I Had a Good Week, This Last Week

I.

This last week, I converted Certain Nocturnal Disturbances: Ghost Hunting Before the Victorians into a Kindle version for those who prefer a disembodied book about the deep history of specter stalking. You can read more about this book here — or head straight to Amazon for either the ebook or the paperback.

II. 

This last week, I posted my reading of “The Least Haunted House in Wales.” It’s an original tale that features William Hope Hodson’s great occult detective, Thomas Carnacki. I felt the ol’ boy needed to set aside his Electric Pentangle and enjoy a case that’s a bit less serious than those Hodson assigned him. My story is included in an anthology of new stories about this character: The Book of Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, published by Belanger Books.

Why did I set in Carmarthen, Wales? Why is the client, whose surname is Nicholas, a confectioner? Well, you see, I have ancestors who came from there and carried that name and had that occupation. Fans of Carnacki will probably know that the names Abner, Abigail, Abbott — and the fact that the wife/mother is off in Aberystwyth — is me having fun with Carnacki’s penchant for words such as “ab-natural,” “Ab-human,” and “Ab.” Is Taxman Bellow a spin on Flaxman Low? No! No, of course not! Weeeell, okaaaaaay…

My reading is an episode of Tales Told Whenever I Feel Like It, the interim series between seasons of Tales Told When the Windows Rattle. You can enjoy both series with video on YouTube. The audio-only is on Spotify, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, and Anchor. Find the video and audio — and download the audio for offline listening — on this page.

III.

Speaking of Tales Told, this last week, I scheduled the stories for Season Two. The ten episodes will be posted every Friday from October 21 to December 23. This season is devoted exclusively to ghosts, combining fiction with a dash or two of non-fiction. The authors include the likes of Algernon Blackwood, Catherine Crowe, and Charles Dickens. It’s the perfect stuff to listen to by a fire on a stormy night, be it Halloween, Christmas, or any time at all. (If you lack a cozy hearth and/or nasty weather, both are provided gratis in the video version.)

IV.

And this last week, I gave From Eerie Cases to Early Graves: 5 Short-Lived Occult Detective Series a vigorous scrubbin’ — by which I mean a solid proofreading. I also secured the services of two first-rate proofreaders to proofread my proofreading. Then I’ll proofread their proofreading of my earlier proofread. One likes to be thorough.

I think this anthology will be a very good addition to the Phantom Traditions Library. Read all about it here. I’m almost certain it’ll be available two or three weeks before Halloween. Maybe even earlier.

It was a good week, this last week.

–Tim