Details Revealed

We’re getting closer to the release of my new book and I think it’s time to reveal the title. In fact, we can do better than that: here’s the prototype for the cover…

I already wrote something quite blurbish in the post titled (I kid you not) “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh…”, so grab your shotgun, invoke some protective wards and pop back to that one if you want to know what it’s about.

I think the title is suitably Lovecraftian. HPL wrote the wonderful short story, ‘The Colour Out of Space’, after all. (No prizes for guessing that the titular colour in my own story is a shade of blue.)

Want to see something from mine? Okay…

I’m keeping this account in the hope that it might prove useful, were something untoward to happen to me. Please bear in mind that these are the ramblings of a person already judged to be insane. Thus, if you find my story upsetting, throw it on the fire. Huddle close to the flames: warm yourself with my words and light the darkest corners of the room for a little while. Cherish your ignorance, just as we all do, in our little oasis of light amid the infinite unknown. Only the very strongest of us should attempt to peer out into the darkness – in case we should find something out there that chooses to meet our gaze.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

To my colleagues, I was Bartholomew McFadden, lecturer in ancient languages. Bart McFadden is no longer counted among the living, however, and I want to record what happened to him. ‘Missing’ is such an inadequate epitaph, don’t you think?

I hope you’ll enjoy your sojourn in Arkham, Massachusetts as much as I did. I suspect it’s just the first of many such trips in the years to come.

At Miskatonic University, they tend to do things a little bit differently…

“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh…”

No: I haven’t broken another keyboard*. It’s just that I’ve been reading a lot of H.P. Lovecraft, lately. My next story is going to be a Lovecraftian one.

I’d been thinking about setting a story within the Cthuhlu Mythos for some time. It offers a rich, sinister backdrop and some fabulous potential for villains both home-grown and supernatural. Where better to be a damsel in distress than in the vicinity of Arkham in general and at Miskatonic University in particular?

Who knows what excitement you’ll discover at Miskatonic University!

When Bart McFadden, expert in ancient languages, attempts to save the life of his goddaughter, the result isn’t one he could have anticipated. Bargaining with the powerful, unearthly entity that absorbed her is only partially successful, resulting in a fusion of Bart’s memories and Matilda’s body.

Transformed against his will, Bart soon learns that any protests about his identity can only lead to him being judged insane. That’s a threat to everyone, because the monster is still there, biding its time in the ruins of the Blackwood Sanatorium. Bart knows he must defeat the thing – and for that he needs the resources of the library at Miskatonic University, which means Matilda will have to apply to become an undergraduate student…

A story with an H.P. Source.

There are parallels with ‘Egyptology‘, here, as we return to the world of Academia. Some people have asked me to write more about the adventures of Aisha Burnside, but I consider her to have reached her ‘happily ever after’. Matilda Hale, however, has plenty of trials still to come.

Dear diary, I’m worried about my roommate…

* Ah, yes… keyboard woes. In fact, I’m finding the keyboard on this little Framework laptop to be very good. After thirty-two years together, Apple and I have gone our separate ways. I wish I could say something nice, like “It isn’t you; it’s me…” but no: it’s all down to you, Apple.