Today’s update: I am just about to rewrite chapter 15. I started the story with a draft outline that gave me a beginning and some idea for the middle, but no ending. I thought, ‘I’ll come back to that later,’ and now is the time to come back to it. However, along the way, I have set up some events for the middle which now won’t work if I go down the preferred ending route. In fact, I think I have too many ideas going on and need to weed some out.
That’s what chapter 15 seems to be about: the moment when my main character will go one way or the other, and I’m not 100% sure which way he should go. I think I was origin he’d make up my mind for me, but he hasn’t yet. So, I am going to start rewriting that pivotal chapter and see what happens, because I am still undecided about which way the ending of this story will go.
I know what I mean! Lol. It will all come right in the end. The problem with Follow the Van has been interruptions. First, by writing and putting out ‘1892’ which, I am pleased to say, continues to sell and is doing well, and then by Christmas, then by New Year, and then by this flu which still hasn’t left me alone and keeps coming back.
So, this week’s output has been low-level, but I am aiming to pick up the pace now that I have no other distractions, apart from trying to find some new freelance work so I can make some real money, and then there’s the music and piano lessons, and building my model, and trying to get back into walking, and…
Hi folks, I’ll be posting something on Saturday, and then heading off into the holiday season straight after that. I will, though be on Facebook as usual, and if you keep an eye on my page there, you should see some shots of our madcap family Christmas and a trip to Athens we have arranged for the week after.
Meanwhile, a quick update on my work in progress: Follow the Van.
I have managed to move things on a little since my last post, when I was focusing on the release of ‘1892’ which, I am pleased to say, is doing well and has already gained several five-star rates and a couple of excellent reviews around the world, Canada and Australia, actually, which is excellent.
As for ‘Follow the Van’, that’s now up to 35,000 words and I am having one of those moments when the story is flowing, lots is building up, and I am approaching a halfway mark and yet… Oops! There’s a lot to set correctly in this one and I seem to be taking the time to construct a lead-in to the untwisting of the mystery. That’s not a problem, though, because when it starts, it’s going to unravel pretty quickly and, with strong foundations laid, it should be a fast and furious ride to the end. I shouldn’t read too much into that. It will probably all change when I get back to writing after my holiday.
Until then, I am still writing away, although today, I must also see about a kitchen light, write a review for one of my companies, play the piano a bit, and meet a friend for Christmas drinks tonight, but in between all of that, there will be some typing on ‘Follow the Van.’
Btw, part of the plot involves a song and a clue to the mystery is contained within it, so I have set about writing a late-Victorian music hall song in the appropriate style. I’m basing the lyrics on the song from which the book gets its title, ‘Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way.’ (The ‘way’ perhaps being a reference to Jack Merrit finding his feet and falling in love in ‘Fining a Way.’) The original song wasn’t written until 1919, but I’m only using the scansion and rhythm, not the words, so I think that’s fair. Also, I wanted a song that the reader might know, so that they could more easily imaging the song being sung, and I’m pretty sure most British people at least would have heard the song:
My old man said “Foller the van, And don’t dilly dally on the way”. Off went the van wiv me ‘ome packed in it, I walked behind wiv me old cock linnet. But I dillied and dallied, dallied and I dillied Lost me way and don’t know where to roam. Well you can’t trust a special like the old time coppers When you can’t find your way ‘ome.
I’m not sure if that’s the original spelling, but you know what I mean.
Now, I must find my way home, pop the kettle on and settle down to do some writing. See you on Saturday!
The latest update is a brief one: I am now working through the last draft to check the proofs, and Andjela has sent me the full cover. Except the link to the file transfer site got lost in my spam folder and now I’ve found the email, it comes without the link, so I am waiting for another. It’ll take me a while to check through the MS and then have the pages set out ready for publication, but you’ll definitely be able to get hold of this feel-good Christmas collection well before Christmas Day.
If you are a member of my private Facebook group, Jackson’s Deviant Desires, you will be able to get a free copy, and I will let you know how in the group pages when the time comes.
Meanwhile, I must now get back to ‘Follow the Van,’ the third Delamere Files instalment. I have put it off for a while to work on ‘1892’ and some other (paid!) writing work I had in. In this case, it was a set of stories for two German magazines. They get translated into German but also appear in the magazines in English. These are twink adults-only magazines published in Germany and on sale throughout Europe. I won’t provide links, but if you want to search them out, one is called PornUp and the other is called DreamBoys. Both are top-shelf magazines, so watch how you investigate!
That aside, I aim to be back following the van by the end of this week when 1892 will be ready for laying out, and I can forget those stories and concentrate on where I was.
Meanwhile, don’t forget the Clearwater Calendar will be on sale only until the end of the year, and don’t forget to join my private FB group so you can claim a free copy of 1892 as soon as it is ready.
The other day, I dropped off the blurb for the new book, and in the meantime, I had a friend read the MS, because she’s a writer of short stories, whereas, I usually prefer to write novels. ‘1892, The Clearwater Tales, Volume One,’ is my first foray into short stories apart from those I have written for adult sites and magazines. As they tend to be 20% story and 80% nookie, I don’t really count them. I don’t talk about them much, other than to say, I do them as a means to a financial end, and would much rather write my historical mysteries and some romance/adventure novels.
Anyway, my friend used to work as a reader for a large London publishing house. One of those poor souls who have to deal with manuscripts from hopeful authors looking for publication. She has told me about the job, and what it entailed, and it’s not all about reading a few chapters and saying yes or no, she also worked in editing and entertaining potential authors, and she did the job for long enough to know good writing from bad. So, I was cheered to receive her thoughts on ‘1892.’ Her message included this:
Have read the short stories. A nice warm Christmas read, particularly for your loyal readers but you have managed to make it perfectly understandable for anyone new. It’s a lovely picture of that luxurious but cosy first-class carriage puffing down to snowy Cornwall with all mod cons and lashings of food.
That was good to read from a professional reader, and she summed up the overarching story of the book perfectly. Seven characters on a train heading for Cornwall for Christmas Eve. Within that are six stories, five told by the characters you see on the cover, and the other being the wrap-around story from the point of view of the stranger who is travelling with them.
To view the cover, click on the picture below and it should open separately. You will see who the cast is. From left to right you have: Joe Tanner, the antiquarian, Mrs Norwood, the housekeeper (here modelled by my friend, Jenine), Professor Fleet (as depicted by my husband, Neil), Andrej (Fecker), the baron, and Will Merrit, the detective.
I’ll have more news about the release and how you can get a free e-copy in a future post and on my Facebook page and group. The freebie is for group members only, so check out and join Jackson’s Deviant Desires to know when and how you can have a free e-copy. Meanwhile, here’s the full cover. Click the pic.
Again, it has been a quiet week with not much to report other than this:
‘1892’ is going off to be proofread later this week, and I am waiting for the full cover from Andjela, but that should be with me soon too. Then, I will have one last read and contact the layout guys about setting out the pages.
1892 will be free for a limited time to members of my Facebook group, Jackson’s Deviant Desires. Soi, if you are not a member of that group yet, now’s the time to join. Any members of the group will be able to get a free digital copy, as long as it’s within the advertised time frame (I’ll let you know nearer that time), and after that, it will be on sale in the usual way.
I’ll release the full cover before long, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you don’t have too long to wait.
Here’s the blurb for ‘1892’ to keep you hanging on the edge of your (railway carriage) seats.
1892
The Clearwater Tales
Volume One
Five characters from the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere Mysteries find themselves taking the train to Cornwall for the 1892 Larkspur Hall Christmas Eve ball. To pass the time, they each tell a story from their past.
Sitting in their carriage is a stranger who listens to their stories of detection, mystery and prophesy, and recognises some of the people involved. As they near their destination, the stranger realises he is more involved with his fellow passengers than they know, but who is he? Where is he going, and why?
(1892 can be read as a short, standalone novella, and there’s no need to have read the Clearwater, Larkspur or Delamere series to enjoy the story. However, you might gain more from reading 1892 if you already know the characters and their histories.)
I usually do a work-in-progress update on a Wednesday, but today, I thought I would update you on the current WIPS and other matters. Let’s start but going back to the future, and 1892.
1892
This will be my next release. A set of short stories that currently has this draft blurb:
Five characters from the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere Mysteries find themselves taking the train to Cornwall for the 1892 Larkspur Hall Christmas Eve ball. To pass the time, they each tell a story from their past.
Sitting in their carriage is a stranger who listens to their stories of detection, mystery and prophesy, and recognises some of the people involved. As they near their destination, the stranger realises he is more involved with his fellow passengers than they know, but who is he? Where is he going, and why?
Here’s a snippet of the excellent cover as designed, as always, but the marvellous Andjela V.
You can just see the top of the head of the five characters, so you may be able to guess who appears in this collection if you don’t already know. There are two characters from Clearwater, two from Larkspur and one from Delamere, plus two other characters. One is the railway steward who caters for his passengers in the private-hire saloon, and the other is the mystery man who appears in one book attached to the Clearwater series and is mentioned a couple of times in others, but he’s from a long way back, so hopefully, you’ve forgotten about him and will get a nice surprise at the end of the book when his story becomes the sixth. Actually, his story is the whole journey, but… Well, you’ll see in time.
Follow the Van
Meanwhile, I am beavering away in the same year but on a different book, the Delamere Files Book Three, ‘Follow the Van.’ I’ve been doing some research into Victorian music halls and theatre for this one, and one day, I’ll do a blog post about that research. I’ve almost finished reading about the Gaiety Theatre (now gone), and am about to start on another which, although a novel, is written by a historian, and it’s about the music hall artist, Dan Leno (1860 to 1904), real name George Wild Galvin. That’ll be interesting background.
Symi, Greece
Meanwhile, here in the real world, we’re approaching the winter months, but so far, have been very lucky with the weather and temperature. The island is quieter now there are very few tourists about, and many businesses have closed for the winter, but enough remain open for us locals to carry on regardless. We’re now discussing bringing the duvet out of summer hibernation, and dusting off the heaters, though I’d rather keep them unplugged for as long as possible. Fuel costs and all that. (We don’t have central heating or gas, so everything is electric.)
View from the balcony on Thursday.
In a week or so, Neil’s off to visit his brother in Vienna, leaving me home alone with two books to work on plus my daily freelance work, and we’re both off to Athens for New Year with our best friend and our godsons. There will no doubt be more about that adventure when we get back, and in the meantime, if you’re interested to read more about where we are, and what we do here all year round, you can check out my five-day-a-week blog, Symi Dream. Just click that link and you’ll be in my madcap, sometimes lively, sometimes rather mundane, life here on a small Greek island.
And now… Back to the future (publications) and more work on Follow the Van. Everyone sing along: My old man said follow the van, and don’t dilly dally on the way…
This week’s update concerns two works in progress.
1892
It’s rather a dramatic title for a short collection of short stories, but I rather like it. I’m mad about the cover Andjela has done, and I’ll be revealing that in a few days. Meanwhile, Neil and Jenine have been beta reading and checking over the MS, and the feedback so far is positive. Once they’ve finished, I’ll get back to a final draft, which means we’re on target of a release before Christmas as promised, with members of my private Facebook group being able to receive a free digital copy before it goes on sale.
Follow the Van
While 1892 is, for me, on pause, I’ve returned to the third of the Delamere novels, ‘Follow the Van.’ This story sees the continuation of Jack and Will Merrit’s change in fortune, and when the story starts, they are happily ensconced in their new home and jobs as private investigators.
This book takes the world of the music halls as its backdrop and gives me a chance to expand Jack and Will’s past a little more by having them learn some home truths about their father. You might remember that Samson Merrit died a couple of years before ‘Finding a Way’ started. Samson was a music hall artist who died on stage while performing with Marie Lloyd. He is invented, but I am reading about characters of the music halls (later termed variety here and in the USA) and the world of the London theatre at the turn of the century. Fascinating for someone like me who’s always been interested in the theatre.
Follow the Van is still in its early days, but I am on chapter seven, first draft, and have brought in Ben Baxter the sex-mad, ex-renter, stable boy and groom, to help jolly the story along, and give Jack another diversion. My planned writing today includes getting ‘Bax’ from Knightsbridge to a compromising position in a Limehouse stable. Not sure how I’m going to do that, but it’s going to be fun working it out.
I’m back on Saturday with more news and chat. Don’t forget to scroll down and check out ‘On Wings of Song’ by Anne Barwell, as featured last week, and, if you’ve not yet found them, you can start the new Delamere Files series right here. (Click the pic.)
That’s the title of the anthology of short stories I am working on, and getting ready for Christmas – or before. I don’t mean ‘Work in Progress’ is the title, but ‘1892’, because that is the year in which the story takes place. Within it, are five short stories as told by five characters from the Clearwater world.
I have one more tale yet to write and then a lot of editing and correcting, making it better and tidying up. With that done, I can return to ‘Follow the Van’, the third Delamare files story. My aim is to have the last short story of ‘1892’ drafted this morning, or at least half of it. It’s all in my head, it just needs extracting, typing, and making better.
May 1892
‘1892’ will be available to buy before Christmas, but I will also be giving it away in ePub or PDF form to anyone who is in my private Facebook group ‘Jacksons Deviant Desires.’ You can click over to that and join if you’re not already in the group.
And don’t forget, the Clearwater calendar is on sale, but only for another few weeks. Click the pic to get the link.
Last week, I came up with the idea of producing a collection of short stories as a freebie for my readers. I asked for suggestions via my FB page, my group, and my blog, and I’ve now had several replies. I’ve also worked out the premise, and have gathered my five characters together on the 11.45 train from London to Cornwall, on Christmas Eve 1892.
I chose that date to fit in with the current Delamere series (which is so far set in 1892) and to follow on from the Larkspur series, which finished on Christmas Eve, 1891. We will get an update on what’s happening at Larkspur Hall, because that is where the five characters are heading, and they are heading there for the famous Larkspur Christmas Ball. This event was featured in ‘Fallen Splendour’ and then again at the end of ‘The Larkspur Legacy,’ and it’s the occasion when Lord Clearwater treats all his staff, tenants and their families to a lavish party in the great hall at Larkspur.
Here’s a rather obvious clue to one of the characters.
On the journey, each of the five characters will tell a story from their past, and so far, I have decided on one of these stories, but I still need to invent the other four. However, there will be another, a sixth in total, because although my characters are travelling in a private carriage, they are not alone. Someone else has gained a seat, but as he is sitting quietly at the back and is asleep, they decide to let him stay. Being Clearwater characters, they also suggest he might like to share in the supplies they have brought with them for the eight-hour journey if he wakes up.
Who this character is, and what he is doing there will be explained at the end of the book, which I intend to be reasonably short. I am guessing at around 50,000 words, but knowing me…
So far, I have an outline for the various chapters, and I’ve put it here so you can see who is on this journey. You’ll also see that I’ve modelled the index at least on Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, but the text will definitely not be made up of long poems in Olde English!
May 1892
Here’s who will be appearing in the index, and I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this project and ‘Follow the Van’ (Delamere part three) as the weeks roll on towards Christmas, when anyone subscribed to my newsletter and any members of my group Jackson’s Deviant Desires will get a Pdf copy for free. The book will later be on sale via the usual channels. (Anyone can subscribe to my occasional newsletters, and to my group, just follow the links.)
The Christmas Journey (not the eventual title)
The Prologue – In which five characters meet and a stranger takes note. The Detective’s Tale* The Baron’s Tale The Housekeeper’s Tale The Antiquarian’s Tale The Professor’s Tale The Stranger’s Tale – In which all is revealed and yet nothing is completely ended. The Epilogue
As you can see, each chapter will also have a sub-heading in the style of Victorian serialisations. I’ve always wanted to do this, ‘In which we discover…’ kind of chapter heading, but it’s so outdated, that it’s never yet fit with anything I’ve written. Now’s my chance!
* Btw, although James Wright was a popular suggestion, he is not the detective in this case. I have gone for Will Merrit so that we have two Clearwater characters, two Larkspur characters, and one from the new series. You can probably guess who the others are.
There were many suggestions and my aim is to include some or all of the other suggestions within the stories, though they are not the ones telling them. So, you should get a Christmas dose of your favourite characters one way or the other.
As for the stranger… You will have to wait and see.
The second in the new Delamere Files series of Victorian mysteries with gay characters, MM romance, and adventure is almost ready to go live. It only remains for me to finish reading the final proof of ‘A Fall from Grace’ (another five days, perhaps), for the layout guys to work their magic (a further couple of days, depending on their availability), and for me to upload the files and hit the release button—another day as it doesn’t take long.
I will reveal the full cover to you on Saturday, and also give you the blurb, so that, I hope, is something to look forward to, with a release date within the next two weeks, fingers crossed.
Coming soon…
Without giving anything away, I can tell you that part of the story harks back to a British public school in the 1870s through to the 1880s, and a section of the book is written by someone else. I mean, a character has written his story for our detectives to read (and there are some other diaries, but not too many). To give you an idea of how this character writes, here is a short section from his memoirs. They only form about three chapters of a 28-chapter novel, the rest is (more or less) from Jack Merrit’s point of view.
Here, the character tells us his dark thoughts on the public school system (1880)
The seniors above us left Grace Tower to make their way into the world as men forged by the callous pounding of the Sinford’s hammer on the anvil of tradition that flattened any crease of individuality or creativity. Men were smelted from base material in the crucible of the public school system, and once tempered, poured into moulds vacated by their fathers and theirs before them. Those who opposed were caught in the clamps and chiselled, worked, and drawn out until, free of all impurities, they became Old Sinfordians, free to set foot upon the green and pleasant land of Blake’s imagination. There, they forged their own progeny in their own image among the dark satanic mills of adulthood.
I have created a few new characters for this story, and some may reappear later in the series. Among them are the protagonist and antagonist, two old boys, now men, from Sinford’s School for Boys. You’ll also meet some eccentrics. There’s a new stable lad at Delamare House, Mrs Norwood makes a brief appearance, as does our old favourite, Doctor Markland who first appeared in ‘Deviant Desire’ back at the start of the Clearwater Mysteries. If you’ve read that series’ prequel, ‘Banyak & Fecks’, you might have noticed he appears in that too, though Fecker, who meets him, can’t remember his name.
Anyway… That’s where I am today. After work, I shall continue to read the proofs, hopefully making the final tweaks to ensure the rather complicated story is easy enough to follow, and I’ll be back on Saturday to show you the full cover, another stunner from Andjela V.
If you’ve not started on the Delamere Files yet, then you can find book one here: Finding a Way.
