My Current Muse

I've been away from a while, but now I'm back. You might have noticed. Where have I been? Well, I've been writing and my new book, My Clockwork Muse, is now available.

It's my curse to be always most excited about whatever project I'm currently working on. So while I should be breathlessly promoting My Clockwork Muse, I find my mind focused on my current project, the sequel to Clockwork, A Midnight Dreary. Anyone who has read Clockwork will not be surprised to know that the new one finds Edgar Allan Poe and Abraham Lincoln in the same room at the same time. Hard not to be excited about that.

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According to history, Lincoln was a fan of Poe's, having been obsessed for a time with Poe's famous poem, The Raven. Who wasn't? Despite the rather fanciful plots of these novels (they can be classified as science fiction, I guess--although the actual genre continues to elude me: it's a combo historical mystery/scifi/steampunk/fantasy. Try to find that on Amazon. Woe is me!) I try to include lots of historical accuracy in these books. For example, Poe's associates in Clockwork, Charles Briggs and William Burton, are taken from history and many of their comments--especially as they relate to their opinions of Poe--are taken from their letters. Yes, Burton did write a nasty review (anonymously) of Poe's Narrative of A. Gordon Pym and once advised him to increase his exercise as a means of combating his melancholy; and Poe really did write a review of a book entitled Treatise on Corns, Bunions, the Diseases of Nails, and the General Management of the Feet. (Incidentally, Poe wrote that this book "cannot fail but do a great deal of good" -- just in case you were looking for a useful foot book.)

In addition, I've peppered the story with lots and lots of allusions to Poe's writing, which I think will make for fun reading for Poe aficionados. For example, at one point in Chapter 8, Poe thinks:

"All my life, I had felt haunted by ill angels only, but now in the embrace of an angel of the divine, I felt that I at last knew what happiness was."

Excellent news for Poe--and for readers of My Clockwork Muse. You might have recognized Poe's poem Dream-Land here:

By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where Eidolon, named Night,
On a black throne reigns upright,
Etc.

I just happen to love the way "ill angels only" slips off the tongue. Anyway, there's plenty here for Poe's fans to sink their teeth into (and E.T.A. Hoffmann fans, too, for that matter).

But even if you're not some kind of Poe scholar, you'll still enjoy My Clockwork Muse, if not for the literary and historical content, then for the murder mystery, the horror and the excitement level of the action. It's not as one of the pro reviewers of my novel The Blood Gate wrote: "I don't know that this is a book that would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed it." On the contrary, My Clockwork Muse will appeal to everyone (dang it!)--and I think you'll really enjoy it, too.