Whitby Gothic Weekend

If you have a thing for Dracula (or vampires in general), or you're what might be termed as a Goth, or you're even just a fan of the North Yorkshire fishing town of Whitby, you might be interested to know that this weekend is Whitby Gothic Weekend.

Having visited Whitby a couple of times myself, I know how much Dracula-themed stuff is available there on a daily basis and the place is certainly something of a Mecca for fans of Bram Stoker's eponymous blood-sucker, so God-only-knows what it's like at the feast of Halloween.

The reason I mention this event in particular, however, is because two-thirds of Human Nature (my latest Pax Britannia adventure, out in December) is set in and around Whitby. The majority of places mentioned in the book also exist in real life, so if you can't get there this weekend, why not wait until the book's out and then check out the locations mentioned in the novel? And yes, there are a couple of nods to Stoker's Dracula, of course.

Out with the old...

I've started a new project this week, my next Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia adventure Human Nature, due to be published by Abaddon Books this December. It's great to get back to Pax Britannia after a bit of a break. I've written three books since Leviathan Rising (although I did have two weeks 'off' to write the Ulysses Quicksilver novella Vanishing Point) and it's good to immerse myself in the steampunk setting once again.

But a new project means a whole new set of research materials and other notes cluttering up my desk, so before commencing, I had a bit of a sort out, putting away all my books about Christmas, and the like, which I used in the writing of What is Myrrh Anyway? (out in October from Icon Books). You can see how things have changed in these before and after shots.

My desk whilst after writing What is Myrrh Anyway?

A tidied workspace, ready to start on Human Nature.

There's that old adage, a tidy desk is a sign of a tidy mind (or a sick mind, depending on your own personal philosophy), but for me, my workspace has to reflect what I'm working on, to help keep me focused on the project in hand. I find this particularly important when juggling so many different balls in the air at the same time, writing books for widely varying genres.

So, while I was penning The Horror of Howling Hill, I had my Doctor Who Encyclopedia out, other Decide your Destiny books available to check style and an inflatable Dalek. With Match Wits with the Kids I was surrounded by all manner of reference books, diagrams and miscellanies. And now? Well, there are guide books of Whitby, a map of the North York Moors, postcards of Whitby Abbey and pictures of dried fish carcasses... and it's all the name of research.

So, until next time...