shook it vigorously, sprinkling the letter stand with droplets of water from his sleeve. “Hope you don’t mind paying for the carriage,” he said. “I’m a trifle short.”...
The complete story can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
June 1, 2016
Choose Your Own Adventure
I didn’t read much as a teenager. Dyslexia made it difficult. But I did enjoy graphic novels and science fiction short stories. It was a question of how many words I had to read to get how many ideas. I wanted the maximum amount of story for the smallest decoding workload.
There was another kind of book that I used to enjoy - the ‘choose your own adventure’...
The complete areticle can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
There was another kind of book that I used to enjoy - the ‘choose your own adventure’...
The complete areticle can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
May 31, 2016
Circus Daybills and Victorian QR Codes
Browsing some Gas-Lit Empire related images from the last few years, I came across the following. It represents the kind of thing that happens when I start messing around with Paint.net
The images are:
A mock-up of the daybill seen by Elizabeth Barnabus in Sleaford in the Bullet Catcher's Daughter.
An attempt to make a QR code into something the Victorians...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
The images are:
A mock-up of the daybill seen by Elizabeth Barnabus in Sleaford in the Bullet Catcher's Daughter.
An attempt to make a QR code into something the Victorians...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
May 29, 2016
Visualising, Writing and Photography
Do you see stories in your mind’s eye? Readers have told me that they that have vivid pictures of Elizabeth Barnabus, Julia, Fabulo, Tinker and the rest. This is fascinating to me because picturing things in my head is something I’ve never been able to do.
It’s a quirk of my oddly wired brain that...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
It’s a quirk of my oddly wired brain that...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
May 28, 2016
What is Steampunk?
Would you like to know what 'steampunk' means? For years, people have been trying to define this essentially undefinable... um... thing.
But in looking for a book to use as an example of steampunk fiction, Kirkus Reviews has chosen the Custodian of Marvels. I'm delighted that it gets a mention in this hugely influential publication.
There is a question though: are my novels really steampunk? Some reviewers have said...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
But in looking for a book to use as an example of steampunk fiction, Kirkus Reviews has chosen the Custodian of Marvels. I'm delighted that it gets a mention in this hugely influential publication.
There is a question though: are my novels really steampunk? Some reviewers have said...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
May 26, 2016
End of the Series?
The Custodian of Marvels has been described as ‘the climactic volume’ of a trilogy. But will it really be the final book set in the Gas-Lit Empire?
Readers of this page will know that I’ve been talking about a ‘book four’ for some time. If I’ve been cagy about the exact nature of the story, it’s because I haven’t wanted to put out any spoilers. Will Elizabeth Barnabus survive book three? Maybe yes, maybe no.
But on Tuesday at the Custodian of Marvels book launch, a fact slipped out that had till now been a secret...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
Readers of this page will know that I’ve been talking about a ‘book four’ for some time. If I’ve been cagy about the exact nature of the story, it’s because I haven’t wanted to put out any spoilers. Will Elizabeth Barnabus survive book three? Maybe yes, maybe no.
But on Tuesday at the Custodian of Marvels book launch, a fact slipped out that had till now been a secret...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
An Excerpt from the Next Novel
If you’ve glanced at any of the reviews of The Custodian of Marvels, you’ll know that the Gas-Lit Empire hasn’t fallen by the end of it. That means there’s more to come. But the story has definitely moved on to a new stage.
The novel I’m working on is the opening of a new trilogy. It will feature Elizabeth Barnabus, whose story so far has been driven by personal concerns. But now she's becoming tangled with the International Patent Office and the...
The complete article can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
The novel I’m working on is the opening of a new trilogy. It will feature Elizabeth Barnabus, whose story so far has been driven by personal concerns. But now she's becoming tangled with the International Patent Office and the...
The complete article can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
May 25, 2016
Researching Carrion Crows
Stories aren’t usually well behaved. Sometimes there are none in sight. Rarely. More often a crowd of them turn up and jostle for attention. They don’t form an orderly queue.
Right now I have the interesting experience of writing one story and having another one sitting...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
Right now I have the interesting experience of writing one story and having another one sitting...
The complete article can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/gaslitempire...
