Well, we’re off to a new year; a good one I hope. Writing wise it’s starting out well. I just got the word that a story of mine is soon to go to print. It is a hard boiled detective story in a new anthology. The character is a little known detective published for years in the 1930s.
Don’t know if it will sell well, but I had a lot of fun writing the story and hope a few people will see it. I would like to write more mystery fiction but as I have said before; mysteries are hard to write. I’ve always been a fan of mysteries (am reading one now by Robert Crais) and now having juggled various clues, suspects, timings and settings myself have even more respect for those talented writers who can keep us on the edge of our seats poring over a “who dunnit.” I will make an official announcement of this story and book very soon. Gotta give the publisher first crack at that.
I just finished a new story set in my “Zeppelin Universe.” For those of you have not read my : Flight of the Wasp” story in Alternative Air Adventures, I created an alternate History where Aircraft ended up taking a second place to Lighter Than Air vehicles. This meant a totally different ending for an abbreviated WWI and what I refer to as the subsequent “Imperial Cold War” taking place in Europe.
I now have written six different adventure stories set in my alternate world, with more outlined and on the way. These include four linked stories in a complete book about a brush war in Africa set in 1935 between British and German colonial forces called Zeppelins Over Afrika. This book has been submitted to a publisher and is awaiting artwork. Fingers crossed, it may appear in production later in the year.
Other stories in this series will appear where and when I can find appropriate places for them. The one I just completed is a bit off beat and deals with a real life bit of unusual British technology that didn’t quite make the grade in 1930 England. I don’t where this one will end up but it was kind of fun to write about something that could have been a big part of modern life, if the cards had fallen a bit differently.
Next up for me are a couple of stories starring classic pulp characters. I have written stories about Moon Man and Phantom Detective before. Both are classic characters that were very popular in their time. The Phantom Detective magazine actually ran longer than The Shadow or Doc Savage, the two heavy weights in the hero pulp genre. Publication didn’t cease until 1953 after twenty years of stories.
I am deep into my new Moon Man story. I have had the outline around for a while and it should go fast.
The Phantom Detective Outline is also complete. I hope to knock out both stories in the next month or so. That is, IF the Gods of Writing and Publishing smile on me.
That’s it for now. More news soon, I hope.
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