Timothy Miller's Blog, page 9

All fiction is historical

I have slowly come to the understanding that all fiction is historical fiction in that every character must be placed within his historical context which, unless all the characters are the same age as the writer, means that every character must come equipped with his own set of historical markers, which may influence his outlook and behavior.

For instance, in my work in progress, my antagonist is 52, my protagonist 36, and my second lead 28. If my story take place in 2023, that means they we...

Secrets and Spies book review

Let’s start off the month with a review of Secrets and Spies, the newest installation in Trish MacEnulty’s Delafield&Malloy Historical mystery series:

The moat entertaining part of the Delafield & Malloy historical mystery series is the sleight-of-hand the author uses to place her sleuths at the center of historical events. Some  historical writers use a crowbar; Trish MacEnulty uses a scalpel.

The setting this time is 1915. America has not yet formally entered the war, but it’s hinted ...

The Orchid Hour review

Another book review this week, this time by the fantastic Nancy Bilyeau:

The Orchid Hour reeks–but in the best possible way. It reeks with the smell of lasagna in Little Italy, the smell of cheap gin in a 1920s speakeasy, and most importantly and most delicately with the scent of orchids at midnight. It reeks of sleazy dodges, flimsy aliases, and multiple murders.

The Orchid Hour masquerades as a murder mystery, and it’s satisfying at that level, but underneath that layer, there’s anoth...

A foggy history

Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ‘prentice boy on deck.

Charles Dickens. Bleak House

I came across this article in the Guardian the other day titled “Dickens exhibition to look at role of London fog in life and writings.”

. It deals with the role of fog, the ...

It’s officially official

I would have posted it sooner, buy I didn’t know where to find it.

The post It’s officially official first appeared on The Strange Cases of Sherlock Holmes.

Review: Blue Skies

I’ve decided to add a few book reviews to the blog, especially for new books, including books which may not yet have hit the stands yet (through the good graces of Netgalley). For my inaugural review, I’ve selected T.C. Boyle’s eco-black comedy, Blue Skies.

Of Blue Skies I am two minds, as perhaps was T.C. Boyle when he set down to write this book. A simple family tale or a polemic on climate change? Are the characters agents of their own actions, or has climate change replaced fate ...

Euphemisms

Right now The Strange Case of the Pharaoh’s Heart is with my editor. Normally I don’t change anything in a draft while my editor is going through it. But lately I’ve been waking up at three in the morning with urgent, miniscule changes to this one. For instance the other night I immediately had to change the word “syphilis” to “the French complaint.”

Why did the question of syphilis even come up in a Sherlock Holmes tale? Oh, that’s simple. It explains Watson’s familiarity with sunglasses in...

George Saunders

Causality is to the writer what melody is to the songwriter: a superpower that the audience feels as the crux of the matter; the thing the audience actually shows up for; the hardest thing to do; that which distinguishes the competent practitioner from the extraordinary one.

–George Saunders

The post George Saunders first appeared on The Strange Cases of Sherlock Holmes.

Here’s the scoop

Just wanted to let you know: The Strange Case of the Pharaoh’s Heart WILL appear in 2023.

The post Here’s the scoop first appeared on The Strange Cases of Sherlock Holmes.

Playing Favorites

Here’s an attaboy to brighten my day.

The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter made King River Life Magazine Staff Favorite Books of 2022.
https://kingsriverlife.com/01/28/king-river-life-staff-favorite-books-of-2022/

The post Playing Favorites first appeared on The Strange Cases of Sherlock Holmes.